Location

  Rural district of Heilbronn (map)
  Economic structure
  Future perspectives/ Location advantages

The business metropolis of Heilbronn has approximately 437,100 inhabitants. It covers an area of 1100 square kilometres and is situated in the north of Baden-Württemberg. It extends from Kraigau and Zabergäu in the west across the valleys of the Jagst, Kocher, Sulm and Bottwar as far as the Löwensteiner hills in the east.

The urban district of Heilbronn and its 46 rural district communities belong to the Heilbronn business metropolis. The largest of them is the rural district town of Neckarsulm. Other towns wielding municipal power are Bad Friedrichshall, Bad Rappenau, Bad Wimpfen, Beilstein, Brackenheim, Eppingen, Güglingen, Gundelsheim, Lauffen on Neckar, Löwenstein, Möckmühl, Neudenau, Neuenstadt, Schwaigern, Weinsberg and Widdern.

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The supporting pillars of the regional economy are the comparatively significant concentration of industrial enterprises throughout the rural areas. This factor should be even more positively assessed than machine construction, vehicle assembly and electro technology. Such investment goods are exceptionally well represented establishing a climate of ingenuity that compensates for the high German working costs which have nevertheless achieved a correspondingly prodigious increase in productivity per man hours.

What is also impressive is the large proportion of medium sized industrial as well as skilled craftsmanship enterprises and processing trades employing around 200 employees.

In addition to the expansion in the economic core branches of machine and vehicle construction, metal processing and electro technology, there is today continuous expansion in glass, leather, textiles, paper processing, packing, foodstuffs and beverages. These key branches are ideally suited to settling down alongside one another in small clusters located throughout the region.

Insurance and electronic data processing services are exceptional good examples of the service/ industrial sector.

International trading enterprises as well as a professional guild of skilled craftsmen compliment this economic metropolis.

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This dynamical development is also mirrored in the high-tech potential that this region has developed in recent years. In a 1997 comparative study of the economic regions of Germany, the performance capabilities of Heilbronn - Franconia, were awarded with the mark of "good" and listed in the top 20. Heilbronn was even rated ahead of the federal capital of Germany, Berlin.

The literal open-mindedness of our region towards innovation is not a legend but a real chance for future branches.

Factors enhancing the location advantages of the economic metropolis of Heilbronn

• great industrial potential of specialised branches in trade and industry
• genially favourable location to southern German economic centres
• fast road links to the Federal motorway
• sixth largest German inland port as well as the ports of Wertheim,
  which has a direct connection to the Rhine-Main-Danube canal

These advantages are further enhanced by the easy access to industrial and trading areas

• in the urban district of Heilbronn and
• in the rural district of Heilbronn

All the trading and industrial areas are within easy reach and there is an

• ample extensively built network to federal and regional roads
• direct access to the nearby motorways A 6 and A 81

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