MEETING FACTS

German innovation and expertise combines with an international outlook, creating a vivid business environment. Commerce has, despite the lack of company headquarters, increased to the point where Dresden has become a strong trade hub and competitor with other recognized trade zones such as Berlin and Hamburg. The presence of public administration centers, high density of semi-public research, and publicly funded high technology sectors, the proportion of highly qualified workers in Dresden is one of the highest in Germany and Europe. This may explain the decreasing unemployment rates, which have gone down significantly in the last 5 years from around 9-10% to 4% (between late 2010 and spring 2015).

Three business sectors can be identified as being the core sectors of Dresden commerce:

Semiconductor industry: The semiconductor industry was built up in 1969 around the Zentrum Mikroelektronik Dresden, which is a joint stock company named ZMDI today. The labour force's knowledge and education in technology, as well as intensive subsidies, has drawn other enterprises and global players such as AMD, Infineon Technologies (now partly owned by Qimonda), and Toppan Photomasks to site some of their production capability in Dresden. Their factories attract many suppliers of material and cleanroom technology enterprises to Dresden.

The pharmaceutical sector came up at the end of the 19th century. GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals Dresden (former Sächsisches Serumwerk Dresden), is a world leader in vaccine production. Another traditional pharmacy producer is the Arzneimittelwerke Dresden (Pharmaceutical Works, Dresden).

A third (traditional) branch is that of mechanical and electrical engineering. Volkswagen is currently manufacturing its Phaeton car model and the Bentley "flying spur" model at the Transparent Factory. A subsidiary of EADS, the Elbe Flugzeugwerke (Elbe Aircraft Works) is the leading company for rebuilding Airbus passenger aircraft to become freight aircraft.