Usually they are only known in their industry or division: companies, often medium-sized companies, which set the tone on the world market with their products or technologies. Thuringia has some of them.
Erfurt (dpa/th) – According to an assessment by the state development company (LEG), there are 89 companies in Thuringia that are considered secret world market or technology leaders in their segment. Their number has increased in recent years, LEG announced on Friday at a first meeting of some of these companies in Erfurt. A LEG campaign “Hidden Champions” was presented – other federal states also have similar projects for location marketing.
Of the 89 companies, 33 fell into the technology leadership category. Most “champions” are at 26 in the field of optics, photonics and electronics – Thuringia is considered one of the centers of the optics industry in Germany. The cornerstone was laid by Carl Zeiss in Jena in the 19th century.
Another focus with 18 companies is machine, plant and tool construction. Jena, the greater Erfurt area and Ilmenau scored particularly well in terms of regional distribution.
As a rule, relatively unknown companies with annual sales of more than 50 million euros that are market leaders in their industry or segment are referred to as “hidden champions”. However, according to LEG, the sales volume does not necessarily have to be reached. Especially when it comes to technologies, it is often about smaller, still young companies.
According to LEG, the leaders in their field include Somag AG (Jena), which manufactures stabilization platforms for sensor systems and is therefore the world market leader. Askion GmbH (Gera) is the global technology leader in biobanks, low-temperature storage systems and devices that enable the controlled freezing of biological samples at below minus 130 degrees Celsius.
Another example is Petkus Technologie GmbH from Whuta-Farnoda, an international innovation leader in the development and production of plants for seed and grain processing. The listed Jenoptik AG (Jena) is internationally at the forefront in the manufacture of optical measuring and manufacturing systems for the quality control of lenses, objective lenses and camera modules.
“Thuringia is characterized by its diverse and at the same time high-performance medium-sized companies,” explained Economics Minister Wolfgang Tiefensee (SPD). Their innovative strength should be put in the shop window with the campaign. “The campaign is used for location marketing, but should also give companies in the Free State suggestions to become global market and technology leaders in their sector,” said LEG Managing Director Andreas Krey.
