Mechatronics expert and automotive supplier Marquardt is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of electromechanical and electronic switching systems with more than 11,000 employees worldwide, and in December 2018, it decided to build a new plant in Ichtershausen, Thuringia. Marquardt envisages here to employ up to 180 individuals and produce mechatronic products for vehicle interiors and battery-powered cars. “Ichtershausen is an attractive place for us, mainly because of its convenient location and the qualified and highly dedicated skilled workers available in the region,” explains Jörg Lawrenz, Plant Director of Marquardt Lightronics. “In a very short time we were able to find right employees for our new site, including a number of people returning home from the old states of Germany.” It is a lot harder to recruit skilled workers at the headquarters in Rietheim-Weilheim, Baden-Württemberg.
Automotive supplier IHI Charging Systems International (ICSI), which has been operating a plant for the production of turbochargers in Thuringia since 2009, also had very similar experiences. In the spring of 2019, the Japanese IHI subsidiary moved its European headquarters from Heidelberg to Thuringia’s largest industrial park: the Erfurter Kreuz. “Above all, Thuringia’s proximity to the scientific centers Ilmenau and Schmalkalden played an important role in relocating the company,” explains Head of Human Resources René Jörges. For one thing, relocation was critical for developing new products but also for gaining new skilled workers. “We are now cooperating with two universities so we can provide professionals with just the right education.” We also commissioned the services of the Thuringian Agency for Skilled Personnel Marketing (ThAFF) in the race for trained professionals. Among many other things, it organizes two annual job fairs to bring together skilled workers with Thuringian companies. (gro)
