INTENSE AG

For over 20 years and now with over 100 employees, INTENSE AG has been offering software and IT consulting for a wide range of industries. Last year, in addition to the headquarters in Würzburg and the branches in Cologne and Saarbrücken, a new location was opened in Leipzig under branch manager Jens Ziegler.

INTENSE AG has made a name for itself as a leading provider of IT implementations. As a consulting and development company, the company mainly serves customers from the energy industry. "We mainly take on programming and system implementation tasks. However, the trend is for us to increasingly support companies with strategic considerations, for example by deriving potential for improvement from the current situation and then developing a suitable solution that meets the customer's requirements and wishes. This is not always just about software," explains Jens Ziegler. The company is not only a long-standing SAP partner and specialises in these core products: INTENSE AG also researches and develops solutions for energy efficiency and thus makes an important contribution to climate protection. You can find out more at www.intense.de.

The Leipzig branch has now grown to 11 employees. The choice in favour of Leipzig was a chain of fortunate circumstances: "By chance, the letter from Invest Region Leipzig GmbH about the advantages of the region landed in my hands. At that time, our Supervisory Board had not yet made a decision in favour of the location. As a Leipzig resident, it was clear to me that if a new location was founded, I would start my search in Leipzig. I then examined the options and realised that it wasn't that easy to find a suitable property on my own, for example. So I said, let's try it with Invest Region Leipzig and it worked very well straight away," explains Jens Ziegler.  "Our consultant from Invest Region Leipzig understood very well what kind of property we were looking for and worked with us to find the perfect fit. He also gave me the tip for applying for subsidies. We also used the skilled labour service. That went very well. Without the support of Invest Region Leipzig, it would have been a bit more difficult, especially when it came to finding offices," he recalls.

Leipzig's university landscape played a decisive role in the decision to locate the company. For Jens Ziegler, the broad range of study options, from energy technology to economics, engineering and IT, was important. This ensures that the skilled workers of tomorrow are available. "Another plus point for Leipzig is that it is a scientific centre. There is the Helmholtz Institute, for example. Leipzig is also an energy centre, the EEX is based here," he explains. "Ultimately, of course, it's the location itself: Leipzig as a city is representative with many facets, which was the deciding factor. The city is big enough, but not yet as big as Berlin, so you can try out a lot of things here," he says.

The number of employees for the Leipzig office is set to increase in the future. INTENSE AG is mainly looking for IT-savvy people at the location, who ideally have an understanding of the energy industry. "You should have a passion for IT and not think in very fixed patterns, but be able to bring in new things and sometimes throw old things overboard," says Jens Ziegler. "We are very friendly here in Leipzig and have a close bond. We also work hard together and have high expectations of our performance. But we support each other in the process," he explains enthusiastically. "We don't all work on the same project or client. Nevertheless, we share ideas and support each other. You're curious to see what the others are doing, can I learn something here too and participate in the process. There are also no fixed roles here, everyone is equal and should or may contribute," says Jens Ziegler. He would also like to see this open approach and the willingness to actively participate from new employees. And, of course, the colleagues should also feel at home on site: the Leipzig office has already been voted the most beautiful of all the branches internally, and the table tennis table has already been installed.