Despite headwinds: the state increases the number of new business settlements by a third

Together with Claus Ruhe Madsen, Minister for Economic Affairs, and Dirk Gerdes, Managing Director of Wirtschaftsförderung Lübeck GmbH, she presented a combined report on economic development and business relocations for the first time. According to Madsen, the figures show that Schleswig-Holstein remains a reliable investment location despite the continuing challenging macroeconomic situation.

According to WTSH Managing Director Wielatt, 307 jobs will be created in ten companies in the renewable energy sector in the medium term. In late summer 2026, the battery manufacturer Univercell from Flintbek will commence series production of its own battery cells in Kiel, thereby establishing a new production line at an additional site. The company is thus sending an important signal to strengthen the domestic battery market, which has recently suffered several setbacks.

In the food industry, 131 jobs will be created across three companies (previous year: one company, ten jobs). The companies established here operate in sectors including biotechnology, food production and processing, and the wholesale delicatessen trade.

According to Wielatt and Madsen, the increase in jobs in the digital economy is also positive: a total of 83 jobs are being created here across 17 companies (previous year: 17 companies; 47 jobs), including ten start-ups. “The latest figures demonstrate that Schleswig-Holstein has developed into an attractive location for technology-oriented, innovative start-ups and show that our support schemes, such as the Schleswig-Holstein Start-up Grant, are having an impact and strengthening the ‘Real North’ for young companies,” said Madsen.

The mechanical and electrical engineering sectors have also seen an increase in jobs compared with last year. In the medium term, 116 jobs will be created across four companies; last year, the figure was 18 jobs across two companies. The spectrum here ranges from 3D printing to drone production.

According to WTSH director Wielatt, the significant increase in the number of companies setting up in the manufacturing sector is a positive development. With 17 companies in 2025, the number has more than doubled compared to the previous year (six companies). This means that around 45 percent of all new jobs will be created in the manufacturing sector. According to Madsen, this development in particular demonstrates that Schleswig-Holstein is an attractive location for the manufacturing sector: “With the clear goal of becoming a climate-neutral industrial state by 2040, we will continue to create reliable framework conditions for industrial investment, combine climate neutrality with competitiveness, and open up long-term growth and value-creation prospects for companies.”

In the services sector, there has been a slight increase to 66 companies compared with the previous year (58 companies). The trend in the retail sector remained stable at 13 companies (nine companies the previous year).

Last year, five foreign companies chose Schleswig-Holstein as their location, including firms from Denmark, Switzerland, the UK and Singapore. In total, the foreign companies are expected to create 86 jobs. Wielatt: “Whether this will develop into a trend towards increased intra-European relocation remains to be seen against the backdrop of the current geopolitical situation.”

Twelve companies came from Hamburg (eight in the previous year), with a significant increase in jobs from 124 (2024) to 276. Eleven companies from the rest of Germany will in future establish themselves in the ‘real north’ and create 338 jobs.

Fuljoyment AG is based in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and will open its new headquarters in Trittau (Stormarn district), thereby creating 166 jobs. Fuljoyment AG is an e-commerce outsourcing company specialising in fulfilment services for international online shops.

“In the case of fuljoyment, business development agencies and funding bodies worked together to establish this company in Trittau,” said Wielatt. For her, this is a good example of how all stakeholders in the ‘real north’ work hand in hand to provide companies with the best possible support and accompany them from the very start. “Only by working together can we successfully ensure that businesses set up and invest in the region, creating jobs in Schleswig-Holstein.”

Madsen pointed out that the state’s funding agencies are making a vital contribution to strengthening the business landscape right now through financing instruments such as loans, guarantees and equity investments. In 2025, for instance, the Investitionsbank Schleswig-Holstein (IB.SH), the Mittelständische Beteiligungsgesellschaft Schleswig-Holstein (MBH) and the Bürgschaftsbank Schleswig-Holstein GmbH supported a total of 595 companies with a financing volume of 226 million euros. This took the form of financial assistance in the form of loans and equity investments, as well as guarantees, sureties and support programmes. This triggered a total investment volume of 964 million euros among Schleswig-Holstein’s companies and created and secured 20,224 jobs.