The economic “Heart of the North West” beats in Osnabrück District. Its central location between the conurbation areas of the Ruhr and Hamburg offers great potential. Whether steel construction for a research station in the Antarctic, aquaristics for the global market, wafers for gourmets throughout Europe, VIP boxes for football stadiums in the USA: no matter how different the products are, they all have one thing in common. They have all originated in the geographical Heart of Germany’s North West, in the Osnabrücker Land. Whether providing support for companies seeking to settle and expand, advice on funding possibilities and suitable premises or specific assistance in finding the right staff, Osnabrück District is the strong advocate for the regional economy.
Department for Economic Affairs & Labour
The Department for Economic Affairs & Labour pools the comprehensive range of services with a swift, unbureaucratic approach to giving companies competent assistance with economic development and job market services all from a single source.
WIGOS Wirtschaftsförderungsgesellschaft Osnabrücker Land
(economic development agency)
WIGOS Wirtschaftsförderungsgesellschaft Osnabrücker Land mbH is the economic development agency for the Osnabrücker Land with a focus on the well-being of the regional companies and the future of the location. Under the auspices of the Department for Economic Affairs & Labour, it encompasses all sectors, offering the right contact persons for every single company. As a service partner covering all aspects of companies seeking to settle and expand here, WIGOS accompanies companies with expert advice on all relevant matters. They benefit from information and support when seeking to settle and develop their business as well as making corporate succession arrangements in due time. WIGOS also acts as intermediary in setting up important cooperation activities and networks. For example, in recent years WIGOS initiated the efforts to establish the Agrotech Valley Forum, an agricultural machinery network. Where approval procedures are concerned, WIGOS offers guidance through the jungle of official bureaucracy and its procedures, providing assistance and advice.
WIGOS is also the right address for companies seeking to pursue further development of their innovative products to place them on the market, or needing to find out about funding possibilities. Scope for professional sharing and the initiation of business contacts is provided not just at the various event formats, consultative meetings and spontaneous encounters organised by WIGOS. Practical assistance for everyday business and professional input is also delivered by a comprehensive qualification programme with online events and seminars on many different topics such as sales, management and marketing, as well as corporate governance.
We speak English - Contact WIGOS:
Mr. Patrick Ulbert - Phone: +49 541 501 494725, Email: ulbert@wigos.de
MaßArbeit
(municipal employment service)
Qualification, recruiting and retaining skilled workers in the region comprise of the department’s key tasks. Since 2005, they have been implemented successfully by the municipal employment service called “MaßArbeit”. Osnabrück District is one of more than 100 local authorities throughout Germany that organises basic provisions for job seekers on their own without the Employment Agency. MaßArbeit works through eight branch offices that are very successful in advising and placing employable benefit recipients.
But this is a service that benefits not just job seekers. Companies heeding assistance in the often difficult recruitment process can use the Employer Service offered by “MaßArbeit”. Here companies can save both time and costs, regardless whether seeking full-time staff or apprentices. They can rely on short distances and a lack of red tape with the tailor-made recruitment process. Applicants are given the precise qualifications needed to ensure they are a perfect match for the new employer. Special projects for specific target groups are implemented to this end. It is thus possible for example for young people with impaired recruitment prospects or single mothers to be integrated in the job market. “MaßArbeit” opens the door to employment for immigrants at the Migration Centre.
We speak English - Contact MaßArbeit:
Mr. Michael Kelka - Phone: +49 541 501 3714 Email: kelka@massarbeit.de
oleg Osnabrücker Land-Entwicklungsgesellschaft
(commercial and industrial estates)
When looking for a suitable site, companies that are willing to invest can depend on support from oleg Osnabrücker Land-Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH. The competent service partner for the district helps out already during the planning phase, provides advice and information about the individual areas and vacant commercial buildings and prepares concepts for land development. The remit also includes tasks such as developing and implementing project-related operator models and financing concepts. In addition to the district authorities, oleg’s shareholders include the towns and municipalities, together with Kreissparkassen Melle and Bersenbrück as well as Sparkasse Osnabrück (all banks). When working with oleg under the auspices of the Department for Economic Affairs & Labour, companies benefit from short distances and consultation processes as well as proven expertise and great commitment.
Anticipatory action is the motto for the oleg “Sustainable Land Management” project. The aim is for early monitoring to alleviate the impacts of demographic change on the demand for land and to prevent the emergence of wasteland. If for example a piece of land or property or building is being vacated because there is no successor in the company, this is where oleg comes in. It develops plans for subsequent use and brings the users together with companies searching for suitable land. In doing so, oleg cooperates with WIGOS, for instance when it comes to making corporate succession arrangements. Already existing wasteland areas are also registered systematically and included in the marketing activities.
We speak English - Contact oleg:
Mrs. Susanne Menke - Phone: +49 541 501 4720 Email: menke@oleg.de
Gründerhaus Osnabrücker Land
(Start-up-Service)
The region is shaped by a strong SME sector. The district offers successful start-up support for young companies with a large number of measures to support the local economy and job situation. Experts in the Start-up House Osnabrücker Land accompany and advise start-ups as they take the steps involved in setting up their own business, regardless whether this refers to working freelance, founding a new company or a corporate succession situation. The services offered extend from an ideas check via advice on drawing up a business plan and budget together with funding programmes, through to more in-depth workshops. Lectures and presentations provide information among others about choosing the right legal form, marketing and tax-related issues.
Innovative business ideas and motivated company founders are truly welcome in Osnabrück District. Their importance for the location is illustrated not only by the intensive unbureaucratic support that start-ups receive in the Start-up House Osnabrücker Land. They also find open doors in the Innovation Centre Osnabrück (ICO) and in the Business and Innovation Park Quakenbrück (BIQ) in the north of the district.
We speak English - Contact Gründerhaus Osnabrücker Land:
Mr. Martin Niemann - Phone: +49 541 20280122 Email: niemann@gruenderhaus.de