of this, joblessness rose, and the town's tax revenues fell. After the Schüttorfer Kreuz was completed in December 2004, Schüttorf profited from its favourable transport location and its proximity to the Dutch border. Schüttorf had at this time laid out a big industrial area on the Autobahn and tried by fostering the economy to get businesses to locate there. The Joint Community's unemployment rate lay at 6.7% in May 2007, which was lower than the figure for Lower Saxony as a whole (8.5%), but higher than the figure for the district (6.1%). Established businesses One of the biggest business taxpayers in Schüttorf since 1971 has been the Swiss company Georg Utz GmbH with 280 employees. This enterprise maintains a plastics factory in which plastic palettes and containers are made. Similarly big is a corrugated cardboard factory run by the Prowell Group, which was completed in 2005 right on the cloverleaf. Stemmann-Technik GmbH, with its 320 employees, produces pantographs for the ICE and other trains, tramways and metros as well as further products for energy and data transfer in industry. Midsized businesses are Arnold Lammering GmbH & Co. KG, a steel wholesaler with roughly 100 employees, Mannebeck Landtechnik, which manufactures stable equipment and Kortmann Beton GmbH & Co. KG, which makes concrete parts and blocks. Until 2004, the town was also home to a lime sand brickworks, but this was closed and torn down. Schüttorf's favourable transport location encourages shippers to set up shop here. Five such companies have done so: Rigterink GmbH & Co. KG, Fiege net, SLK Kock internationale Spedition & Logistik GmbH, Euregio-Logistik GmbH and Wanning Spedition GmbH & Co. KG. The best known company in Schüttorf, even far beyond the town, is the Danish company Tulip Food Company GmbH which processes meat and sausage products which are sold under this name in German supermarkets. Further companies known well beyond the town are the family business (since 1821) H. Klümper GmbH & Co. KG and Klüsta-Schinken Klümper & Stamme GmbH, which distribute ham specialities. The biggest service business in Schüttorf is the Index, a discotheque with 6000 to 7000 guests every weekend. Town works Schüttorf has at its disposal its own Stadtwerke Schüttorf GmbH – the town works – which is publicly owned. Already in 1896, a direct-current power station had been established on Fabrikstraße. From 1897, Schüttorf had electric street lighting, thus becoming one of the first