Adlershof growing on its own steam

1001 tech oriented companies / Urban development is making progress

The high-technology site Berlin Adlershof has grown substantially in 2014. At the end of last year, 15,931 people were working here, 4.2 % more than the previous year. Adding to this were 6,235 students at the institutes of the Humboldt-University of Berlin (HU).

Revenues, budget funds, and subsidies rose by 4.8 % compared to the previous year, amounting to 1.74 billion euros. This development was caused by the establishment of numerous tech oriented companies, some of which brought in a triple-digit number of new employees.Despite the relocation of a number of very small companies in 2014, the total number of companies and scientific institutions remained unchanged at 1,001.

The Science and Technology Park attracted 53 new companies, while 34 companies left the site. Occupancy levels in our technology centres were at 87 % (2013: 86 %). The number of employees increased by 5.2 % to a total of 5,865. Adding to this were 124 trainees. Company revenues saw an increase of 3.5 % to 718 million euros.The flow of subsidies was reduced to 10 million euros in 2014; compared to about 23.5 million euros in 2013. That is a 57.5 % decrease!

The share of subsidies and third-party funds in the budget of the sixinstitutes of the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (HU) accounted for 31 million euros (2013: 28 million euros). As in 2013, core funding amounted to 48 million euros. The budget funds of the ten non-university research institutes were 132.3 million euros, a number similar to the year before (133.3 million euros). Third-party funds were at 40 million euros (2013: 47 million euros). A total of 2,762 employees (2013: 2,747) worked for our scientific institutions. 

The Media City experienced a moderate increase in revenues and staff, while the number of companies decreased by 5 to a total of 135. Revenues rose by 2 % to 214 million euros. The amount of subsidies dropped to 100,000 euros. The number of permanent staff was 1,227, a 1.2 % increase to the previous year. The number of freelancers rose to 777 (2013: 727) and the number of trainees was 77 (2013: 50).

Revenues and budget funds of the companies and facilitiesin the neighbouring industrial estate saw a boost in revenues by 9.1 % to 630.5 million euros. With subsidies shrinking from 17.5 million euros to a mere 1.3 million euros, we are seeing a similar development to that of the Technology Park. The number of employees increased by 5.6 % to 5,300. Adding to this were 950 (2013: 780) trainees including intercompany vocational training.

Companies based in the Science and Technology Park were more optimistic about business development prospects in 2015 than the previous year: almost 57 % (2013: 50 %) expect an increase in revenue next year. Only 3.6 % (2013: 5 %) fear a decrease in revenues. 32.7 % (2013: 36 %) of the polled companies expect their number of employees to rise, 63.6 % (2013: 60 %) expect the number to remain unchanged.

In our survey of the overall conditions on the site, our site partners repeatedly rated the public image of Adlershof as the highest priority. At 95.7% of the surveyed companies, the answer to the question “Would you recommend Adlershof as a headquarters to a business friend?” was almost unanimously ‘yes’. For the first time the survey included questions on our companies’ interest in acquiring additional real estate on the site. About 21 % of the companies were interested in pursuing that option.

Organic growth
"The high-technology site Adlershof experienced a growth spurt in 2014. This is all the more remarkable as the flow of subsidies was drastically reduced. This means that our site and its companies are growing organically and through private investment," Hardy Schmitz, managing director of WISTA-MANAGEMENT GMBH, commented on the current figures. He went on saying that "new companies in the northern part of the development area were pivotal to this development. The increased number of new businesses in Adlershof is also very positive development which was facilitated by the Innovation Centre Berlin Management GmbH (IZBM)."

Dr. Christine Wedler, chair of the Technologiekreis Adlershof e.V., confirmed this trend: „We saw a strong growth in staff numbers of tech oriented companies in 2014, while the previous year saw revenues in the lead. However, our companies are much more optimistic about their business prospects in 2015 than they were in 2014.“ Henner Bunde, State Secretary at the Senate Department of Economics, Technology, and Research of the State of Berlin, points out: "Adlershof's networking of business, science, and research serves as a role model for Berlin's places of future innovation (“Zukunftsorte”). This also shows that the Senate Department's targeted support is paying off and is facilitating the site's sustainable economic growth."

According to WISTA's managing director Schmitz, the successful acquisition of 50 new tech oriented companies underscore the new quality of this growth: "Never before have the people of Adlershof celebrated more groundbreaking, topping-out, and ribbon-cutting ceremonies with private investors as in 2014. From a sales perspective, 2014 was one of the most successful years for Adlershof." By tapping new land in the development area, WISTA has "enabled companies to grow in ways that we’ve never imagined." Ongoing urban development and successful projects like “Wohnen am Campus” (“Living on Campus”) have significantly contributed to the urbanity and attractiveness of the Adlershof site.

The contribution of science

"The site conference 'Adlershofer Wissen' ('Adlershof Knowledge') is also expanding due to intensified cooperation between our research institutions, the Humboldt-University, and Adlershof-based businesses," says Prof. Dr. Norbert Esser, chair of the research network IGAFA (Joint Initiative of Non-University Affiliated Research Institutes in Adlershof e. V.) and head of the Berlin branch of the Leibniz-Institute for Analytical Sciences. The "Adlershofer Forschungsforum" ("Adlershof Reseach Forum"), organised annually by HU and IGAFA in November, is exemplary of such synergies. The IGAFA is also responsible for publishing the dossier "Interdisziplinär ist nicht schwer" which showcases recent research highlights.

"Like Adlershof as a whole, the HU campus is also growing," says Prof. Achim Peters, vice dean of research at the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences of the Humboldt-University of Berlin. "Today the HU is an integral and active part of the Technology Park's concept." According to Peters, the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, which is home to the institutes for chemistry, geography, computer science, mathematics, and physics, provides an excellent foundation. He also wants to give a special mention to the cooperation between WISTA-MANAGEMENT GMBH and the "School of Analytical Sciences Adlershof" (SALSA) as well as the "Integrative Research Institute for the Sciences" (IRIS). Finally, the HU welcomes the ongoing urban development of the site which also benefits its own campus.

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