Hamburg in Profile – Living and Working in a Dynamic City

Hamburg is Germany's second-largest city and the location of Europe's second-largest container port; it is the seat of the International Tribunal of the Law of the Sea, the headquarters of Nivea and Montblanc, the production location of Airbus, and the birthplace of Johannes Brahms and Felix Mendelssohn. It is the home of Hagenbeck's Zoo, the first cageless zoo in the world... to mention just a few of Hamburg's claims to fame!

In 2002 the Senate (the Hamburg government) launched a programme called ”The Metropolitan Region of Hamburg – A Growing City–, a joint initiative by government and the business community to project Hamburg into the premier league of international cities. The programme is already bearing fruit – Hamburg is moving against the nationwide trend, thanks to the open immigration policy, and its population figures have been rising continuously since 1999. Today the city has a population of nearly 1.76 million, representing 2.1% of the total population of Germany. That makes Hamburg the sixth-largest city in Europe. In 2009 the Senate published "Growing with vision" the first revision of this programme to stress a strategy focussing on sustainability ans quality rather than quantity.

Hamburg companies employ 1.06 million people, or 2.7% of all employed persons in Germany. Hamburg also has the highest per capita GDP (gross domestic product) of all Germany's states, at EUR 49,230 – a figure which 1.76 times the national average (EUR 27,970). All in all, Hamburg generates 3.7% of German GDP. Hamburg takes fourth place in terms of purchasing power compared with other European cities, with higher per capita income achieved only in central London, Brussels and Luxembourg.

Hamburg's economic strength extends far beyond the boundaries of the city itself. Including the neighbouring areas of Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein, the metropolitan region has a population of 4.2 million, employing some 2 million people and generating per capita GDP of EUR 31,400.

Business in Hamburg is on the move – with real growth of 2.8% in 2007. That is 0.3 percentage points above the national average. The city benefits from its favourable geographical position – since the opening of the markets of Central and Eastern Europe and EU enlargement in 2004, Hamburg has become a hub for trade and transport with Northern Europe and the economic boom regions of Asia and the Baltic.

Hamburg is a major centre of trade fairs and conferences for specialists and for the general public; the Hamburg Trade Fair and the CCH (Congress Centre Hamburg) have great appeal for international companies. Both the exhibition site and the conference centre are located in the heart of Hamburg, close to each other and to all the attractions of a big city. On completion of the extensive modernisation programme in 2008, the New Trade Fair will have gross exhibition space of 84,000 square metres, while the Congress Centre will have an exhibition space of 12,000 square metres and conference facilities to seat 16,000 people in 23 conference halls and meeting rooms.

Alongside the economic factors, companies and employees are paying more and more attention to the soft location factors. Hamburg provides outstanding quality of life – with some 14% of its area comprising green spaces and recreational areas, and with good housing and pleasant surroundings. Population density is low, at 2,310 people per square kilometre (compared with 4,670 per square kilometre in Barcelona and 4,420 in London). There is plenty of cultural activity, with 40 theatres and music venues, ranging from the Hamburg State Opera (founded in 1678) to the new Elbphilharmonie Concert Hall in the HafenCity, scheduled for completion in 2009. It also has 83 museums, art galleries and collections, 75 of which are operated by the private sector.

Sport is very popular, with crowds of up to 55,000 at the HSH Nordbank Arena for home matches of the Hamburger Sportverein (HSV) in the Bundesliga, the top tier of German football. Europe's most advanced multi-purpose hall, the ColorLine Arena, is the home stadium for the Freezers, Hamburg's professional ice hockey team, and for the HSV handball team. Other well-known international competitors include the American football team Sea Devils. Hamburg has a total of 21 ”first-class– teams in Olympic team sports – more than any other German city. Hamburg hosts major sporting events such as the Vattenfall Cyclassics and the Conergy Marathon, attracting thousands of contestants and hundreds of thousands of spectators. Every summer, the world of equestrian sports comes to Hamburg for show jumping and dressage, and the Hamburg Derby. And Lake Alster was the venue for the World Triathlon Championships in autumn 2007.

Manufacturing industry

Products made in Hamburg have an outstanding reputation worldwide – 15 of Hamburg's largest industrial companies are based in Hamburg, including Blohm + Voss, Tchibo and Beiersdorf. Globalisation and the structural change from heavy industry towards services has had a major impact here, as elsewhere. But Hamburg has succeeded in diversifying and maintaining a balanced range of industries, with a focus on production requiring high skill levels, technical innovation, and a wide range of services. This change and growth is mainly dominated by six industries – the aircraft, shipbuilding and automotive industries; electrical engineering; precision engineering, with the optical industry and mechanical engineering; chemicals; petroleum processing and refining; and metalworking. More recently, Life Science has also become a strong sector. Industries based on raw materials and on the port continue to play an important part. A good example of that is Norddeutsche Affinerie, the largest copper smelting company in Europe and the fourth largest in the world, responsible for 20% of Germany's primary copper production.

Manufacturing industry (including building, mining and power generating) now comprises some 5,600 facilities, and has a workforce of around 140,000 people, according to employment statistics*. It generates revenues of about EUR 72.4 billion. Hamburg is home to 1.1% of Germany's industrial companies having more than 19 employees, accounting for 1.6% of all employees in processing industries and 4.6% of total German production in this sector.

Aviation is one of the highlights of Hamburg's industry. Airbus Deutschland GmbH employs about 11,000 people in Hamburg; Lufthansa Technik AG is the world's largest service provider for aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO), employing some 7,000 people in Hamburg; and the airport company Flughafen Hamburg GmbH has a workforce of about 1,660. These companies are supported by more than 300 small and medium-sized equipment suppliers, engineering firms and service providers, with about 90,000 employees in the metropolitan region, of whom 35,000 are located in Hamburg itself. They also have the backing of an outstanding knowledge infrastructure, for example with the Chair of ”Aircraft System Integration– at the Technical University of Hamburg-Harburg. The interdisciplinary networking of science, research, production and administration is supported by the initiative ”Aviation Cluster Hamburg/North Germany–.

Hamburg's Life Sciences have good growth prospects in medical engineering, bio­technology and pharmacy. There are 210 manufacturing companies in this sector, employing a total of 11,000 people, and generating revenues of EUR 4.6 billion in 2005. Internationally leading positions are held by the 90 medical engineering companies, the 45 research facilities and the 52 state-sector, non-profit and private-sector hospitals and clinics. A good indicator of the innovative capabilities of companies here is the number of patent applications filed annually with the German Patent and Trade Mark Office. Hamburg takes third position among German cities.

Nanotechnology is another strong point – Hamburg is the home of world-renowned research groups in the fields of physics, chemistry, biology, medicine and IT. They include the national Competence Centre for Nano-Analysis (founded in 1998), the HanseNanoTec network (set up in 2003), the interdisciplinary nano-sciences centre (founded in 2005), and the research centre CAN – Centre for Applied Nanotechnology Hamburg, in which the majority of the shares are held by the private sector. The range of subjects covered by these institutes goes from basic research right through to product development based on nanotechnology.

Building is a sector where Hamburg has long played a leading role. Hamburg was the first city to build a central sewage system in continental Europe, dating back to 1824. The Speicherstadt (warehouse district) was built in 1883 – this is the largest warehouse complex anywhere in the world, built on foundations supported by oak piles. Hamburg's ”Old Elbtunnel– was completed in 1911 – the first tunnel crossing below a river anywhere in Europe. Major projects today are the modernisation of the Hamburg Trade Fair and the Congress Centre Hamburg, exceeded in size only by construction of the HafenCity district. In 2006 there were some 800 building companies in Hamburg, employing some 8,400 people and generating revenues of EUR 1.67 billion.

Wholesale and foreign trade

Hamburg is the ”Gateway to the World–, not only because of its port, but also because of the foreign traders and international service providers such as banks, insurance companies, transport companies, legal advisers and tax consultants, and media companies. They provide support to the export and import business in all kinds of ways, ranging from market analyses, financing, logistics, professional packaging and distribution, to covering the risks of exchange rate fluctuations and warranty obligations. More than 2,500 of the 5,000 or so companies involved in international trading in Hamburg are traditional import and export companies. There are also international commercial representatives, service providers and industrial companies, bringing the total number of Hamburg companies involved in international business to about 20,000. There are also more than 3,500 subsidiaries of foreign parent companies. There are 100 consulates located in Hamburg, plus the International Tribunal of the Law of the Sea, 20 courts of arbitration, and 5 country associations operating throughout Germany.

The city's international flair is also reflected in its activities abroad – Hamburg companies have offices and outlets abroad, sometimes in co-operation with various business partners. Hamburg companies are represented at European level in Brussels, Kaliningrad and St. Petersburg, and in the dynamic overseas markets in Dubai and Shanghai. They also have a project office in the Madagascan capital Antananarivo.

Hamburg is regarded as one of Europe's major hubs in the garment trade and as the major trading centre for pharmaceutical raw materials. Marquard & Bahls together with its subsidiaries is the second largest tank farm operator in the world, and one of the leading independent petroleum wholesalers. Thanks to the coffee importers based here – such as the Neumann Kaffee Group, one of the world's largest coffee traders – and Europe's largest and most advanced silo system for raw coffee, Hamburg is Europe's leading port for raw coffee imports. And Hamburg also leads the European tea handling centres – the tea trader Hälssen & Lyon has the world's largest tea speciality warehouse, with more than 5,000 varieties.

Two thirds of Hamburg's foreign trade, that is about EUR 84 billion in 2006, is made up of imported goods. The major import products include luxury foods, alcohol and tobacco; copper ore; aircraft; and also tropical fruit, clothing and electrical appliances. Major export goods include vehicles, medical equipment and chemical products. There is also a large quantity of transit goods, accounting for about 20% of the goods handled by the port. The most important trading partners are France, the UK, the United States and China.

And talking of China – Hamburg merchants had their first trading contacts with China as long ago as the 18^th century. Today, more than two million standard containers are handled in the trade with China each year. More than 700 Hamburg companies are engaged in trading with China, and over 400 Chinese companies have offices here. Every two years, the Chamber of Commerce organises a business meeting under the title ”The Hamburg Summit – China meets Europe– as a platform for economic dialogue between the People's Republic of China and Europe.

Major wholesale centres, each with a turnover of between EUR 750 million and one billion per annum, are the ModeCentrum (fashion) in Schnelsen, the Hamburg Flower, Fruit and Vegetables Market, and the Hamburg Meat Market. Altogether, the domestic wholesale trade includes 1,200 companies with ten or more employees, together accounting for 10% of the entire German domestic trading volume.

Wholesale and foreign trade covers 10,800 Hamburg companies, with another 3,800 companies acting as brokers and agents. In addition, there are 960 mail order companies and 870 itinerant traders. Turnover in wholesale and foreign trade in 2005 was 7.3% up on the previous year, making it one of the growth sectors in the economy here, together with transport & logistics and Life Sciences.

Transport

The Port of Hamburg is Germany's largest sea port, and one of the world's major cargo handling centres, with more than 140 million tonnes of goods per annum. 12,200 ships were unloaded in 2007. In 2008 containers accounted for 97.1% of general cargo. A total of 89.5 million tonnes was handled, in 8.86 million standard containers (TEU). That means that Hamburg takes eighth position among the world's biggest container ports, and second position in Europe. Even the largest container ships are unloaded in less than 24 hours at the Altenwerder Container Terminal, which has the world's most advanced handling system. Hamburg's major advantage in competition with other North Sea ports is its good onward connections by rail, road and inland waterways. The container handling volume is expected to double to more than 18 million TEU by 2015, according to expert studies. The Port of Hamburg is also developing increasingly as a cruise centre – 58 cruise ships with a total of 75,000 passengers called in 2006, with highlights such as visits by the Queen Mary 2 and the Freedom of the Seas.

It was only after the end of the cold war and opening of the borders that the Elbe and the canal network regained their importance as transport routes to the hinterland, as links to the Eastern parts of Germany and the Czech Republic. Today, Hamburg is Germany's second largest inland port, and the largest inland waterways port for the Czech Republic, which has leased the Moldauhafen (”Moldavia Dock–, 30,000 square metres). Hamburg is a major hub in the Central European rail network, with more than 280 main-line passenger trains per day. It is also a centre for rail freight, with eight operators carrying goods on a range of national and international block trains (i.e. complete trainloads) to nearly every country in Europe. Road haulage is also a strong sector, with 1,000 companies based in Hamburg, operating some 13,000 trucks with maximum laden weight of more than 3.5 tonnes. There are more than 120 messenger, express delivery and package delivery services in Hamburg, employing some 3,000 people.

The airport in Hamburg-Fuhlsbüttel was the first airport to be built in Germany. It was established in 1911, and now operates with some 70 airlines, flying to 130 destinations throughout the world. It employs some 1,660 people, earning revenues of EUR 223 million in 2006. The airport is currently number four in Germany, with 11.95 million passengers per annum. Since the opening of the new terminal in 2005, the airport has the capacity to handle up to 16 million passengers per annum. On completion of the new rapid transit rail line in 2008, it will take only 23 minutes from the airport to the city centre, with trains running every ten minutes.

Hamburg has an excellent transport infrastructure not only for longer distances, but also for public transport within the city. It has three metro lines and six rapid transit lines, carrying an average of 1.95 million passengers on working days. A new metro line is currently in construction to serve the HafenCity district. Greater Hamburg also has more than 640 bus lines, plus port ferries and the regional services of German Rail. The Hamburg Transport Company (HVV) provided a total of 585.6 million passenger trips in 2006, earning income of EUR 473 million. Hamburg also has some 2,100 taxi operators, with nearly 3 900 taxis.

A ”Hamburger Logistics Initiative” was launched in February 2006, as a location factor to promote further development of the logistics sector. The logistics sector in the narrow sense comprises 5,700 companies, with 156,000 jobs in Hamburg and 230,000 in the metropolitan region. In 2005 logistics accounted for some 11% of gross value added in Hamburg. That means the importance of the logistics sector in Hamburg is about twice the national average.

Retail

Hamburg's prestige shopping streets are Jungfernstieg, Mönckebergstrasse and Neuer Wall – streets which are on a par with the Ku–damm in Berlin and the Kö in Düsseldorf. The city centre is one of the most appealing shopping areas for customers from the whole of Northern Europe. They are attracted by the wide range of retail shops, the stylish traditional shopping areas close to the city centre, and the liveliness of the smaller district centres, which are characterised by specialist retail outlets. The opening of the shopping arcade Hanse-Viertel in Hamburg in 1980 was the beginning of the renaissance of the city centres in West Germany. Today the arcades in the western part of the city centre form a continuous shopping area with a total length of more than two kilometres. The latest addition to this magnificent set of retail outlets is the Europa-Passage, one of Germany's largest city-centre retail projects, which was opened in autumn 2006.

Hamburg is also the location of a wide range of international trading companies – fashion accessories from Bijou Brigitte, spectacles from Fielmann, shoes from Görtz, jewellery from Gerhard D. Wempe, everything for outdoor life from Globetrotter, and food from Edeka. In the clothing sector alone, five out of the top twenty companies have their German, European or global headquarters in Hamburg: Tchibo, Hennes & Mauritz, Zara, Peek & Cloppenburg and the Otto Group (world market leader in the mail order sector) had revenues of EUR 10.2 billion in 2005, with some 20,000 outlets/companies and nearly 80,000 employees.

Hospitality

Hamburg had more than 105 million day visitors in 2006, and more than 7 million guests staying overnight in the city's 280 or so hotels. There are 4,800 restaurants and cafés providing tourists and locals with good eating and drinking for every taste and every budget. Hamburg's openness to the world is underlined by the enormous variety of international speciality restaurants. Hamburg has ten chefs with Michelin awards, placing our city first in Germany, ahead of Berlin with eight and Munich with three.

The 280 or so companies in the hotel sector have a total of around 33,400 beds. Despite continuous expansion of capacities, occupancy rates have gone up – demonstrating Hamburg's enormous appeal. The number of overnight stays in 2006 was up 11.6% on 2005; overnight stays by foreigners, who account for one fifth of total bed-nights, was up by 18.7%. Three of the 27 German luxury hotels accepted into the world-renowned association of ”Leading Hotels of the World– are in Hamburg – the Atlantic Kempinski Hamburg, Louis C. Jacob and the Fairmont Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten, which has been a member since the Association was started.

The hotel sector generated gross revenues of some EUR 1.2 billion in 2005, growing again (by 3.8%) for the first time in many years. Full-time employment was up by 1.8%, and part-time employment by 12%.

Finance

Hamburg is one of Germany's oldest and largest finance centres. The stock exchange is the oldest in Germany, founded in 1558; the Berenberg Bank, Germany's oldest private bank, was founded here in 1590. Hamburg is the head office location of 55 banks and 24 foreign branches or representative offices of foreign banks; major players include Haspa, the largest German savings bank, and HSH Nordbank, the world's largest ship financier. One of Hamburg's special features as a banking sector is its wide variety of private banks. Companies can obtain a broad range of financing and consulting services from banks, guarantee syndicates and interest holding companies. The range of services covers ship and project financing, in particular financing for foreign trade business, and also private banking and foundations.

There are new offerings to cater for the dynamic changes in finance markets, such as the ”Premium Capital Port–, the special role of which is to give small and medium-sized enterprises easy, cost-effective access to the capital market, and the German Fund Exchange set up by the Börsen AG in August 2002. This platform enables investors to buy and sell shares in open-ended and closed-end funds at a neutral, regulated trading centre.

The banking sector currently employs nearly 26,000 people in leasing and fund companies, guarantee banks and finance consultancies.

Insurance companies have a strong tradition in Hamburg as a trading and port city, providing fire and health insurance, marine and credit insurance. The Hamburger Feuerkasse has been insuring buildings against fire risk since 1676, making it the world's oldest insurer still in existence. Hamburg ranks as Germany's third-largest and most wide-ranging insurance centre following Munich and Cologne, with 23,520 regular employees in 152 companies, and more than 4,200 insurance representatives and brokers. Hamburg is the number one in transport insurance. A special feature in Hamburg is the unique insurance clearing house, which provides cover for major risks in transport and industrial business.

Media and IT

Hamburg is the number one media city, with a well-established position in publishing, creative advertising, gaming and film-making, and it is the base of the third-largest public broadcasting corporation, the NDR. The media industry employs more than 60,000 people in 13,400 companies in the advertising, PR, publishing, printing, radio and music, film and television sectors. The print publishers Axel Springer, Gruner + Jahr and Heinrich Bauer account for nearly 50% of the market share in Germany's general interest print media. Hamburg appeals to media companies due to a unique range of location advantages – a media landscape where all sectors are represented by a number of companies (highly important with a view to the increasing convergence process), a large number of expert service providers, well-trained and experienced experts – in short, a creative, innovative environment.

The IT sector has a key role to play in development of electronic business. There are some 7,500 companies with 55,000 employees working in software consulting and development, production of hardware and components, hardware consulting, data processing services, telecommunications, and multimedia. Further growth is ensured in particular by an efficient network in the sector, close relations with customers, and wide-ranging training provision. The central network for the industry is the initiative Hamburg@work. Hamburg IT companies include not only some of the largest international software houses, but also world-leading suppliers and many specialists, such as Dakosy in the logistics sector, and ChessBase, the global leader in chess software. The games sector as a whole is enjoying dynamic growth. Electronic trading is a strength for some of Hamburg's traditional retailing companies. The major mail order companies in particular are making full use of the potential of e-commerce.

Special services

Hamburg has held a strong position in the real estate and properties sector ever since the 13^th century. Today, there are 2,700 administrators and 1,600 brokers in the business, with a total of some 12 million square metres of office space rented out. In 2005 properties worth a total of EUR 5.2 billion changed hands in Hamburg. The per capita turnover in the real estate business is EUR 2,980, which is the highest level in Germany and well above the national average of EUR 1,666. There are more than 3,000 freelance and commercial architects, interior designers, landscape architects and urban planners based in Hamburg. There is increasing demand for facility management and caretaker services, provided by 2,248 companies located here. And the security sector is booming – there are 391 security companies providing guard services to protect buildings, people, events and public transport. There are also 233 detective agencies in the market. The consultancy market for legal, taxation, business management and auditing services comprises about 6,200 companies, or half the total number of 12,000 consultancy companies in Germany. Of the 730 freelance and commercial auditors, 360 have their own offices while the others are employed by 200 or so auditing companies. Companies can draw on a pool of some 400 temporary and contract staff agencies. Hamburg is the German leader in manpower agencies, with 230 agencies employing a total of 14,000 staff, or around 4% of all employees in this sector in Germany.

The educational sector comprises 830 companies, including Germany's largest distance learning school, the ILS Institut für Lernsysteme, based in Hamburg. The culture industry is well represented, with some 1,500 companies including 40 commercial theatres, 39 privately owned museums, 173 artists– agencies and consultants, 73 theatre and concert organisers, and 380 self-employed artists, moderators and disc jockeys. The sports sector comprises 1,091 companies, plus 154 gyms and 84 recreational service providers.

Our Chamber of Commerce has set up a specialist services trade fair (”diwi–, with the website www.diwi-messe.de) which is held in November each year. This is a communication and information platform which has proven itself in recent years as a driving force for economic development in the service industries.

*The monthly reports of the Hamburg Statistical Office on processing industries, counting only companies with 20 or more employees, record 507 Hamburg companies with 93,500 persons in regular employment in 2006.