World market leader and innovation driver
Any discussion of Hannover’s economy usually features the names of the large companies based in the region. But the city’s corporate landscape is clearly larger and more diverse than that. There are numerous so-called “hidden champions” – small and medium-sized companies that shape whole industries and lead the world market with their products, and many more that make a crucial contribution to research and development.
Hannover General Employers’ Association (AGV) brings together nearly all renowned companies in the region to form a strong alliance. Our aim is to create advantages for the companies through sharing and cooperation in order to enhance Hannover as a business location. The SME companies in our association that are named below are examples for the region’s innovative capabilities and successful entrepreneurship.
Companies from Hannover that have shaped whole industries
One of the world’s most famous family companies comes from Hannover. Hermann Bahlsen founded his biscuit factory way back in 1889. He named the biscuits after Hannover’s philosopher Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz. Shelves in food shops all around the world still have Leibniz biscuits on display to this day. Just a few years later, another family company wrote history in Hannover. In 1901, Lachmann N. Jacob and Fritz Salomon founded the Hannoversche Wach- und Schließinstitut Jacob & Co. – Europe’s first private security firm. Jacob brought the idea back with him from a trip to the USA, where private security companies had been supporting the state in securing properties for decades. This enterprise eventually became Niedersächsische Wach- und Schliessgesellschaft Eggeling & Schorling KG (NWSG)/VSU Vereinigte Sicherheitsunternehmen GmbH, which continues to set standards to this day. A younger but similarly prominent family company is KIND Hörgeräte GmbH & Co KG. Starting with the hearing aid shop founded by his parents in Großburgwedel in 1952, the long-standing managing director Martin Kind, who is also Vice Chair of AGV, now runs a successful chain store company. In addition to more than 700 stores in Germany, KIND is also represented in numerous countries such as Armenia, Georgia, Singapore, Switzerland and the Netherlands.
From Hannover out into the world
The hidden champions from our city today are usually involved in industry and technology. The family company Wagner Group GmbH from Langenhagen for instance are specialists for manufacturing technical fire safety equipment. They were the first company to launch nitrogen as natural extinguishing agent. Their equipment is meanwhile used all over the world, for example in the rail sector. Examples include the Thameslink in London, the Metro in Kuala Lumpur or the Rhaetian Railway in Switzerland. Torsten Wagner, the company’s current managing director, is Chair of AGV.
When it comes to rail technology, HaCon is another world market leader. The software development company in Hannover developed Germany’s first computer aided timetable information. Today it is among others the brain behind the DB-Navigator app. Wholly owned by Siemens AG since 2017, HaCon meanwhile also provides digital planning systems for many other countries worldwide.
Innovations to safeguard the future
Research and development is rated very highly by Hannover’s SME sector. As a result, our companies are able to safeguard their leading position in many areas despite growing competitive pressure, particularly from Asia. The American automotive supplier Wabco (today ZF Division Commercial Vehicle Control Systems) has been working in Hannover since 1884 to develop electronic brakes, suspension and drive systems for commercial vehicles. The Technology Centre opened in 2018 and is staffed by more than 420 employees pursuing research into innovation for the automotive sector.
One of the most important research centres for rubber and polymers in the world is based in Hannover. The German Rubber Institute (DIK) brings together researchers involved in the various natural science and engineering disciplines with a bearing on rubber and polymer materials. This concept is globally unique. Furthermore, DIK also puts a focus on practical application. The institute not only works with companies from all over the world to test its developments under practical conditions: companies can also commission DIK directly to test new products. The Laser Centre Hannover is based on a similar concept. Here, specialists in photonics and laser technology work on the improvement and further development of laser technology, also cultivating new areas of application. The laser centre also works closely with companies from all over the world.
Role model for recruiting young talents
The skills shortage is one of the greatest threats to the prosperity of our state and region. On a national scale, there are already 350,000 skilled workers missing, with an upward trend. The largest gap is in the so-called STEM fields with around 125,000 job vacancies that cannot be filled. In 2007, we held the first IdeasExpo in Hannover to win over young people for jobs in science and technology. Today the event organised by IdeenExpo GmbH is known throughout Europe and more important than ever, both for our economy and for the young generation, as confirmed by the figures for the latest event. From small firms to large companies, more than 280 exhibitors were to be found on the exhibition grounds in Hannover in July 2022, with IdeenExpo GmbH registering a new record number of visitors. For nine days, more than 450,000 youngsters used the opportunity to become immersed in the diverse world of science and technology. The IdeasExpo 2022 was thus the top event at the trade-fair location in Hannover in terms of visitor numbers.
The business location has a huge image problem
As shown by all these examples, for decades Hannover’s economy has been innovative, strong and future-oriented. But the city’s tarnished image is increasingly putting this at risk. At the end of 2021, a representative survey by Allensbach Institute on behalf of Drei-Quellen-Mediengruppe asked 1,500 German citizens about Hannover. The results are sobering. Just nine percent of respondents felt it was worth visiting Lower Saxony’s state capital. Only Saarbrücken is said to be less attractive than Hannover. It seems that Hannover failed to make the most of its chances after hosting the World Expo 2000. It is just as disappointing that only 38 percent of the people living in Lower Saxony think their capital city is attractive. This puts Hannover far, far behind the ratings achieved by other capital cities in their respective states
Statistics like this are not only a burden for the tourism industry. They also have serious consequences when it comes to the competition for skilled workers and future technologies. Our companies already face real problems in attracting good skilled workers to Hannover, and the ongoing escalation of the skills shortage will make this even harder in future. Young people who are in a position to pick and choose their employer pay far more attention to the surroundings. The young “generation Z” wants the best possible work-life balance, which also includes a city that offers plenty of attractive features. But when the skilled workers stay away, the location is even less appealing for business. As a result, companies will leave or won’t settle here in the first place.
It is thus more important than ever to look beyond Hannover’s city limits and to be inspired by what other cities are doing. Hannover still has a strong, healthy economy. But if the stakeholders fail to make massive improvements to the city’s image, there is a real risk that Hannover, as a business location, will suffer persistent, permanent damage.
Header picture: IdeenExpo GmbH
