The Biggest German Family-Owned Enterprises
They are of utmost importance for the German economy, standing for innovation, quality and long-term-vision: Germany´s family-enterprises. Diana Research determines and analyses the 2,000 biggest of them.
The Germans call it the “Mittelstand” – and the unique structure of Germany’s strong sector of family-owned companies has become a synonym for technological strength, innovation and entrepreneurial spirit all over the world. In fact, the Mittelstand not only accounts for the overwhelming majority of all businesses in Germany (over 3 million), it also provides some 60 percent of all jobs and over 80 percent of all apprenticeships.
Depending on its specific definition, the family-owned companies range all the way from small craft workshops to hidden champions worth up to a billion euros. Their range expands from wellknown companies as Volkswagen or Bosch to players that are worth billions as Henkel, Merck or Dr. Oetker, and often includes so called “Hidden Champions” as Brose, Eberspächer or Harting.
The „Top 2,000“-Ranking
Which, however, are the leading family-owned companies in Germany? In its “Top 2,000” database project, Diana Research identifies and analyses Germany’s biggest family-owned companies companies and create a ranking list due to turn-over.
The results provide an interesting insight into the structure, distribution and relevance of the most important family businesses in Germany. In this respect, turnover at the top 2,000 firms ranges from €120 million (US$132 million) – currently made by number 2,000, Gerke AG – to the by far biggest company, Volkswagen, with €236 billion (US$278 billion). All in all, the top 2,000 companies account for roughly two trillion euros in turnover and provide approximately 8,3 million jobs worldwide.
Underlying the newest data, the latest version of the ranking shows the impressive success of these companies: reaching a plus of 2,8 % by turn-over in 2018, the Top-2,000 family-owned companies grew more as the gross domestic product (+ 2,2 %)
Industry leads
When ranked according to sector, most of the Top-2,000-companies are from the automotive trade, followed by mechanical engineering and construction. 56 percent are to be classified as industry, 27 percent as service providers and 17 percent as retailers. With 57 such companies, the city of Hamburg is home to the most large-scale medium-sized companies, followed by Munich with 28 and Dusseldorf with 22.
All these companies have one thing in common: being family-owned and -run, supplies them with decisive values which combine agility and high-class innovation with a long-term enterprise-vision. Values that make that certain difference for employees as well as for clients all over the world.