Düsseldorf is the capital of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany's most populous and industrially most intense federal state. The global headquarters of Henkel, Vodafone Deutschland and Mercedes-Benz Werk Düsseldorf (Sprinter) are here. 60 km south in Duisburg is ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe — the largest steel mill in the EU. 40 km south-east in Leverkusen the Bayer plus Lanxess chemical cluster. NRW as a whole is for an integrator the most attractive German Bundesland after Bayern — and we have three real projects in it from 2017–2022.
Our NRW references — UPS, Kühne, Nolte
In Düsseldorf itself we don't yet operate directly. But in the same Bundesland we have three delivered projects that position us well in NRW. In Bielefeld in 2017 we delivered `ups-bielefeld` — UPS systems, IT cabling and network infrastructure for a logistics complex (5 photos in the archive). In Sankt Augustin (50 km south of Düsseldorf) in 2019 we delivered `kuhne-sankt-augustin` — mechanical and installation work for Kühne industrial machines (99 photos). And in Löhne (Westphalia) in 2022 we delivered `nolte-kuchen-loehne` — service work on a Nolte Küchen production line (12 photos).
These three projects cover the essence of the NRW work profile — UPS and IT infrastructure (Bielefeld), engineering service (Sankt Augustin), production-line service (Löhne). They're geographically spread within a ~150 km radius of Düsseldorf and document that the German Westphalia-Rhineland industrial belt is a market where we really operate.
ThyssenKrupp Duisburg — steel as a reference target
ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe in Duisburg is an integrated steel mill with annual production around 13 million tonnes — three times more than U. S. Steel Košice. For the `industry + electro` pillar we're typologically close (ATEX zones for the coke plant, high-temperature environments around the rolling mill, ESD requirements in automation workstations), but for a full-scope steel project in Duisburg we wouldn't go — that's the world of players like SMS Group, Primetals Technologies, Danieli. For peripheral tasks in their administrative and IT zones plus smaller refit projects in zones 1 or 2 we're realistically deliverable.
ThyssenKrupp in 2024–2026 started the largest decarbonisation project in the EU — transition from BOF (Basic Oxygen Furnace) to hydrogen-based DRI (Direct Reduced Iron). For a Slovak integrator that means peripherally interesting partial tasks within building the hydrogen infrastructure orbit (pipelines, electrolysers, UPS for dispatch workstations), but dominant players are foreign (Air Liquide, Linde, Nel, ThyssenKrupp Nucera).
Henkel and Bayer — chemical-consumer cluster
Henkel in Düsseldorf-Holthausen has its global headquarters (Persil, Schwarzkopf, Loctite). For the `industry` pillar they're typologically matched with what we do for cosmetics and consumer production — injection-moulding for packaging, packaging lines, inspection AOI. Our `automotive-injection-line` project from Bratislava (2024) is the technically closest reference — Engel + KraussMaffei + Yushin under Siemens TIA Portal + Ignition SCADA. That's exactly what could be offered for Henkel packaging production.
Bayer + Lanxess Leverkusen is a chemical cluster with full ATEX overlay (zones 0/1/2 plus dust 20/21/22 in pharmaceutical fractions). For full-scope chemical work we don't operate; for peripheral tasks (IT infrastructure in R&D zones, structured cabling in administrative zones, mechanical service for subassembly) we do.
Mercedes-Benz Werk Düsseldorf — Sprinter
Mercedes-Benz Werk Düsseldorf produces the Sprinter (commercial vehicles, the second best-selling van in the EU). For `industry + automation` (Sondermaschinenbau for the supplier chain — cabs, gearboxes, mechanical integration) we're typologically close. The path to Mercedes-DD runs via their audited supplier register — for us realistically via category C (administrative fit-outs, IT cabling) as a first step, then category B (cabinets, mechanical integration) when their audit shows that references from the Krauss-Maffei world qualify us for direct technology cooperation.
BauO NRW + BetrSichV + DGUV V3
Building decisions in NRW follow BauO NRW (Bauordnung Nordrhein-Westfalen). Compared to BayBO or HBauO, NRW has a relatively more flexible regime for logistics and industrial fit-outs (especially in the Ruhrgebiet where old steel and mining spaces are being converted for new use), but stricter rules for chemical and pharmaceutical zones (Leverkusen, Krefeld, Marl). Electrical installations follow VDE 0100, inspections DGUV V3.
Conclusion — Düsseldorf as a gateway to NRW
Düsseldorf itself is for us an administrative seat (Henkel HQ, Vodafone HQ, Mercedes Werk), but most of the real work for a Slovak integrator would run in the broader NRW orbit — Westphalia (where we already operate), Ruhrgebiet (where we're typologically close but lack a reference), Bergisches Land (Sankt Augustin we already have). For a new Düsseldorf project we can mobilise within five working days with full A1 documentation and references from UPS Bielefeld, Kühne Sankt Augustin, Nolte Löhne.