Leipzig offers a number of compelling reasons for export-minded international manufacturers and service providers looking to do business in Europe to choose it as a place to do business – either as a new distinct market in its own right, as a starting point for entering the market in Germany, or as a base for broader regional European operations.

Leipzig is part of the Central German Metropolitan Region, otherwise known as the Metropolregion Mitteldeutschland, one of the 11 officially-designated metropolitan areas of Germany. The Metropolregion Mitteldeutschland is an urban area that includes Dresden, Chemnitz, Halle (Saale), and Magdeburg and six other cities.

With over 540,000 inhabitants, Leipzig is the largest city in the Metropolregion Mitteldeutschland, and it is a major centre for manufacturing, publishing, healthcare, biotechnology, automotive technology, logistics, value added services, and a wide variety of other businesses.

Well-known global companies with extensive business operations in Leipzig include Amazon, BMW, Siemens, the billion-dollar Canadian company Future Electronics, and DHL, which transferred the bulk of its European air operations from Brussels Airport to Leipzig/Halle Airport in 2011.

The city’s access to young, well-qualified labour makes it a strong choice for companies looking to establish manufacturing, sales and distribution operations in Europe. Unemployment in Leipzig has halved since 2005, and with the Leipzig Graduate School of Management (Handelshochschule Leipzig – HHL) continuing to be ranked as one of the top graduate business schools in Germany, the largest city in Saxony offers access to an internationalized management workforce with a global perspective as well.

leipzig city

International companies looking to do business in Leipzig enjoy an especially advantageous local infrastructure. This includes Leipzig/Halle Airport (Flughafen Leipzig/Halle – LEJ), as well as Leipzig Central Station, which in terms of floor area is the world’s largest railway station. Furthermore, in 2010 the city was ranked amongst the top 70 of the world’s most livable cities by consulting firm Mercer in its annual global quality of life survey.

Leipzig’s local infrastructure also includes the world-renowned Leipziger Messe, as well as additional support from a number of equally well-respected organisations. Each year the Leipziger Messe serves approximately 10,000 exhibitors and over 1.3 million visitors from more than 50 countries.

Other business organisations serving the local and international business community include the Leipzig Chamber of Industry and Commerce at Goerdeler Ring 5, the Unternehmensgründerbüro Leipzig at Humboldtstraße 18, and the Business & Innovation Centre Leipzig at Mommsenstraße 6.

According to Leipzig Mayor Burkhard Jung, Leipzig’s industrial sector is “about to take a technological leap forward”. This is not only due to the expansion of Porsche’s car plant and the impending mass production of electric cars by BMW in the city, but it is also due to significant advances that are being made within the scientific community as well. The DFG German Research Foundation, for example, has decided to award the iDiv German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research to the universities of Leipzig, Halle and Jena – and to base it at BIO CITY LEIPZIG at Deutscher Platz 5a near the Botanical Gardens.

The high rankings for the city continue to come. In 2012, fDi magazine published by the Financial Times Group in London placed Leipzig in its top ten European cities in three categories in its study entitled “European Cities & Regions of the Future 2012/2013”. For more industry-specific information, Leipzig trade statistics are readily available directly from Stadt Leipzig itself.

If you are an international manufacturer or service company seeking business opportunities in Leipzig, simply contact us today to find out how we can introduce you to relevant Leipzig-based business partners, importers, and distributors.

If you are a business that is already based in Leipzig and are interested in seeking out new business opportunities for internationalization in other global markets, contact us today and we will explain exactly how we can help you discover new export business in new global markets in order to fuel your domestic and international business growth.