Glass from Osterburg now goes all over the world. For the company 'Flachglas Nord Ost', based in the town of Osterburg (district of Stendal), 2011 was the most successful year in the company's history. Contributing factors were, among others, the sustainably high levels of demand for safety and insulating glass. The firm, which employs over 100 workers, is one of the biggest glass processing companies in Germany. Read more here.

CO2 for Air Liquide. The nitrogen plant “Stickstoffwerke Piesteritz” wins another customer for carbon dioxide, a by-product of ammonia production. Air Liquide is currently constructing a plant for the purification and liquefaction of CO2. The market leader for industrial gases is striving for an annual production of around 70,000 tons. Read more here.

Austria’s Gunz Warenhandels GmbH opens distribution centre in Magdeburg. The family-run company from Austria has invested about 17.7 euros in the Magdeburg-Rothensee industrial park and initially created 50 new jobs there. Read more here.

Q.CELLS: creditors approve sale to Hanwha. The creditors of Q-Cells SE approved the sale of the business operations to the South Korean conglomerate Hanwha by a large majority at their meeting today in Dessau-Roßlau. Insolvency administrator Henning Schorisch had signed the contract on 26 August 2012. Read more here.

Foreigners create jobs. Saxony-Anhalt is popular among foreign investors. “The best proof of this is the highest investment rate in the comparison of East German federal states”, explained Minister of Science and Economic Affairs Birgitta Wolff. Since 1991 the state has sponsored more than 330 corresponding projects. “An investment volume of almost ten billion euros and more than 20,000 newly created jobs are behind this alone.” Read more.


Summertime Rock in the City of Iron. Music festivals use huge amounts of electricity. In the Ferropolis, stored solar energy will soon be providing the kilowatts required to power the concerts. In a location where brown coal was the be all and end all for energy production for many decades, a 'walk-in energy revolution' is being prepared by a team intent on making use of sunlight. Read more.


Renaissance of ship mills. High-tech materials and modern generators make a source of energy already utilised in medieval times have a promising future again. A look back to the past is sometimes worthwhile for energy sources of the future. In medieval times there were hundreds of ship mills on the banks of our rivers which utilised the power of flowing water. Read more.


Fundation stone laid in Ballenstedt - Kuhmichel Recycling GmbH invests around four million euros. "We believe that Ballenstedt in Saxony-Anhalt offers the best possible conditions for Kuhmichel group capacity expansion. For ourselves and our current and future staff, we are hoping for strong business with a sustainable, environmentally-friendly, specialist plant", said managing directors Dirk Grundei and Kerstin Knein at today's laying of the foundation stone for Kuhmichel Recycling GmbH. Read more here.


New projects in the MAHREG Automotive cluster. MAHREG Automotive is implementing a number of new projects as part of the regional initiative ELISA. These are presented in the latest issue of the innovation cluster newsletter. One project is reducing the mass of electric bicycles and pedelecs. The chainless e-bike "X-PESA", which features on the front page, is one example. Another project is the development of a lightweight, energy-efficient wheel hub motor; three cluster companies and the IMS institute at Otto von Guericke University, Magdeburg, are currently working on this project. Read more here.