Berlin isn't a German industrial metropolis in the traditional sense. Stuttgart makes cars, Hamburg ships, Munich has preserved its post-war engineering brand — Berlin is the country's political and administrative centre, and industry was gradually built around it on a different frequency from Bavarian or Baden cities. For an integrator that means one thing: most contracts here aren't a production hall in a field, but a fit-out in an existing urban setting with tougher regulations on noise, dust and windows during work.
Our Berlin project — office complex 2018
In Berlin in 2018 we delivered the project `berlin-burokomplex` — complete electrical installation and IT cabling for an office complex (22 photos in the archive document the work). It was a classic Berlin contract: interior installation in a building with municipal heritage protection, where every ceiling drill had to be approved in advance, where cabinets had to have a precise layout in the EPLAN project before Rittal cabinets were ordered, and where IT cabling for over three hundred workplaces had to be routed with minimal disruption to floors above and below. This project confirmed for us that Berlin as a market differs from southern German cities not only in pace but also in client category — our counterparts here are architectural offices, facility managers of large corporate spaces, and construction firms specialised in fit-out, not production OEMs.
Industrial geography — Mercedes, Siemens, BVG
Mercedes-Benz Werk Marienfelde produces engines and e-drive components — it's a historic engine plant gradually transformed for electromobility. Siemens in Berlin-Moabit holds one of the strongest turbine engineering sites for Siemens Gas and Power; that's not the place where energy policy is decided, that's the place where specific turbine generators are drawn for projects around the world. For an integrator both positions mean similar things: NDA before the first discussion, Tier-supplier audit, EPLAN as the working language, and integration into existing TIA Portal projects running in parallel with other Mercedes or Siemens locations.
The BVG (city transport) plus Deutsche Bahn (railway) form Germany's largest integrated transport system. For local electrotechnology that means continuous demand for refresh of signalling, traction inverters, dispatch workstations — a segment where we historically haven't been active and where domestic competition has long-standing local specialists (Thales, Hitachi Rail, Stadler) with decades of references.
Berlin and Brandenburg as one functional unit
Berlin needs to be read together with surrounding Brandenburg. BASF Schwarzheide (about 130 km south) is one of the largest cathode projects for lithium batteries in the EU. The Tesla Gigafactory in Grünheide (40 km from Berlin) has rewritten the map of the local supplier chain — packaging manufacturers, moulded plastics, structured cabling for office and R&D spaces around the Gigafactory form a real supplier market we're typologically close to. For the `industry` pillar (Sondermaschinenbau + robotic integration) this orbit is strategically the most interesting.
Data centres in Berlin — Germany's second hub after Frankfurt
Berlin is gradually becoming Germany's second data centre hub. NTT Berlin, Telehouse Berlin, IQ DC Berlin — all three built in the past eight years, some expanded in 2024–2025. For the `data centres` pillar there's continuous demand for fibre backbone (CommScope, Corning), DCIM rollouts via EcoStruxure IT, UPS sizing for Eaton 93PM, and cooling solutions for IT racks above 25 kW (rear-door HX, gradually also DLC for AI workloads). That's not a segment where we'd do greenfield general delivery — it's a segment where we work as a subcontractor for specific work packages within larger projects.
Regulation — BauO Bln, BetrSichV, DGUV V3
Building decisions in Berlin follow BauO Bln (Berliner Bauordnung) — with specifics versus Bayern (BayBO) or NRW (BauO NRW), especially around municipal heritage protection and fire-safety regulation for office complexes in historic buildings. Electrical installations follow VDE 0100 / DIN VDE 0100-410, inspections DGUV Vorschrift 3, operational safety BetrSichV. The posted-worker regime for us runs via A1 + ZOLL Meldeportal Mindestlohn (pre-registration 14 days in advance).
Conclusion — where Berlin fits into our mix
Berlin is for us a practical market more for office and IT-infrastructure projects than for heavy industry. Our 2018 Berlin project matches that. For Mercedes Marienfelde or Siemens Moabit we'd come in as a specialised subcontractor for a specific work package (cabinets, structured cabling, mechanical equipment assembly), not as general contractor. For the Brandenburg battery and EV cluster we're ready for full-scope `industry` — that's a segment where our references from the injection-moulding and relocation worlds fit precisely.