The makeup of German business is unique. In no other country are there so many small and medium-sized enterprises that are also market leaders – so-called hidden champions. Essentially, these unseen winners are actually a shining example to others and they totally deserve to be given special attention in the media. It was this idea that inspired Claudia Koch, Director of the Steinbeis Consulting Center for Change Management in Freiburg and the photographer Miguel Babo. The duo embarked on a mission to turn the spotlight – in an unexpected way – on small and medium-sized technology enterprises in the Black Forest, and in the area of the Upper Rhine valley.
There are little pockets of extremely successful technology companies tucked away in all parts of Germany, often in small clusters. It’s a bit like the world-famous Black Forest Gateau, where it’s all about magical ingredients applied in the right layers. There are mutually dependent factors such as the local geography, history, established companies, and educational establishment – all playing a key role in the success of these hidden champions. Apart from these ingredients of success, these companies stand out for being self-starters and for their innovative fl air. They just keep going and, on average, they have already been a market leader for 22 years. They also dare to keep changing. To do this, they create highly innovative solutions based on world-class quality. They invest in people and skills, and they are extremely good at keeping customers. Other key attributes include tremendous self-will, they believe in themselves and they are resilient to crisis.
When they talked to these companies, plus key infl uencers and economic development agencies, Claudia Koch and Miguel Babo heard some amazing opinions. One question that kept coming up was how these hidden champions do it in practical terms, what’s their recipe for success? And what can other fi rms learn from this? They discovered an exciting mixture of different recipes and the same applied to the unique personalities who invented the recipe. These are exemplary businesses that others have much to learn from, not just in technological and commercial terms, but also on a personal level, because each person is unique, part of real life, an original soundtrack.
The wish of many of these companies is to be better known, not just locally but also beyond the region. Naturally, this is to attract new custom to their leading products, but it is also to improve their image as an appealing employer who takes special care of its workers, encouraging trainees and other workers to play an active role in innovation. The reason for this is that it can sometimes be diffi cult to recruit skilled workers in rutal areas.
The company portraits created during the project are unique and sometimes unorthodox, and they are featured in a publication called Schwarzwälder- InnovationsGewinner (Winning Innovators from the Black Forest). The book will be published by Steinbeis-Edition in early 2016.