Jump to content

Freiburg Regional Council to fund MedicalMountains cluster initiative

The Freiburg Regional Council has granted MedicalMountains AG funds totalling 405,000 euros for establishing a professional management structure for the Tuttlingen-based medical technology cluster. District President Julian Würtenberger awarded the 405,000-euro grant to Dieter Teufel, president of the Schwarzwald-Baar-Heuberg Chamber of Industry and Commerce and representative of the Tuttlingen-based cluster, in which BIOPRO Baden-Württemberg GmbH is one of the partners.

Handover of "Medical Mountains“ approval . f.l.t.r.: Dr. Ralf Kindervater (CEO BIOPRO Baden-Württemberg GmbH), Michael Guse (Head of the Department of Economics of the Rottweil administrative district), IHK President Dieter Teufel, District President Julian Würtenberger and IHK Managing Director Thomas Albiez. © Regierungspräsidium Freiburg

“The cluster region that includes the cities of Tuttlingen, Tübingen and Reutlingen is home to a large number of small- and medium-sized medical technology companies, as well as numerous highly specialised supply and service companies,” said Julian Würtenberger. “The region is home to a medical technology and healthcare hub that plays a very important role in the region.”

Würtenberger pointed out that the cluster region comprises 330 highly specialised medical technology companies with a total of over 12,500 employees. “Around ten per cent of all medical technology jobs in Germany are concentrated in this cluster,” said Würtenberger.

“With the establishment of MedicalMountains AG as the cluster’s managing organisation, the area’s internationally highly reputed medical technology sector is set to become even more powerful than before. I believe that what is now emerging in this area will be of major importance and potential in and for the future,” said Dieter Teufel, president of the Schwarzwald-Baar-Heuberg Chamber of Industry and Commerce.

Establishment of an exemplary cluster organisation

The MedicalMountains cluster initiative – one of the winners of the regional cluster competition organised by the Ministry of Economics in 2008 – is specifically targeting small- and medium-sized companies in the medical and healthcare industry with the aim of extending international cooperation and promoting the transfer of new technologies. The funds will be used to put in place professional cluster management structures to support the technology-wide cooperation between small- and medium-sized companies and scientific institutions. “Since the cluster is representative of the entire value creation chain, the medical technology industry, a sector that is strictly regulated, will be able to reduce the time to market for new products. The management organisation will particularly focus on increasing the dynamics of innovation, expanding the area’s international profile, creating integrated medical-technological education and training offers and increasing the number of start-up companies.

MedicalMountains AG is working towards the establishment of a centrally coordinated and exemplary cluster organisation that is able to integrate and expand existing structures, and deal with future challenges in terms of regional, structural and cluster policies.

Source: Freiburg Regional Council, Matthias Henrich (15th March 2011)

BIOPRO Baden-Württemberg is a partner of MedicalMountains

As a wholly-owned subsidiary of the state of Baden-Württemberg that deals with biotechnology and life sciences issues, BIOPRO Baden-Württemberg supports the establishment of the medical technology cluster in the Tuttlingen/Neckar-Alb regions. BIOPRO is one of the organisations that participated in the establishment of MedicalMountains. The two partners will work closely together in the biologisation of medical technology.

Source: BIOPRO Baden-Württemberg GmbH

Website address: https://www.bio-pro.de/en/information/press-release/freiburg-regional-council-to-fund-medicalmountains-cluster-initiative