Automotive, Suppliers & Vehicle Construction

Automotive industry & suppliers, commercial vehicle manufacturers, agricultural & construction machinery manufacturers, tyre manufacturers.

Aviation & Rail Systems

Aviation & Aircraft Construction, Rail Systems.

Plant & mechanical engineering

Mechanical engineers, plant & equipment manufacturers, special purpose machine manufacturers, drive & automation technology, tool manufacturers, metal processing & technology, crane & lifting technology, storage, elevator & fire protection technology, hydraulics, shipyards, marine & defence systems.

Consumer goods, lifestyle, household & furniture

Fashion & textile industry, shoe industry, household goods & household appliances manufacturers, consumer electronics & products, furniture industry, office supplies industry, leather goods industry, sporting goods manufacturers, lifestyle article manufacturers, toy industry, children's consumer goods industry, lighting manufacturers, indoor & outdoor products.

Food, Beverages & Luxury Goods

Food industry & TC, meat industry, confectionery industry, breweries, beverage industry, wine & spirits industry, tobacco industry, dairies & cheese dairies, agricultural enterprises.

Medical & Electrical Engineering, Technology & Life Sciences

Medical technology, electrical engineering, connection technology / electrical engineering, semiconductor industry & cables, electronic manufacturing service, life sciences, healthcare & technology.

Chemicals, Pharmaceuticals, Plastics & Packaging

Chemical industry, pharmaceutical industry, paper mills, paint manufacturers, plastics industry & technical ceramics, packaging industry, glass industry, surface technology / chemistry, joining technology / chemistry & plastics.

Energy industry (private & public), construction & raw materials

Utilities & waste management companies, solar & wind energy, oil & gas industry, mining, timber industry, construction industry, steel construction, building materials industry & cement, window manufacturers, building, air conditioning & sanitary engineering, steel & aluminium works.

Telecommunication, IT & Hardware

Telecommunications, computer manufacturers, network, telephone companies & providers.

Finance & Insurance

Banks, savings banks, Volksbanks, building societies, development banks, leasing companies, collection companies, insurance companies, insurance brokers, fund providers, professional associations, health insurance companies.

Real estate, building services & hygiene

Real estate companies, housing companies, real estate agents, industrial, building & cleaning services, security services, large craft businesses, cable companies, architects & engineers, shopfitters, garden & landscape designers.

Consulting, IT & Engineering

Engineering & IT, software manufacturers, auditing service providers, tax consultancy, auditing companies, law firms, management & IT consultancies, personnel consultants, personnel service providers, language service providers, research centres (private).

Transport, Logistics & Traffic

Freight forwarders, car rental companies, airlines, mail & parcel logistics service providers, logistics companies, railways, passenger & freight traffic/transport, car/truck service & agricultural machinery, airports.

Media & agencies

Newspaper, book & specialist publishers, printers, TV & radio stations, music industry, Internet companies, advertising, PR & event agencies, film studios, market researchers, business information, trade fair companies.

Gastronomy, hotel industry, tourism & leisure

System, transport & theme gastronomy, gastronomy & chains, caterers, hotel chains, tour operators, leisure companies, sports clubs.

Cooperations & Franchise

Affiliated groups, franchisors.

Food & Beverages, Drugstore & Household

Supermarkets & hypermarkets, discounters, cash & carry markets, department stores, drugstores, organic food stores, health food stores, retail & wholesale chains (food), household goods, gift & toy chain stores

Fashion, Sport, Lifestyle & Health

Fashion stores & chain stores, shoe stores & chain stores, sports stores & chain stores, lifestyle, wellness & health.

Building, DIY & Furnishing

DIY stores, furniture stores, kitchen markets, DIY & facilities, garden & plants.

Electronics, Technology & Automotive

Automobile dealers, construction machinery dealers, tyre dealers, petrol stations, electronics stores, technical wholesale.

Wholesale & mail order trade

Pharmaceutical wholesalers, Chemicals & detergents-GH, Petroleum wholesalers, Building materials, Steel wholesalers, Paper wholesalers, Electrical & sanitary wholesalers, Mail-order companies (wide product range), Fresh food services (GM/wholesale), Farming & agriculture, other wholesale, other trade.

Healthcare

Clinics, laboratories, nursing homes & care services, pharmacies, opticians & hearing aids, medical supply stores.

Public & municipal sector

Universities & libraries, research institutions, social institutions, city marketing, tourism & business development, trade unions, political parties, associations & chambers, other public & municipal institutions.

Family businesses are often complex and conflict-prone, because private and business matters are often intertwined. In addition, family businesses are often smaller, so that managers are often more involved in operational tasks than in large companies. Employees of family businesses often have to possess more entrepreneurial core competencies and show a higher degree of responsibility. This can become a real challenge for specialists and managers.

In general, the special features of family businesses can be mentioned:

• Regional roots, even when operating globally.
• Smaller size: often belong to the category of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
• Close link between private and business sectors.
• Organisational structures that are not only of purely business benefit, such as holding structures, in order to be able to implement personnel decisions desired by the family.
• Strong position of the owners, who have a significant influence on strategic decisions.
• Less personnel and financial resources, dependence on financial backers and greater involvement of private assets.
• The focus is on continuity of the ownership structure over generations as well as stable and long-term growth.
• More shared values between family entrepreneurs and their employees, also as a basis for necessary change processes.
• Generational change can break through continuity and threaten existence.