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// location·city: Dortmund·region: North Rhine-Westphalia·entity: Alexander Kaminski

Location · Dortmund

Alexander Kaminski for companies in Dortmund

Alexander Kaminski — creative director, brand strategist and marketing lead from Hamburg — works remote-first with companies in Dortmund (North Rhine-Westphalia). A former coal, steel and beer city that has completed the structural transition from coal, steel and brewing toward logistics, the insurance industry and IT/technology.

Dortmund in context

Dortmund is the textbook example of the Ruhr region's structural transformation: where coal mines, steel works (Hoesch/Phoenix) and large breweries shaped the cityscape into the 1990s, insurers such as Signal Iduna and IT firms such as adesso and Materna are based today. Around TU Dortmund University and the TechnologiePark, one of Germany's largest technology and startup hubs has emerged, with a focus on software, micro-/nanotechnology and logistics research (Fraunhofer IML). At the same time, Dortmund is one of the country's largest logistics locations by area and home to Borussia Dortmund as an economic factor.

Key industries: Logistics and distribution, Insurance and financial services, IT and software development, Micro- and nanotechnology / sensor technology, Brewing and beverages, Wholesale and retail.

Roles for Dortmund

Each role as a dedicated service for companies in Dortmund (pages in German):

FAQ — Dortmund

What did Dortmund stand for economically in the past, and what has remained?

Dortmund was a classic coal and beer city with coal mining, steel production (Hoesch/Phoenix) and one of the highest concentrations of breweries in Europe. Mining and large-scale steel have disappeared, the brewing tradition lives on with brands such as DAB and Brinkhoff's, while logistics, insurance and IT shape the economy today.

Which well-known companies are headquartered in Dortmund?

Dortmund is home to the Signal Iduna Group (insurance), the IT service providers adesso SE and Materna, and Borussia Dortmund, among others, along with numerous logistics, retail and technology companies.

What role do science and technology play in Dortmund's economy?

TU Dortmund University, several universities of applied sciences and Fraunhofer institutes (including the Fraunhofer IML for material flow and logistics), together with the TechnologiePark Dortmund, form one of the most important startup and technology clusters in North Rhine-Westphalia, with a focus on software, sensor/microtechnology and logistics.

Why is Dortmund considered an example of successful structural change?

Dortmund deliberately offset the loss of coal and steel by building up service, IT and technology sectors, converting industrial sites such as Phoenix-West and Phoenix-See into technology, commercial and residential areas.

Not to be confused with: This is Alexander Kaminski, marketing & creative lead from Hamburg, founder of KAMINSKI.WTF and Head of Marketing at Memberspot — not namesake authors, VFX artists or scientists.