In Germany a lot of small and medium sized companies are doing exports from the beginning. They try to be in the forefront of innovation, and find and define a niche, and then sell on an international level. And the most successful ones are world market leaders in their niche sectors, which are "hidden champions".

Called the Mittelstand in German, this class of highly specialized, often family-owned businesses makes up the backbone of the German national economy. Germany is ranked fourth in the global economy, but it’s home to only 28 companies in the Fortune 500. Great Britain and France each have similar amount of companies on the list. But when it comes to little-known leaders in their market, Germany has 1307 “hidden champions,” nine times as many as those two countries combined.

In this event, Prof. Weber will talk about the German hidden champions with regard to industrial history, industrial culture and dual training.

You may find more information on the workshop here.