Economy

Not too close, yet not too far, either, from the major urban centres of southern Germany, the town‘s pivotal location in the triangle marked by Stuttgart, Nuremberg and Frankfurt, close to the major east-west motorway, the A6, has always stimulated the independent economic development of the town. Two bypasses on either side of the town provide speedy access to the motorway. Many business executives consider the Würth Airport in Schwäbisch Hall-Hessental to be one of the best places to fl y from in the south of Germany. Würth is the only small airport between Stuttgart, Nuremberg and Frankfurt to boast a modern instrument-based landing system.

The benefits for air passengers have led a number of companies to set up operations next to the airport in the 160-hectare Solpark trading estate. This is the chosen location of Optima Group, the specialised machine manufacturers, the Würth solar technology factory with its unique thin-film photo-voltaic modules, and a string of smaller traders and businesses. The Haus der Wirtschaft and Technology Centre are also here, providing customised solutions for company projects and in direct geographical proximity to the key movers in the above-mentioned companies. In times of dwindling raw materials and wildly fluctuating fuel prices it is good to be able to rely on Schwäbisch Hall‘s own energy utility company. The energy provider Pionier has received a number of awards for its combined heat and power generation and can produce over 60 percent of its required energy on site. As a producer of green electricity the company is successful nationwide.

Schwäbisch Hall has laid out a ring of trading parks covering a total of 100 hectares to the east and west of the town. Besides the Solpark to the east, there is the Stadtheide business and trading estate to the west, home to well-known f rms such as Recaro Aircraft Seating, Klafs Saunas and Stego. The municipal authorities‘ vision of the future is one where local communities work together closely for their own common benefit. This outlook is currently bearing fruit in the form of another, sizeable trading park, a partnership with the neighbouring communities of Michelfeld and Rosengarten. People who are working need places to live and places to enjoy themselves, and there is no better place to do this than Schwäbisch Hall. Company managers are aware that people who have settled in a particular community tend to be unwilling to move. Small wonder when one considers the non-economic attributes of the region – an enviable residential infrastructure to suit all tastes, an array of recreational activities on offer in a picture-book landscape dotted with castles, a delightful town with narrow winding streets, its own down-to-earth cuisine and one of the prettiest market squares in Germany, and an educational infrastructure that begins with the crèche, leads right through to the local university and can even end in a career in a local company.

And let us not forget the landmarks and events that have made of Schwäbisch Hall one of the leading cultural centres in the country. Among the more peculiar fixtures on the entertainment programme are the wordless Carnival organised by the “Hallia Venezia“ Society during Fasching Week, the “Haller Frühling“ festival in the Spring, the salt simmerers‘ Cake and Spring Festival at Pentecost, the centuries-old Jakobimarkt in July, the romantic Summer Night‘s Fayre and the Long Night of Art. Come and get your own taste of what the town has to offer … but be warned: Schwäbisch Hall can be addictive!