Rhön-Grabfeld is not at the top of the class. But at least it is a two before the decimal point with which the district comes off in the location report of the IHK Würzburg-Schweinfurt. The industrial and commercial location Rhön-Grabfeld is rated with an average grade of 2.7. What does that mean?
Among the seven districts and two independent cities, Rhön-Grabfeld, together with Main-Spessart, brings up the rear. There, too, the location is rated 2.7. The neighboring district of Bad Kissingen follows in third place. Do the regions lose their attractiveness the further they are from the Main? Or do you even have to take psychological factors into account, because people tend to grumble on the flatter land?
The Main Franconian companies rate the location with an average of 2.4. 62.7 percent of the companies give at least a straight two for their company headquarters. The survey results of the IHK Würzburg-Schweinfurt do not come close to these values. With the aforementioned grade point average of 2.7, the circle ranks behind. Here it is only a little over 50 percent of the companies that rate the Rhön-Grabfeld district as a location with at least “good”.
The issue of location quality is a constant topic in the municipalities as well as at the district level. Fast internet, expansion of roads, designation of commercial areas: topics like these are actually permanently present in the discussion. And what do the entrepreneurs say? 33 percent, i.e. a good third, see an improvement in the location in the last five years since the location report was first published. However, just under 74 percent see stagnation here, and 17 percent even see it worsening.
Good grades for energy supply
The location report for Rhön-Grabfeld was actually supposed to be presented recently to the IHK committee, but had to be canceled at short notice due to the corona development. This committee had only expressed criticism of increasing voltage fluctuations in the industrial networks in October. In the location report, however, the security of energy supply is still seen as a strength of Rhön-Grabfeld. The road network, the range of schools and the unspoilt nature are also seen as positive points.
On the negative list in the location report, however, is the availability of workers. It is said that specialists and managers in particular are difficult to find. Retailers in particular complain about the attractiveness of the inner cities in Rhön-Grabfeld, which has actually been an ongoing topic that has been worked on for years. The “understanding of politics for operational matters” is apparently also not far off in Rhön-Grabfeld, at least the point is listed in the minus list. The answer of those responsible in politics is likely to be different.
The quality of life as a factor
Rhön-Grabfeld received good marks for the location factor quality of life with a score of 1.9. Particularly high importance is attached to the quality of life. It is also clear that there is not much focus here on good connections to the national air transport network. The same praise is given for the medical care in Rhön and Grabfeld as for the quality of life.
And what do you say at the district office, where the threads of location development come together, so to speak? “In the district of Rhön-Grabfeld we always take this economic mood index seriously,” comments Jörg Geier from the district development department at the district office.
The district reacts
“Since the topic of transporting trainees has been criticized for years, we introduced the trainee shuttle last year,” says Geier, giving an example of how the district reacts to the IHK reports. This shuttle ensures that training companies located on the periphery can also be reached. “The evaluation by the Chamber of Industry and Commerce indicates that we have to market our newly created offer better, since it is apparently still too unknown,” Geier continues. He is also happy that the district was able to “apparently solve the issue of broadband to the satisfaction of the companies”.
A total of 776 of the 3,500 companies from Mainfranken asked for participation in the location report, which is now available for the second time since 2016. Members are interviewed, from start-ups to global corporations. 71 location factors were included in the analysis.
Most traders would stay loyal
All in all, the Rhön-Grabfeld businesses are obviously satisfied with their district. Almost two thirds, namely around 65 percent, would choose Rhön-Grabfeld as the company location again. In the 2015 report it was still around 72 percent.
The queried location factors can be assigned to the following six subject areas: location costs and financing, infrastructure, framework conditions for companies, education and labor market, innovation potential and science as well as general framework conditions. In the preliminary survey from 2016, the Mainfranken location received an average grade of 2.45 and almost 60 percent of the companies gave it a “very good” or “good” rating.
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