For the cities of Remscheid, Solingen and Wuppertal in the heart of North Rhine-Westphalia, structural development has been a joint task since the Regionale 2006.
Flashlights on the region: Around 625,300 residents live in the region with its developed economic structure. The early use of water power to produce highly specialized metal products was the origin, and over the centuries the companies have repeatedly reinvented themselves. Hands-on entrepreneurship is part of the DNA of the people here. Two more numbers: Of a total of 800 automotive suppliers in North Rhine-Westphalia, there are 250 in the city triangle alone.
The region is characterized by the proximity of the city and the countryside. In the middle of the city triangle lies a mountainous landscape with numerous watercourses - well connected for outdoor tourists by numerous well-developed hiking trails and cycle paths on disused railway lines.
Three cities - one strategy: The Bergische Structural and Economic Development Company mbH (BSW), supported by the cities, the Bergische IHK and the savings banks, is developing a future strategy for the region: It initiates and organizes regional projects as well as cooperation in the Bergische city triangle.
The BSW works on three subject areas in a regional context: economic development, structural development and tourism. Regional strategies and projects with regional added value are developed at BSW and implemented inter-communally and in cooperation with business and science.
The areas of responsibility include organizing support for the regional corporate landscape, especially for automotive suppliers and mechanical engineering. This also includes the development of structural projects that deal with climate-friendly, supra-regional, multimodal mobility networks or the implementation of urban production. Regional tourism projects and strategies are another component of BSW's work. Promoting the labor market and employment is also part of the area of responsibility: the Bergisches Städtedreieck regional agency is located under the umbrella of the BSW.
The BSW has also joined supra-regional political collaborations - to achieve more impact in development and to make the region visible as a funding backdrop.
