Concerted Action
The name Adlershof definitely has a ring to it, and the location, with its many institutions and businesses, is regularly covered in the media. But no one at Adlershof labours under the illusion that investors and businesses will automatically flock to the place. “It takes a lot more to create success”, says Ute Hübener, Head of Sales at development agency Adlershof Projekt. “What it takes above all is extensive, client-oriented work”, adds Dr. Peer Ambrée, Head of Technology Centres at operator WISTA -Management. Hence, both of them are committed to concerted action and have come up with a whole host of new ideas.
When businesses or investors start looking for a new location, they usually have more than one option on their list. “At least two challenges exist:”, says Hübener, “the management and the employees.” Management are, for a start, primarily interested in cost implications, while employees are interested in the new workplace’s infrastructure. Consequently, a lot of convincing has to be done. Hübener is certain that seeing a place with one’s own eyes is the best form of advertising for a location. This is never achieved by simply taking people on a sightseeing tour. Adlershof’s Business Lunches, Technology Meetings or the “Impact Day“ are just three examples of how interested parties can get to know the location in tangible ways, beyond charts, maps and blueprints. Meetings with representatives from selected institutions and businesses provide an excellent occasion for expert talks with potential technology partners or for attending lectures and events. Peer Ambrée calls this service offer the “Technology Orientation Package”, a presentation of Adlershof’s potential that is tailored to clients’ particular interests, which crucially includes the Adlershof-based Humboldt University as a source of expert input and potential employees.
Adlershof Projekt and WISTA-MANAGEMENT offer investors and businesses a seamless chain of service, with maximum flexibility in designing contracts and layouts of plots of land being one of this service’s strongest points. “But our activities do not stop once the purchase price or rent has been transferred to our accounts”, Hübener points out. “Rather, we also provide extensive support with planning permissions and building approval procedures, help with integrating our partners into local, national and international networks, assist with presentations at trade fairs and pave the way for new partners to become part of the local communication networks and get involved in events.”
Occasionally, Adlershof Projekt and WISTA-Management even take part in hands-on negotiations about frequencies of local public transport facilities or energy supply conditions. In-house trade fair and lettings hotlines provide easy access to information on investor offers and facilitate direct contact between potential clients and vendors. Easy access and high visibility are also the idea behind Adlershof’s innovative building plot signage and the location’s new orientation system. “Finding what one is looking for”, says Hübener, “will become a piece of cake.”
Rico Bigelmann