Many thousands of people who arrive in Venice every day by car, bus or cruise ship have been looking forward to this day: A passenger transport system known as the Cable Liner which was custom-built for Venice has now gone into operation. With a capacity of 200 people per car, the cable-operated tram can very comfortably transport 3,000 passengers an hour in each direction. Constructed by Doppelmayr and Siemens, the people mover glides above Venice – energy-efficient, emission-free and fully automated, moving on noiseless rubber tires at a speed of about 30km/h. Supported by steel girders with an average height of five meters, the 870-meter Cable Liner link covers the 870 meters between the island of Tronchetto – with its port and parking garage – and Piazzale Roma – the point of departure for the historic center of Venice – in about three minutes.
Siemens AG will create about 100 jobs for highly-qualified personnel at its location in Bad Neustadt, Germany. The company made this announcement following high-level talks between the Minister President of Bavaria, Horst Seehofer, and Siemens’ President and CEO Peter Löscher regarding the further development of the Siemens location in Germany’s Rhön region (Bavaria). “We’re increasing our innovative strength in promising technology fields that are of major significance for Siemens. This is important for the Rhön. This is good for Bavaria and, thus, also for Germany as a high-tech location,” said Siemens’ President and CEO Peter Löscher after the meeting, which was also attended by Bavaria’s Minister of Economic Affairs Martin Zeil, the President of the Bavarian Parliament Barbara Stamm, Siemens’ Chief Human Resources Officer Siegfried Russwurm and the Chairman of Siemens’ Central Works Council Lothar Adler.
The United Nations and Siemens joined forces today to make cities more livable and promote sustainable urban development. A framework agreement to this effect was signed today at the World Urban Forum in Rio de Janeiro. Siemens and the Siemens Stiftung will be partners in the World Urban Campaign (WUC) of the UN-HABITAT program, the United Nation’s agency for housing and sustainable urban development. The program brings together representatives of cities, government agencies, the private sector and non-government organizations with the aim of working on solutions for the cities of the future. The agreement will initially be in effect for three years.
Siemens AG is orienting its IT business toward promising solution areas and is therefore planning to make additional investments of more than €500 million by 2012. These investments are primarily intended to help Siemens IT Solutions and Services (SIS) offer customers economical IT solutions to an even greater extent than before. The solutions business will form the second pillar – alongside IT outsourcing – of the SIS organization, which will be considerably simpler in the future. The solutions business will combine IT systems integration services and industry-related IT solutions – services and solutions that will also benefit the Siemens’ Energy, Industry and Healthcare Sectors. To date, the IT division has comprised seven business units. “The combination of IT outsourcing and specific industry solutions makes SIS an excellent partner for comprehensive IT consulting and IT management and can build on the specific industry and software knowhow of the Siemens Sectors, which are world-leaders in their businesses,” said Siemens CFO Joe Kaeser. “We want to put SIS on a solid long-term foundation,” emphasized Christian Oecking, acting CEO of the IT business. As part of the reorientation, plans call for eliminating some 4,200 of about 35,000 jobs worldwide by 2011. Roughly 2,000 of the jobs affected are in Germany, primarily at major locations for example in Munich and Paderborn as well as the Nuremberg/Erlangen metropolitan area. “We will implement these measures responsibly. The clear focus will make our IT business fit for the future,” stated Siemens Chief Human Resources Officer Siegfried Russwurm.
In fiscal 2010, Siemens will again provide 250 additional training positions for disadvantaged young people throughout Germany. For the third year in a row, the company will invest €30 million in training positions. “Our experience with the program has been very positive. That’s why we’ve decided to keep supporting disadvantaged young people – especially in light of the current economic situation. Well-qualified young people are our most important asset for the future,” said Siemens’ Chief Human Resources Officer Siegfried Russwurm. The aim of the Siemens program is to provide opportunities to young people – many with migration backgrounds – who have not yet obtained training positions due to low academic performance or weak basic skills.
Siemens expands its strong presence in the United States by building a new production plant for 60-Hertz gas turbines at its existing facility in Charlotte, North Carolina. The company will create a new global production hub for gas and steam turbines and generators for supply to the U.S. and other 60-Hz markets. The initial investment will be approximately $135 million. Production is slated to start in the fall of 2011.
The countdown is on: In about 50 days, the Expo 2010 in Shanghai will open its doors to the world. About 70 million visitors are expected in the Chinese metropolis. It is supposed to be the first green world exhibition in Expo history. Siemens supplied most of the necessary infrastructure to ensure that the stream of visitors can be accommodated in an environmentally friendly manner. Siemens was awarded contracts in connection with the Expo with a total value of more than one billion euros. About 90 percent of this amount is related to environmentally friendly products and solutions. "Once again, we have proven that our environmental portfolio has exactly what cities need to hold events of worldwide importance like the Expo 2010 in accordance with the principles of environmental protection," said Richard Hausmann, CEO Siemens Northeast Asia and President and CEO of Siemens Ltd., China. As a global Expo partner, Siemens has supplied technology used in more than 40 projects on the Expo ground. In addition, Siemens supplied infrastructure that will make this event memorable for all its visitors, including technology for rapid mass tran-sit, clean air, cleaner water and ultra-modern health care in Shanghai. "Our green technology will continue to upgrade the city's infrastructure well after the Expo. Thus, it is a triple win for Expo visitors, for the host city of Shanghai and for Siemens," Hausmann said.
Siemens will be introducing new key components for the field of electromobility at the International Motor Show to be held in Geneva, Switzerland on March 4-14, 2010. In the Ruf Automobile GmbH stand, Siemens will exhibit an integrated recharging system complete with the requisite software as well as a so-called double-motor concept for a new version of the electric roadster known as the eRuf Greenster. Wolfgang Dehen, CEO of the Energy Sector at Siemens AG, explains: “We see great potential for electromobility – also from the point of view of power utilities – since electric vehicles are the ideal temporary storage units for surplus electricity.” Siemens expects more than a million electric vehicles to be on the world’s roads in the foreseeable future.
Siemens technologies took first place in two categories of the first Innovation Prize for Climate and Environment awarded by Germany’s Federal Environment Ministry and the Federation of German Industries (BDI). German Environment Minister Norbert Röttgen and BDI Director General Werner Schnappauf presented the awards – totaling €125,000 – to winners in five categories in Berlin on Thursday. For the world’s most efficient gas turbine, Siemens Energy placed first in the “Green products and services” category. For the first dishwasher to use special minerals for speeding up the drying process, BSH Bosch und Siemens Hausgeräte GmbH was awarded first place in the category “Innovation for climate protection – products and services.”
Following the successful conclusion of the first stage of Siemens’ Diversity Initiative, Jill Lee is leaving her position as Chief Diversity Officer to return to operations and take up a new challenge outside the company. Peter Löscher, Siemens President and CEO, thanked Jill Lee for her successful work and paid tribute to her achievements: “We now have a worldwide network of very active and committed Diversity Ambassadors. We’ve introduced systematic diversity processes in personnel development and for filling management positions. These steps are enabling us to match the diversity of our customers and businesses while opening up even better chances for our employees to develop their talents and expertise all around the globe.”