Our stories about the Bremen economy

Experts speak of Bremen and Bremerhaven as the "food capitals of Germany", and this hardly seems an exaggeration for the second strongest manufacturing sector in the federal state. What would you like? Coffee or fish?

How is Turkey handling the coronavirus crisis? And why is Istanbul attracting investment of nearly US$ 2 billion from Silicon Valley?

Bremen space technology company OHB is set to become a new partner of the Northern Germany Innovation Office (NGIO). The company’s membership of the NGIO is part of its new corporate strategy focused on providing digital services.

At the end of May 2020, JDE Peets followed in the footsteps of other successful businesses from Bremen and made its initial public offering. We have put together a brief introduction to exchange-traded companies from the region and their business models.

World trade is increasingly centred on Asia. Taiwan makes an ideal base for export-focused German companies, as Joe Chou of the Taiwan Trade Center in Germany explains in our interview.

Social distancing, masks and hygiene – a variety of different measures help to slow down the spread of coronavirus. Bremen company Statex has developed another tool to add to the armoury. Its copper tape ensures that viruses on door handles and other surfaces are deactivated faster.

Bremen and Taiwan share a long-standing friendship. The Hanseatic city has been in close contact with the Asian island for more than 30 years. New opportunities in Far Eastern markets are opening up for Bremen-based companies despite the coronavirus crisis.

The first offshore wind turbines reach the end of their lifetime. But so far nobody knows how to dismantle the white giants sustainably and efficiently.

How is Vietnam managing the coronavirus pandemic? Does the crisis represent a financial setback for this rapidly growing and modernising country? In this edition of our country newsletter for Vietnam we seek to answer these questions.

There’s a huge market for wearable computing solutions – especially ones that are able to provide virtual assistance as well. One of the global leaders in this field is Ubimax, a company from Bremen.

As the coronavirus crisis takes a firm hold on the global economy, we look at the supply chains between China and Bremen, report on Sino-German solidarity, and find out what the situation is in Shanghai.

Our three international offices in China, Vietnam and Turkey, and our partner office in Silicon Valley, report on the local situation and how they are managing the coronavirus crisis.

Tim Ole Jöhnk works for the Northern Germany Innovation Office in Silicon Valley. We wanted to find out what the coronavirus pandemic is like for a German in California – and how he organises his working day online.

Will we soon be driving electric cars made in Turkey? And how did a former Werder Bremen player become surprisingly popular here? Our country newsletter provides insights into Turkey as a business location.

Co-working spaces are very much in vogue. Especially in large cities, more and more people are renting space in modern office communities - for hours, days or months. We take a look at the co-working spaces in Überseestadt and answer key questions: How much is the rent? What do I get in return? And of course: Where do I get my coffee?

The three young founders of Yurudesign have already caused quite a stir in the Turkish furniture market. Now they’ve got their sights set on Europe. To get the ball rolling, one of them has moved to Bremen – and we accompanied him during his first few days.

What is the effect of brexite for companies? This question is answered by Anja Markmann, responsible for customs and foreign trade law at the Bremen Chamber of Commerce.

Embarking on digital transformation is a bit like setting sail without a map and GPS – no one knows where the journey will take you and what to expect along the way. Fortunately, there are a number of places in Bremen where you can find the support you need to ensure your digital journey is a safe one. We have created a list for you.

When things go wrong in Silicon Valley, they do so spectacularly. What can Germany learn from the billion-dollar failure of WeWork? Read about this and other topics in our January newsletter – straight from the USA.

Whether an AI for Werder Bremen or robots equipped with lasers: These and more stories in our AI overview!

Fibre composites have become a permanent fixture in everyday life. The Bremen Fibre Institute (FIBRE) has been working on these materials for five decades, and has gained another strong partner this year in the form of the ECOMAT research centre.

What makes Vietnam – a socialist state – so interesting to western companies? In this edition of our country newsletter for Vietnam we seek to answer this question, and we also report on the country’s most exciting start-ups.

The new Silk Road is China's gigantic infrastructure project. Small and medium sized European companies can profit from it - a new network will help them. We talked to the initiators.

Rail not sea – is the train an alternative route for transporting goods to China? Just one of the topics in the November issue of our country newsletter China, in which we regularly report on the latest trends, developments and other news.

Products made in Bremen can be found in many everyday objects, and most of us are likely to come into contact with one or more on a daily basis. Read on to find out what they are.

Becks and Melitta may be high-profile brands, but international food and beverage companies also manufacture lots of other products in Bremen and Bremerhaven. Here are ten examples.

The state of Bremen covers 420 square kilometres and is home to around 670,000 people. Almost 22,000 companies provide more than 325,000 jobs. Below, we introduce some of the strong sectors that that make Bremen such an excellent business location.

Made in Bremen, sold around the world: these eight products are hugely popular at home and abroad.

Storage batteries are an increasingly popular way of making energy generated by PV systems available around the clock. That is good for the environment and helps to keep costs down. Storage battery manufacturer Powertrust is looking to tried and trusted technology and giving it a new lease of life.

Bremerhaven is creating a base for companies working in the green economy, right next to the largest nature conservation area in the state of Bremen. This project continues Bremerhaven’s pioneering work to ensure the success of renewable energies.

Bremen's ports are the engine that drives economic activity throughout the region. But do you know which goods arrive and depart, and where? We have taken a look around the eight port complexes in Bremen.

Bremen’s economy relies on logistics, whether road, sea, or rail. But do you know how many goods arrive in Bremen every year? Or how tall the tower would be if all the shipping containers in Bremerhaven were stacked on top of each other? We have crunched the numbers.

In order to tackle the challenges of the future, the Federal State of Bremen will increasingly focus on green and sustainable projects in the booming property sector, and on partnerships – including across state borders. From 7 to 9 October, the ...

Experience Silicon Valley at first hand with Bremeninvest! Tim Ole Jöhnk, our man in Silicon Valley, is inviting representatives from the food and supply chain industries to join a delegation on a visit to Silicon Valley. More on this and other exciting stories in the September newsletter.

Will it soon be our robot colleague who greets us in the mornings? Robots will be helping us out at our desks in future, and this is already becoming a reality in Bremen.

Coworking, agile working, design thinking: what do these buzzwords mean? We put this question to expert Sven Hermann, who talks to us about the concept known as ‘New Work’ and what kind of companies might benefit from it.

Not many people could name a manufacturer of metrology and testing equipment, but without their products we would not have space probes, aircraft or medical equipment. And Bremen is home to a whole host of these specialist companies.

Will we all be driving hydrogen-powered cars in the future? The course for the future of this resource is currently being set in Bremerhaven.

Honey is sweet and full of trace elements, minerals and vitamins. This healthy treat is particularly special to Bremen, as the city is home to a whole host of importers, researchers, laboratories and entrepreneurs focused on bees and honey.

For a long time, import duties prevented producers from selling anything other than raw beans to Europe. Bremerhaven entrepreneur Felix Ahlers supports a Cooperative which covers the entire value chain and has created 120 jobs in Ethiopia.

What does the new free trade agreement mean for German businesses? And how is Vietnam benefiting from the trade dispute between the US and China? In our country newsletter for Vietnam, we regularly report on the latest trends, developments and other news from the Far East.

How do self-driving cars find their way around rural areas? A team in Bremen is using space technology to overcome this challenge for autonomous cars.

Steel producer ArcelorMittal is employing a digital strategy that could also be of interest to SMEs – including when it comes to artificial intelligence.

Despite the trade dispute, China remains a key import and export market for Bremen companies. That is why our country newsletter regularly reports on the latest trends, developments and other topical news from China.

Bremen-based start-up cellumation has already won various awards for its invention, but now the company is really taking off. It has developed a new conveyor system called Celluveyor, whose modular construction makes it significantly more flexible and means it requires less space than conventional systems.

Lots of room in the heart of the city – when it comes to coworking, Spaces now rules the roost. Stefanie Lürken, Country Manager of Spaces in Germany, tells us what brings the company to Bremen, and why coworking is increasingly replacing teleworking from home.

Bremen without logistics – inconceivable! But what do the more than 1,000 companies that make up the sector actually do? We introduce ten logistics firms.

The economic ties between Germany and Turkey go back centuries, and the dynamic country on the Mediterranean is still a great place to do business. Our regular Letters from Turkey showcase why.

Enquiry, quote, order, delivery, payment – that’s the standard procedure the world over, but it doesn’t always run smoothly if the business links involved span thousands of miles. So in 2015, the Chinese Linhorn Group opened its only European branch in Bremen in order to establish better contacts with its suppliers.

Logistics is the backbone of the German economy. There are few places where this is more obvious than in Bremen and Bremerhaven, which is why companies are keen to base themselves here.

Companies that are largely unknown but are market leaders in their field – those are hidden champions. Which of these twelve hidden champions from Bremen do you know?

The ESA Business Incubation Centre (BIC) Northern Germany is a new beacon project for the aerospace sector in Bremen.

Robots in the office and block groves in the kitchen? Our man in Silicon Valley, Tim Ole Jöhnk, has tracked down unknown shooting stars, new technologies and trends from Silicon Valley that could be exciting for Bremen companies.

The ECOMAT research and technology centre opens. Around 500 experts from science and industry will be working side by side on projects in the centre. EcoMaT is the central economic policy initiative for the state of Bremen and an excellent example of successful industrial and innovation policy.

It is anything but everyday that a Libyan comes to Bremen to found a company here. But Tamim Fannoush has good reasons to choose the Hanseatic city as the starting point for his European business. And they are not only economic in nature.

In 2019, many people are seeing their energy costs rising yet again. Intelligent energy solutions that use solar panels and storage batteries can save quite a bit on electricity. And ADLER Solar from Bremen know how.

As anyone who has shopped online will know, the search function in web shops is nowhere near as good as Google search. A company from Bremen is set to change this.

In January 2018, WFB Wirtschaftsförderung Bremen GmbH opened an office in Ho Chi Minh City. Bremen was the first federal state with its own representative office in Vietnam. Manuel Kühn, WFB Project Manager International Settlement, explains in an interview why this proved to be a really good idea.

Bremen has established itself as a prime location for trade fairs and conferences, but it is also showcasing its strengths on the international stage. By exhibiting at joint stands, organisations have the opportunity to reach out to a global audience.

Is this what the salesman of the future looks like? With "Pepper", the Bremen-based start-up Blackout Technologies develops unique software based on artificial intelligence throughout Europe.

Werder goalkeeper Jiri Pavlenka owes his job to artificial intelligence. He was designed by the team of JUST ADD AI. Founder Roland Becker tells us how other medium-sized companies already benefit from AI today.

The whispering of strong winds: The Bremerhaven-based company Deutsche WindGuard GmbH is using a large wind tunnel to research the optimal shape and surface of wind turbine blades. It works for all well-known manufacturers in the industry.

Artificial intelligence is regarded as an absolute growth topic - should every company jump on the bandwagon now? No, says Bastian Diedrich from the Bremen digital agency hmmh, but he makes an important restriction.

Bremen: Down-to-earth, yet always ready to surprise you. An attractive place to live, a city through which we can move easily and without stress. People from different cities and countries tell us why they fell in love with Bremen and have made their lives here.

A company founder lives for his or her idea – no distance is too far and no obstacle too high. Four foreign entrepreneurs in Bremen share their passion for their vision.

Since 2011, economic relations with Turkish partners have been strengthened through the Bremeninvest office in Izmir. Kolja Umland, Project Manager for International Settlements and Erol Tüfekҫi, Director of the Bremeninvest Office in Izmir, report on the current situation.

Jiani Chen recently moved to Bremen. The energetic young Chinese woman founded the start-up App CN in the Hanseatic city and is now looking to kick-start her international business. She loves things about Bremen that many locals would take for granted.

Sometimes you have to learn from other people's mistakes and trust your instincts. That is what Muhammad-Farhan Aslam believed when he took over his father's business. And it turned out to be one of many good decisions that he made.

AI, machine learning, neural networks – the topic of artificial intelligence is full of jargon. We provide some simple definitions to guide you.

Bremen-based Flyline can look back on two decades of success and expansion. The British Airways (BA) subsidiary began as a call centre with a 30-strong workforce. Today, Flyline employs around 400 people at Bremen airport.

Many companies fail to choose the right approach when it comes to trademarks and Intellectual property right protection in general, according to Bremen lawyer Dr Eckhard Ratjen – not just in Germany, but also particularly when entering markets in other countries. But with the right strategy, many problems can be avoided from the outset.

So it’s cold, dark and wet outside. That’s no excuse for getting bored. From seasonal recipes to exciting museums and major events, we will show you how much indoor fun there is on offer in Bremen.

Frost, snow and ice? No excuse for sitting at home. Find out what you can discover and explore outdoors in Bremen during the winter months.

Orthopaedic shoe manufacturers Indorf Orthopädie-Schuhtechnik GmbH & Co. KG in Bremerhaven successfully combine traditional products and processes with the latest advances in 3D printing.

Artificial intelligence is becoming part of everyday life, and Bremen-based companies are leading the way. We have put together a ‘who’s who’ in artificial intelligence in Bremen.

Whether they involve flying around virtual spaces or manipulating reality, augmented and virtual reality open up new dimensions. A number of companies in Bremen are working on these technologies, and one of them is even the global leader in its market.

Automotive engineering is one of the key industries in the state of Bremen. An overview of companies, institutes and initiatives at the location.

Bremen-based researchers are developing a drone that can autonomously inspect wind turbines. Its USP is its ability to get ‘hands on’.

Free electric-powered transport – Bremen set to become incubator for UZE Mobility. On behalf of its partner UZE Mobility, Bremeninvest announces the following: Bremen, 19 November 2018 – Start-up firm UZE Mobility has decided to relocate to Bremen at the beginning of 2019.

From one side of the Atlantic to the other: two graduates from New York University travel to Bremen for a research internship – and immediately want to stay.

Extreme precision is the norm at Eickworth Modellbau. Major automotive companies and aerospace manufacturers rely on the services of this Bremen company whenever something needs to be accurate down to a hundredth of a millimetre.

In this interview, Andreas Heyer, CEO of Bremeninvest, explains the nature of the Überseestadt property market, the area’s positioning within the sector, and his assessment of its future prospects.

Almost half of all coffee beans imported into Germany pass through Bremen’s ports. Coffee roasters such as Lloyd Caffee and Cross Coffee have helped to cement the image of Bremen as Germany’s coffee capital.

Bremen’s IT sector is an important pillar of the local industry. We introduce ten IT service providers.

The path into space begins in Bremen. Production on the upper stage of the Ariane 6, the latest generation of Europe’s launch vehicle, is set to start shortly next to Bremen Airport. The launcher is intended to guarantee Europe independent access to space.

Bremen is Germany’s sixth-largest industrial hub in terms of revenue. Whether the sector is aerospace, food, automotive, shipping or steel production, Bremen has always been a major player.

The Schnoor quarter at the heart of Bremen is an absolute must for visitors, with its lovingly restored medieval architecture, winding lanes and wide array of shops, cultural attractions and places to eat.

A Bremen-based company has launched the first independent service centre for offshore wind farms. It aims to facilitate servicing procedures for manufacturers and reduce maintenance costs for operators. Workers travel out into the North Sea from the home port in Emden, East Frisia.

Esteban Bayro-Kaiser has big plans for his start-up, WearHealth. And he has no doubt that Bremen can become a leading hub for artificial intelligence technology. But what made this globetrotter choose Bremen?

The best of both worlds. A young Indian from Bremen is helping German engineering to benefit from India’s factory capacities and vice versa. And everything is completely digitalised – with one click in real time, an order can be sent straight to the Indian factory. The benefit for manufacturers is huge.

Bremen is a key hub for onshore and offshore wind energy. Here we highlight what the region has to offer – from skilled workers and facilities to sites and infrastructure.

At her company Sabine Grimm Yacht & Interior Design, the passionate sailor from Hastedt, Bremen, offers 65,000 fabric samples – to the delight of yacht designers from all over the world who can find many rarities in Grimm’s treasure trove of textiles.

Bremen is expanding. Several construction projects will reshape the city centre. The 2018 Bremen property market report – an overview of office, logistics and retail properties, and of investment market trends – confirms that the city is an attractive location for investors and developers.

Europe’s largest terminal for breakbulk and heavy-lift cargo is located in Neustadt port. After Antwerp, Bremen’s ports are the second most important transshipment hub in Europe for forestry products, steel products and machinery. The federal state of Bremen is preparing for the future in a highly competitive market.

It’s getting cooler outside; the trees are changing color and leaves rustle underfoot – it’s now autumn! And so begins the time of year when you’re persuaded to spend more time inside. The array of museums and galleries in Bremen offer numerous opportunities to do so enjoyably.

Nowhere in Germany is bigger in the aerospace industry than Bremen. We spoke to Bremen-based scientists working on the space side of aerospace about their projects, their life in the city, and their tips on where to live and where to visit.

Every year, the movers and shakers of the space industry gather at the International Astronautical Congress (IAC). From 1 to 5 October, it will be Bremen’s turn to host the event. A team from the Center of Applied Space Technology and ...

To the south of Bremerhaven, plans are taking shape for a new business and industrial park that will fulfil strict sustainability criteria. Situated on what is known as the Luneplate, a site close to the largest nature conservation area in the state of Bremen, the park is set to become the home of companies operating in the green economy.

How is the role of media and other forms of communication changing in society? What are the resulting challenges? The international MA in Digital Media and Society, which launches at the University of Bremen in time for the winter semester, aims to provide the answers.

Global commerce would be impossible without shipping, and wind farms at sea are indispensable for energy provision on land. Yet maritime transport systems and infrastructure are exposed to a wide range of risks. The German Aerospace Centre’s (DLR) new institute in Bremerhaven aims to identify these risks and work with businesses to develop safeguards.

Airbus is a global trailblazer in the field of 3D printing, and the aerospace company has established a technology centre for this new production method in Bremen. This is one of many reasons why the Hanseatic city has become a hub for 3D printing in Europe.

We don’t normally get to see Littelfuse’s products. And yet there’s hardly any electronic device that doesn’t require components from this global market leader. The European headquarters of the US firm are located in Bremen. And they’re far more than just a sales office.

Our city centre is evolving. Bremen is creating affordable and desirable residential areas, offices and retail space. The city is set to get a more modern look thanks to projects near the main train station, in new districts and right by the river.

Wherever Urbanscreen appear with their projectors, astonishing "Ahhs" and "Ohhs" are guaranteed. It is good that they also record their works of art on video – we have selected the ten most beautiful.

Good ideas may be rare, but imitators are easy to find. Which makes it all the more important to secure patents for new inventions. Bremen-based InnoWi helps companies and the research community to register new patents, and is also on hand to provide advice and access to funding.

Exciting times in Überseestadt, Bremen’s New Harbour District. Large parts of the old 400 metre long Schuppen 3 building are to be demolished to make way for a new quarter featuring a mix of apartments, offices, retail units and services. And there is a good reason why it will be called EuropaQuartier.

The BARD Offshore 1 wind farm is a real pioneer. It has continually increased its output, and in 2017 it produced the most energy of all German offshore wind farms – 1.5 TWh – thanks in no small part to two Bremen-based companies.

It was a cold February evening when Paramjit Kohli first came to Bremen from India – and he loved it immediately. Read on to find out why he founded a company here and what lessons he has learned over the past year.

Stathis Stasinopoulos built his first bike so that he could get to and from work in Athens more easily. At the time, he could not have imagined that his idea would see him set up his own business in Bremen. We visited the entrepreneurial engineer in his new workshop in the north of Bremen.

Fish fingers have been made in Bremerhaven for almost 60 years. Over this period, they have withstood all food trends and are more popular today than ever before. On average, each German consumer eats 24 of them a year. And they were probably made in Bremerhaven, the fish finger capital.

The New York Post has created a list of the coolest streets around the world. And guess which street has made it onto the list? Bremen's very own Schnoor! Visit this cool street at the Bremen Blog.

The exploration of celestial bodies, such as Mars, Mercury and the moon, requires detailed geological maps. An international research project is now laying the foundations for this. Bremen-based geologist Dr Angelo Pio Rossi is one of the initiators of the data project.

The construction of the complex new EcoMaT research and technology centre at Airport-Stadt Bremen is at an advanced stage. Prospective tenants include Airbus and Testia, as well as a number of leading medium-sized businesses and scientific institutions. After the topping-out ceremony, work will get under way on the interior of the building.

The depths of the ocean remain one of the last great mysteries on Earth. What is the precise composition of the seafloor? What flora and fauna inhabit it? Where has the delicate balance of the ecosystem been seriously disrupted? We still don’t have complete answers to any of these questions, but four young scientists from Bremen are aiming to change that.

Bremeninvest is currently managing the fifth construction phase at Bremen Industrial Park, scheduled for completion in 2020, and has already taken reservations from several companies. Businesses that have already relocated here are investing in their growth and their future.

Do you feel like a holiday, but money is tight? How about a city break on a budget? Fortunately, there’s plenty to do in Bremen that won’t break the bank – such as cycling routes through the parks, visits at the lakes or free outdoor festivals.

Bremen has the right location to suit any company, from the logistics sector at the Cargo Distribution Center (GVZ) to research institutes at the Technology Park and international companies at Bremen Airport-Stadt. Or perhaps you are looking for more of a mix of sectors to stimulate creativity? We can show you the right business park to suit your needs.

Even Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible would find it difficult to break into this data centre. Metre-thick concrete walls are just one of the many security measures protecting this bunker.

On the south side of the Europahafen, it’s full steam ahead for a new urban development showpiece – the Überseeinsel peninsula. Formerly the business premises of Kellogg’s, this 15-hectare pocket of land now has investment backing from Europa Immobilien GmbH, represented by Dr Klaus Meier. In our interview, he talks about opportunities, challenges, and visions for the future for the Überseeinsel.

Enjoying good food and drink is an important part of life in Bremen. Whether you prefer coffee or beer, sweet or savoury, you'll be well catered for on a trip to our city on the banks of the Weser river.

Unloading shipping containers requires manual work, which is pretty unusual in the automated and digitalised world of logistics. But a Bremen-based research project aims to change all this with its IRiS robot.

How will we be working in the future? Daimler’s Innolab in Bremen’s Überseestadt district provides an answer to this question. And anyone can come and see it.

Space is not just a man’s business. The global network Women in Aerospace (WIA) aims to increase women’s leadership opportunities and visibility in the space industry – also in Bremen. An interview with Antonella Sgambati und Michela Cantisani, coordinators of WIA Bremen.

There are 35,000 students at eight universities in Bremen, as well as numerous research establishments, all of which work together successfully. It is a dynamic centre of science and learning. We spoke to a number of researchers and academics to find out what it’s like to live and work in Bremen and Bremerhaven.

The Bremen Hansalinie Industrial Estate is ideally situated for businesses in the automotive industry, located in the immediate vicinity of the Mercedes-Benz plant in Bremen just off the A1 autobahn. But it also offers a number of benefits for service providers, trading companies and the skilled trades. If you want to set up business here, you need to act quickly.

Artificial intelligence isn’t just a matter of computer programming. It’s a challenging question: how can a robot successfully deal with real, unpredictable surroundings? For 30 years, solutions to this problem have been developed at the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI). This Bremen-based facility has been so successful that its employees are now founding their own company.

In April 2018, Team Beverage AG moved its headquarters from Wildeshausen in Lower Saxony to Bremen. The company provides services to the drinks industry in wholesale, retail and the catering and convenience sectors. Now, its success story is set to continue at Bremen Airport-Stadt with the relocation of its head office and 90 or so employees.

Mercedes-Benz in Bremen is the lead plant that manages C-Class production around the world. In addition to detailed planning and tight logistics, this also requires a good intuitive understanding of the market. Whether it is in China, South Africa or the USA, the sites around the world have to produce vehicles of consistently high quality. Find out here how the plant manages this.

Huong Thi Hoang is the new voice of Bremen’s economic development agency in Vietnam. The country has one of the world’s fastest growing economies and is extremely popular with international investors. Now, Hoang visited Bremen for the first time – and had a big surprise right on her first day.

Batteries are indispensable in our day-to-day life. But when they run out of energy, they become an environmental challenge. As the global leader in the recycling of household batteries, Bremerhaven-based company Redux GmbH is ready to take on this challenge. What’s more, the firm has now developed a method to deal with lithium-ion batteries.

Tizz & Tonic: Two sisters from Canada are producing and selling sustainable and organic underwear in the centre of Bremen. But what was it that attracted them to Bremen? We caught up with the two well-travelled fashion designers to find out.

Bremen Airport-Stadt is an international transport hub and a centre of excellence for the aerospace industry and for research and learning. It occupies a leading position among Germany’s airport locations. Here are ten benefits that Bremen Airport-Stadt offers.

Hard facts take top priority when it comes to the choice of location for international or domestic businesses. But the faster we feel comfortable outside the workplace in the everyday routines and culture of a foreign country, the sooner we feel at home. In addition to trade, science – and of course its port, Bremen has plenty to offer when it comes to quality of life.

Flowers are blooming and the days are getting warmer: It's springtime in Bremen! The city directory bremen.de shows you, which activities the town has to offer at this beautiful time of the year: whether it is sunbathing on the Osterdeich, bike riding, golfing or simply enjoying yourself in a beer garden.

Whenever you need to dispose of old clothes, shoes or electronic waste, you will often throw them into a recycling container. Most people have no idea that a large number of these containers are made by Bremen-based company JO-BA, which has established itself as a brand across Europe. Now the company has its sights set on greater sustainability.

Home to 19,500 on-campus students, several research institutes and high-tech companies, parks, hotels, restaurants, cafés and the Universum Bremen science centre, the technology park in Bremen is one of Germany’s most successful. So what is the secret behind its 30 years of success?

In December 2014, ORTEC GmbH moved from Lower Saxony to Bremen. The software specialist hoped to strengthen its market position by moving to the city’s Überseestadt district. Around three and a half years later, we got in touch with the company again to ask whether the move has been a success.

Shipbuilding is a key sector of Bremen’s maritime economy. Bremen and Bremerhaven are home to prestigious international suppliers as well as innovative young companies. We present 13 companies involved in shipbuilding from all stages of the process chain.

Chinese honey has come a long way – and in January 2018, ten containers full arrived in Bremerhaven from China. But is it actually organic? It certainly is – Lin Zhao, managing director of Dewin, works closely with laboratories in Bremen to confirm the quality of his honey. The proximity to these laboratories was a deciding factor in his choice of location for his business.

Wind energy, geophysics, translation, design and communication – we portray five diverse women, who have successful careers and shared their fascinating stories with us. What is their industry and working life like? What motivates them? Why Bremen?

The production line hardly ever stops at the second-largest Mercedes Benz plant in the world. Thousands of components have to be delivered to the right place at the right time – there is no room for errors or delays. LOREL Logistik GmbH undertakes a huge logistics operation every day to ensure that everything runs like clockwork.

One day, astronauts will live and carry out research on the moon – and even a colony on Mars is no longer the distant utopian dream it once was. But how will people be able to live in an extraterrestrial environment? The Center of Applied Space Technology and Microgravity (ZARM) at the University of Bremen is working on a solution.

You are or want to become self-employed – but you do not know where to start? In this video, we show you how the Unternehmensservice Bremen helps you to deal with official approval procedures, forms and funding.

When it comes to Brexit it’s not about a hard-fought international contest to attract relocating businesses; it’s about coming together to manage the change, says Andreas Gerber of Bremeninvest in our interview.

Bremeninvest has announced the opening of a representative office in Ho Chi Minh City in the hope of pushing up trade cooperation in Vietnam. The agency operates as a link between the German state of Bremen and Vietnam in two-way trade and business activities.

Fatih Özdemir has furniture made in Turkey and sells it to customers mainly in Africa and the Middle East. In theory, he could run his business from anywhere in the world, but there are good reasons why he chose to relocate to Bremen and found Brefeo Hanse GmbH.

Savannah’s economic developers have done their homework: in their search for German partner cities for trade and cooperation, they have put Bremen at the top of their list. During a visit to Bremen, the city’s representatives explained why the relationship with Bremen and Bremerhaven is so important to them.

Rotor blades withstand both wind and weather for decades. But it does create a problem when it comes to their disposal, as they don't decay and are nearly impossible to incinerate. Bremen's neocomp GmbH has developed a process – unique in Germany – which allows plastics that are reinforced with glass fibres to be recycled in an environmentally friendly way.

Bremen-based company Home & Marine works in a sector that generates huge interest, but is often shrouded in secrecy – it builds complex entertainment systems for mega-yachts. The company is reluctant to speak about customers and orders, but since it was founded just over 25 years ago, Home & Marine has worked on more than 100 yachts.

The city is famous for the Bremen Town Musicians, the market square, the Schlachte Embankment and Werder Bremen football club. But it is also known as a hub for logistics, science and the automotive and aerospace industries, and as a bike-friendly city that is full of green spaces. To be honest, there is no reason to be modest, though that would be typical of Bremen too…

Investors are increasingly looking to Bremen. For three years in a row, the city has registered record-breaking levels of domestic and foreign investment. Bremeninvest's 2017 real estate report shows what makes Bremen such an attractive location for investors.

There is a buoyant mood among investors and project developers with regard to Bremen’s real estate market, which has seen a record take-up of office space and the lowest vacancy rate for ten years. Bremeninvest’s 2017 real estate report shows how construction activity, occupancy rate and prices are developing in Bremen’s office property market.

Dr Zareer Dadachanji was not going to wait around for Brexit to happen, and has held a German passport since the beginning of the year. He firmly believes that Brexit has no plus points. He and his wife have chosen to locate their new business – Model Quant Solutions – in Bremen, despite the fact that the company’s customers are mainly based in the UK.

The people of Bremen have a reputation for being reserved, but nothing could be further from the truth: the locals regularly let their hair down at the many events held throughout the year. The biggest crowds gather for Bremen’s Christmas market and for the Freimarkt, the second-largest volksfest held anywhere in Germany.

Working on your laptop while the car takes care of the steering? This could well be the future for car travel. Teams in Bremen are working towards this end goal, with scientists from the university taking their first test car out on the road. Their expertise in aerospace comes in handy here too.

Low property prices and a good infrastructure – logistics real estate in Bremen is the sort of thing many investors dream of. But anyone wanting to take advantage needs to be quick, because vacant spaces are getting increasingly rare, as the 2017 real estate report from Bremeninvest shows.

You rarely get the opportunity to try out musical instruments when you buy them online. Bremen-based start-up TonePedia has developed a piece of software that allows musicians to properly compare guitars, bass guitars, amplifiers and effect products online. This saves time and reduces the number of returns and the associated cost.

Quinoa is already very popular, but hardly anyone in Europe is familiar with purple corn powder. Peruvian Alejandro Leon has founded a company in Bremen, Albrecht und R GmbH, through which he imports and export fruits and vegetables from South America, and he is a firm believer in the health benefits of eating purple corn.

Space technologies have advanced greatly in recent years, leading to increasing demands from the business and research sectors. To meet these requirements, Bremen University now offers unique master’s degrees in Space Engineering and Space Sciences and Technologies.

Buoyant mood thanks to record take-up rate, encouraging market trends and strong occupancy levels. The 2017 Bremen property market report shows once again that the city is an attractive location for investors and developers.

Formula Student is a world-wide competition for self-built racing cars, with the season’s final race held at Hockenheim. A Bremen-based team has been taking part in the competition with an electric racing car since 2013, and their ambitious goal is to break into the top ten.

If astronauts want to get all the way to Mars one day, they’ll need food supplies for the journey. Part of the solution could be to grow their own grains and bake bread themselves. Bremen start-up Bake in Space is on the verge of making this vision a reality.

Is this what sales assistants of the future will look like? Bremen start-up company Blackout Technologies develops software based on artificial intelligence, unlike any other software in Europe. Before long, we’ll be greeted by their robot Pepper in shops, at trade fairs or even in care homes. We visited Bremen’s robot lab to find out more.

Stathis Stasinopoulos was unable to find the perfect folding bicycle for his commute to work across Athens. So he developed his own. The bike, called ‘Folding Project’, is lightweight and comfortable and folds up in five seconds. This has given Stasinopoulos an unexpected new direction in life.

The research alliance ROBEX is sending robots up active volcanoes and down into the deepest and darkest seas. Working across disciplines, the 120 scientists of the 16 institutes involved are breaking new ground on this project. They have been eagerly waiting to find out what has happened to the TRAMPER diving robot, which has been exploring the deep seas around Spitsbergen for a year. Now they are ready to bring it back.

A growing number of companies are becoming more aware of their social and environmental footprint, and are looking for ways to act with greater environmental and social responsibility. Germany’s north-west is set to become the national centre for social entrepreneurship in logistics. A new platform is under development and the first round of events is being planned to achieve this goal.

This new master’s degree at Bremerhaven University of Applied Sciences prepares students for the future and offers them excellent job prospects.

As both Airbus and Mercedes already know, when it comes to infrastructure and commercial property, businesses should look to Germany’s north-west. To Bremen, to be more precise. The Hanseatic city boasts the following five locational factors.

BLG Logistics Group is a major player in logistics with 18,000 employees. It established the Digilab in Bremen as a core element of its digitalisation. The company’s premises are reminiscent of start-ups in Silicon Valley, and there are good reasons for that.

Irina Lucke has been at the helm of WAB since December 2016. We talked about her role in the german-wide trade association and the challenges that an ever-changing business and regulatory environment poses for the international wind energy industry.

In June 2016, the UK voted in favour of Brexit, and the exit negotiations are currently in progress. Which industry sectors in Bremen will be particularly hit, and what effect will Brexit have on the Hanseatic city?

FabLab Bremen invites visitors to learn about new manufacturing technologies and try their hand at everything from laser cutters to printing and programming. Digital technology enthusiasts of all ages and programmers of all abilities are welcome here. And it is not long before they can put what they have learnt to good use.

Bremen's sweetest side is made of chocolate. No matter whether it’s milk or dark chocolate, nougat or marzipan. Take a walk around Bremen and taste it.

The founders of Mac Panther Materials, two brothers from Bremen, produce an open-cell metal foam for use in a number of different applications. Its secret lies in the production process that is based on a brilliant and yet simple idea.

An engine under the bonnet drives the wheels – this is the configuration that has been powering cars for over a hundred years. However, wheel hub motors – i.e. motors in the hub of the wheel, not under the bonnet – promise many advantages. Electric drive systems make this possible.

The digital revolution has reached every branch of industry. Many of the technological trends associated with the Industrial Internet of Things originated in Silicon Valley. Rene van den Hoevel, managing director of the German American Chamber of Commerce in San Francisco, and Christoph Ranze, managing director of encoway GmbH and executive board member of the association bremen digitalmedia, explain why it is not only large corporations who should be looking closely at the epicentre of technological advancement.

In the space of just a few years, the maritime city of Bremerhaven has developed into a service centre for the seafaring and shipbuilding industry. At the centre of it all is the company German Dry Docks, whose managing director, Guido Försterling, has already heralded the era of ‘seafaring 4.0’.

Bionics is the application of forms and functions found in nature to technology. Marine biologist Dr Christian Hamm and his team of researchers in Bremerhaven are leading figures in this field thanks to ELiSE. They are particularly interested in the tiny, yet incredibly complex, diatoms – nature’s experts in lightweight construction.

The multi-million-mile journey of the Ariane 5 rocket begins in Bremen, while that of Spacelab came to an end here in 1999, after 15 years of service with 22 missions to outer space. Ariane Group in Bremen is the ideal place to experience the history of space travel.

A lively start-up scene with close ties to industry has developed in Germany’s smallest federal state. Government offices, banks, entrepreneurs and development agencies all work together like one big family. It’s what makes starting a new business in these two cities so easy.

A new process has been attracting attention in the food industry. Developed by the Bremerhaven Institute for Food Technology and Bioprocess Engineering, the new method enables deep frozen fish to be defrosted in record time. And the fish tastes as fresh as the day it was caught.

For over 15 years, Jacobs University in Bremen has attracted young, talented individuals from all over the world. Students from 106 countries make up a community that contributes to academic achievement and produces graduates that are highly sought after by companies.

Fiona Moore is originally from Burton-on-Trent, near Birmingham, and now works as a freelance translator in Bremen. She fell in love with Bremen in her early twenties. That was back in 2000, but 17 years later she is still as enchanted by the city as she was on the first day. She tells us about settling in Bremen, about her family and about being fortunate to have found a home in here.

Photography studios, workshops and professional kitchens are rarely fully occupied round the clock. So why not let others share them? The german start-up Craftspace brings together providers of production spaces with entrepreneurs, small business owners and artists on a single online platform. It’s an arrangement that benefits everyone.

It’s an adventure playground for kids, an idyllic sanctuary for couples, and a quiet retreat for those looking to escape from stress – from joggers and Nordic walkers to lovers of nature and culture, the Bürgerpark in the centre of Bremen has something for everyone. For the last 150 years, this protected heritage site in the centre of Bremen has relied solely on the support of donations to keep it open and well-maintained.

A great deal of manual labour goes into aircraft construction. Despite this – or perhaps even because of it – Airbus is changing its approach to make increased use of digital technologies. It’s also researching the applications of new manufacturing technologies such as 3D printing. And not a moment too soon, as Airbus’ site manager in Bremen, Dr André Walter, explains in our interview.

GeoSea, a subsidiary of the Belgian DEME group, is helping to construct of some of the largest offshore wind farms in the German North Sea – and in Bremen, the company has found the ideal location to carry out its work.

Art, design and people with disabilities make up the fascinating focus of the work of two young designers from Bremen. Working together with employees from community-based workshops, they develop and improve on designs for handmade products – and are continually thrilled by the potential they see in their co-designers.