German companies find problem solvers in Portugal

Portugal is Partner Country at HANNOVER MESSE 2022, where it presents itself as an international technology center that is open to foreign investment. Located at the southwestern tip of Europe, the diminutive nation is a strategic crossroads to Africa and the Americas and features a great quality of life, excellent infrastructure, and high levels of security, political stability and sustainability.

It is no wonder then that more than 550 German companies operate in Portugal, where they find a well-educated, multi-lingual workforce of problem solvers who have an appetite for innovation in engineering and research.

For example, NFON began operations in Portugal at the end of 2020. Markus Krammer, managing director of the Munich-based provider of cloud-based telephone systems, said his company chose to invest in Portugal because, "It is truly Europe's tech Hub and provides a fantastic and extremely motivating opportunity to learn, grow and compete with the best of the best. Its high proportion of graduates in mathematics, computer science, natural sciences, and technology and deep integration of the English language create a large pool of young professionals for international development projects."

In 2018, Germany's BMW Group and Portugal's Critical Software formed Critical TechWorks to build software for BMW's future vehicles. Company COO Jochen Kirschbaum says they chose Portugal because, "It stands out for investment in technological education and excellent engineering schools as well as for strategic governmental investment that positions Portugal as a technological innovation center at the European level. We saw a great potential for success that we have confirmed over the past two and a half years."

Bosch, which began operations in Portugal in 1911, generated sales of 1.6 billion euros there in 2020. The company values the Portuguese's skills and spirit of innovation, the quality of the solutions developed and produced there, and the efficiency of its teams.

Siemens has been active in Portugal for 115 years and currently employs there roughly 3,000 multilingual workers who are highly skilled in engineering and IT and accustomed to working in multicultural environments.

Germany is one of Portugal's top three trading partners and its second-largest supplier. Recent years have seen a growth in Portuguese exports to the German market as well as a rise in the number of companies exporting to Germany.

Partner Country Portugal

Partner Country Portugal at HANNOVER MESSE features a central pavilion as well as three thematic pavilions in the Engineered Parts & Solutions, Energy Solutions and Digital Ecosystems sectors. Each area features dozens of companies from Portugal with the most advanced technologies and processes. Decision-makers at the fair, especially German SMEs, will discover diverse opportunities to cooperate with innovative Portuguese companies and invest in Portuguese industry.

The Portuguese participation in HANNOVER MESSE 2022 is organized by AICEP –Portuguese Trade & Investment Agency in partnership AIMMAP – Association of the Portuguese Metalworking Industries and the Portuguese-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry.