ERFURT – Thuringia is a global leader – with outstanding medium-sized companies that have achieved either market leadership or technology leadership through innovative products and services as well as cutting-edge technologies. The Free State will leverage these strengths with its new marketing campaign, "Hidden Champions – Thuringian World Market and Technology Leaders," launched by LEG. LEG has identified nearly 90 companies that deliver top performance and are at the forefront of the market – all of them, along with representatives from other companies and associations, are invited to the campaign's kick-off event, the "1st Thuringian ChampionsMEET," which will take place on March 3, 2023, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the COMCENTER Brühl in Erfurt.
“Thuringia is characterized by its diverse and high-performing medium-sized companies,” says Minister of Economic Affairs Wolfgang Tiefensee, who will open the event on Friday. “With this new image campaign, we want to showcase this concentrated innovative strength and market power of the Thuringian economy.” As part of the campaign, LEG will present these leading companies to a broad audience via the new website www.hidden-champions-thuringia.de and social media activities. “We want to demonstrate the expertise and potential that the Free State has to offer,” says LEG Managing Director Andreas Krey. “The campaign serves as location marketing, but it is also intended to inspire companies in the Free State to become global market and technology leaders in their respective sectors.”
The kick-off event connects Thuringia's "hidden champions" with politics, business, and young talent, showcasing best practice examples of how to reach the top. The keynote address will be given by Prof. Hermann Simon, a world-renowned management thinker and expert in corporate strategy and marketing, who coined the term "hidden champions." He will speak on the topic of "Hidden Champions – Success Strategies of Medium-Sized Companies in an Uncertain Global Environment." Dr. Arnulf Wulff, authorized signatory and department head at LEG Thüringen, will present the research findings and the campaign's objectives; the "Invest in Thuringia" team implemented the campaign. Valuable contributions will also be made by Thuringian entrepreneurs who are part of the campaign: Dr. Stefan Traeger of Jenoptik AG will present his company's success story, and the subsequent panel discussion will feature Bettina Limpert, CEO of Active Fiber Systems GmbH, and Dr. Reinhard Böber, Managing Director of Glatt Ingenieurtechnik GmbH, Stephan A. Grund, CEO of OKM German Detectors, and Mark Scholze, Managing Director of PETKUS Technologie GmbH.
As part of the event, the current Thuringian world market and technology leaders will be officially recognized as a special honor for the companies – more companies may be added in the coming months and years. LEG regularly identifies new hidden champions, and applications are welcome at any time.
Further general information can be found at: www.invest-in-thuringia.de
You can go directly to the campaign page from March 3rd at: www.hidden-champions-thuringia.de
