That’s how diverse the “German Mittelstand” is
Three examples of successful SMEs: a timber company, a nursing care provider and a firm specialising in cooling systems
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Germany, known as the”Mittelstand”, enjoy an outstanding reputation worldwide. 55 percent of the more than 45.8 million employees in Germany work in the country’s more than three million SMEs. More than 600 of them are what are known as hidden champions, i.e. world market leaders in their fields that are known only in specialist circles. We present three different SMEs that have each carved a niche for themselves in their specialist fields and won awards in the “Grand Prix of the Mittelstand” competition.
International care provider
In 1995, head nurse Renate Günther and nursing assistant Shaodong Fan set up Renafan, a nursing care provider in Berlin. The qualified nurse and the Chinese electronics and physics student wanted to start their own business. The group now employs around 4,400 people from 70 countries. They provide care for 7,400 people, including in China. It is clear from the services they provide that the two founders know their trade: Renafan is one of the first companies to offer intensive outpatient care both in residential care homes and for people still living at home. The firm cooperates with various universities in China, the Philippines and Tunisia to help professionalise the training of carers.
Climate-neutral timber buildings
In 1986, Josef Terhalle set up his carpentry business Terhalle Holzbau in the small town of Ahaus-Ottenstein in North Rhine-Westphalia, seven kilometres from the Dutch border. His goal was to build houses out of timber - a renewable material - to support the climate targets. Today, his firm has 550 employees, some of whom work at a branch in the Netherlands; in 2021 it was the first timber construction company in Germany to achieve climate-neutral certification. Terhalle was also awarded for his exemplary training of 65 apprentices at his firm. They have the opportunity to do work experience placements abroad in countries such as Finland, Norway, France, Italy and Australia. In 2022 and 2023, apprentices travelled to Namibia to take part in an aid project.
High precision temperature control
Peter Huber set up one of the first companies specialising in cooling systems in 1968. These days, Peter Huber Kältemaschinenbau SE is a leading supplier of high precision temperature control solutions for research and industry. With its 480 employees, the company is one of the pioneers of sustainable refrigeration with environmentally friendly cooling agents. What is the secret of its success? Alongside its innovative capacity, it is above all the company’s motto of “It takes two to tango”: from the outset, flexible project teams sit down with customers to work out tailormade solutions. That helps not only the company but also its staff, to whom the motto also applies, as they share in the company’s success.
