Volkswagen Autoeuropa

The Volkswagen Group is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world and the largest in Europe. In spite of 2003 having been an economically difficult year, the group managed to sell 5,015 million vehicles (2002: 4,984 million), which corresponds to 12.1% of the worldwide market.

The Volkswagen Group is headquartered in Wolfsburg, Germany, and operates in eleven European countries plus further seven in the Americas, Asia and Africa. All in all, there are 45 factories, which employ more than 336,000 people and produce around 21,500 vehicles per day throughout the world. The Volkswagen Group sells its models in over 150 countries.

Volkswagen Autoeuropa, founded in 1995, is the largest foreign investment made in Portugal to date. It is responsible for 3.38% of Portuguese exports, produces 0.82% of the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) and directly employs 2,790 people. The factory has an installed capacity of 180,000 vehicles per year, operates a two-shift operation and produces the Volkswagen Sharan and SEAT Alhambra people carriers and the Volkswagen Eos Coupé-Convertible.

SIEMENS

With 500 production centres in 50 countries and a presence in 190 nations, Siemens is represented all over the world and currently employs 475,000 employees. The registered sales for the 2005-2006 business year were in the region of a total value of 87.325 billion euros.

In Portugal, the company employs around 2,000 collaborators and has two manufacturing units plus four software research and development centres. It is represented all over the country by its partners and their facilities. Siemens S.A. billed 562.9 million euros during the 2004-2005 business year, of which 127 million euros were the result of the export of software, solutions and services. The supply of qualified services and the significant software and solutions export volume resulting from exploiting the synergy between the different business areas contributed to these good results.

BOSCH

Bosch is one of the largest private industrial companies in the world. The 268,000 collaborators spread throughout the five continents have contributed towards achieving the quality and innovation activities initially mapped out by the founder Robert Bosch. The annual worldwide sales volume for 2007 reached a value in excess of 46 billion euros.

The Bosch Group has 30,000 researchers in the various areas which it operates in, and in 2007, it spent 7.8% of its sales volume on R&D activities, strengthening its technical leadership and resulting in the issue of 14 patent applications per day.

The Bosch Group owns six companies in Portugal, five of which are industrial and one is commercial. These employ approximately 4,000 collaborators and had a sales volume of 818 million euros in 2007. In Portugal, the company sells a number of Bosch products including automobile accessories, car radios, navigation systems, heaters, boilers, detection and security systems, electrical tools and household appliances.

The Portuguese German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCILA)

The Portuguese German Chamber of Commerce and Industry was founded in 1954 and is an important partner in the creation and strengthening of economic and business links between Portugal and Germany. Nowadays, CCILA has more than 1,000 members in Portugal, Germany and elsewhere, and has a team of German and Portuguese collaborators who look to satisfy the partners and members in collaboration with the worldwide network of German chambers abroad (AHK).

As well as providing commercial contacts, organizing events, and offering trade fair and advisory services, the CCILA has considerable experience in Dual Professional Training in Portugal.