B.I.W. GmbH and the municipality jointly hosted the Willstätt Economic Forum. On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of B.I.W. GmbH, operator of the Industriepark Willstätt, 150 invited guests from politics and business received first-hand information.

During factory tours, the companies XSYS (printing plate manufacturer), Leclanché (lithium-ion batteries), autonox Robotics (robot mechanics) and hansgrohe (shower hoses) gave the interested visitors rare insights into their production processes.

The official part of the event with the mayor's words of welcome took place in a newly constructed hall measuring over 5,000 square metres.

In his speech, Mayor Huber emphasised that the location has contributed significantly to the prosperity of the municipality of Willstätt since its foundation. He pointed out the currently difficult framework conditions for companies. Bureaucracy, high energy prices and a shortage of skilled labour would present them with major challenges.

Alexander Reichert, Managing Director of B.I.W. GmbH, gave a presentation on the history of the site, starting with the laying of the foundation stone in 1964 under the direction of BASF. The audience was impressed by the number of companies that have settled in the industrial park over the last 20 years.

Afterwards, visitors had the opportunity to visit the information stands of the following companies located in the industrial park: 

XSYS Germany (printing plates), Flint Group Packaging Inks Germany (printing inks), the forwarding companies Decker and Schenker, Elteo (control technology), Geocept (software), Leclanché (lithium-ion batteries), autonox Robotics (robot mechanics) and Blank (PV assembly).