25 Elisabeth Klock Editorial Dear readers, Germany as an industrial location is being talked about. The days when other countries looked enviously at Germany and regarded it as exemplary in many respects seem to be over. And indeed, there are plenty of reasons to doubt the quality of our country as a business location. One looks at the state of the infrastructure in amazement and asks oneself: What has happened in recent years that we seem to be in such a dilapidated situation? A German railroad, according to which one could set one‘s watch in times gone by, has probably completely lost sight of its core competence of punctuality in both passenger and freight transport. Our transport infrastructure, whether rail or road, is in urgent need of overhaul. The structural condition of our schools is so deplorable that the states alone do not see themselves in a position to remedy the situation promptly without support from the federal government. The state of the Bundeswehr, with its inability to act and function, is painfully apparent in the current political crisis. Companies complain about increasing bureaucratic regulation and a mismatch between the tax burden and government services. Compared with other countries, we are finding it extremely difficult to digitize the public sector. It is hard to shake off the impression that at least some of the wrong political priorities have been set in recent years with continued budget consolidation and restraint in public investment, and that the dynamism and agility of our community have suffered in many areas of society as a result. Fueled by the pandemic and the current economic crisis, these structural disadvantages are particularly evident. Politicians are particularly called upon to pull the lever in the right places and initiate a process of measured change. But crises also offer opportunities for change and improvement. However, the process of structural change is made more difficult by the fact that the current economic outlook for the current year is rather negative for the majority of industrial sectors. Despite the fact that the German government has significantly eased the burden on both companies and consumers with the gas and electricity price brake, the Institut der deutschen Wirtschaft (Institute of the German Economy) expects gross domestic product to shrink by ¾ percent in real terms. An upward trend cannot be expected until the third quarter of 2023. The medium and long term effects will be felt from the high robustness of the labor market, which has hardly been affected by the recession and in this respect also represents a key stability anchor for Germany‘s locational quality. The high equity ratios of companies and the good financial situation of the private sector and public budgets are important framework conditions that allow companies to make the necessary investments in structural change and also to finance them with an appropriate level of risk. And there are enough examples to be quite hopeful for the future of our industrial location. Tesla‘s production facilities in Grünheide in Brandenburg were built after an unprecedentedly short planning period. Intel is planning something similar in Magdeburg for the construction of its chip factory. And the U.S. semiconductor manufacturer Wolfspeed, together with the automotive supplier ZF, recently announced the construction of a semiconductor manufacturing facility in Ensdorf, Saarland. And last but not least, the construction of Germany‘s first liquefied natural gas terminal in Wilhelmshafen has shown how quickly approval procedures can proceed in Germany. All this shows that it is far too early to write off Germany as an industrial location. What matters now in the crisis is to act decisively and to further develop and highlight the advantages that Germany still has to offer. A good opportunity to do this is the Hanover Fair, which will take place in April and, under the slogans “Innovation.Inspiration.Interaction”, will be an important stimulus for the economy, offering German industry the chance to present its solutions to industrial challenges in times of supply chain problems and energy shortages at an international forum. This issue of Unternehmen & Trends is once again being published as a digital-only edition, giving our readers the opportunity to access significantly more background information via links, interactions and networking to web content and social media than is possible in print-only editions. We would like to thank all authors and advertising customers for their excellent cooperation, and we cordially invite you to contribute articles and advertisements to the next issue, which is scheduled to appear in fall 2023. Your editorial team Elisabeth Klock and Dr. Rudolf Müller www.vek-onlineservice.de Dr. Rudolf Müller
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