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8 April 2019 - A flagship for the area

Lots of attention for it's OWL at Hannover Messe 2019

The OWL joint stand attracted a great deal of attention at the Hannover Messe. Prominent visitors included NRW Labour Minister Karl-Josef Laumann, ZVEI President Michael Ziesemer, VDMA President Carl-Martin Welcker, Karl-Heinz Streibich (President Acatech) and Karl-Uwe Bütof, Department Director at the NRW Ministry of Economic Affairs. Almost 40 international delegations demonstrated the high level of interest from experts.

How can companies reach new customers via digital platforms? How can machine learning increase machine productivity and reliability? And how can we develop the new products of tomorrow intelligently ? Presidents of the NRW industry associations discussed these questions with companies from the it's OWL Leading-Edge Cluster. Michael Ziesemer (President of the Central Association of the Electrical and Electronics Industry), Carl-Martin Welcker (President of the Association of German Machine and Plant Manufacturers) and Karl-Heinz Streibich (President Acatech - Academy of Engineering Sciences) were impressed by how companies and research institutes in the Leading-Edge Cluster are opening up new fields of technology such as Artificial Intelligence or digital platforms for SMEs. "Thus it's OWL makes an important contribution to securing the competitiveness of Germany as a business location," said Ziesemer.

NRW Labour Minister Karl-Josef Laumann was also enthusiastic. "It's great what you achieve in OstWestfalenLippe. The OWL joint stand is a strong presence and a great flagship for the region - and for the whole of NRW," said the Minister.

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Attractive environment for start-ups

OstWestfalenLippe offers an attractive environment for founders. This was emphasised by four startups from the it's OWL Leading-Edge Cluster in an interview with Karl-Uwe Bütof, Department Director at the NRW Ministry of Economic Affairs. Lara von Petersdorf, Managing Director of Lytt, explained: "The Founders Foundation provides us with excellent support in developing our business concept. OstWestfalenLippe offers us access to many customers. That's why we moved from Münster to Bielefeld and founded our company here." Lytt is a digital assistant that helps employees communicate misconduct, concerns and feedback safely and anonymously. This promotes honest communication and respectful cooperation.

The NRW Ministry of Economic Affairs also offers important support to startups in OWL. "The NRW Startup Scholarship gives us the opportunity to concentrate fully on our founding and market entry," explains Mladen Milicevic, founder of the Paderborn startup Unchained Robotics. "Hoever, technology-oriented founders like us need access to machines for small series production and prototype construction. We are looking for fast and unbureaucratic support from the state".

Ten startups presented their concepts at the OWL joint stand. The spectrum ranged from the use of drones through additive manufacturing and logistics to robotics and artificial intelligence.

High interest from all over the world

Wolfgang Marquardt, authorised signatory of OstWestfalenLippe GmbH, draws a positive conclusion: "The interest of experts and multipliers from Germany and the whole world in our solutions and research approaches is considerable. We had a total of 22 international delegations as guests, for example from China, Finland, India, Canada, the Netherlands, Singapore, Sweden and Thailand. The appearance in Hanover is an excellent flagship for the high-tech region of OstWestfalen-Lippe".

Under the motto 'Home of Industrial Intelligence', OstWestfalenLippe presented itself at the world's largest industrial show from 1 to 5 April. At the OWL joint stand (Hall 16 A04), organised by OstWesfalenLippe GmbH and OWL Maschinenbau, more than 50 companies, research institutes, organisations and startups demonstrated approaches and solutions for Artificial Intelligence, Smart Services and Work 4.0.