During the Chancellor's visit: Schmalz family business wants "change of direction in economic policy"

"What is the German government planning to do to improve the economy?" Tanja Keck, a member of the Purchasing department, asked the Chancellor during the discussion. And the economic state of Germany was also the dominant topic of discussion for numerous other questions from the round 30 Schmalz employees.

"Many employees are concerned about the competitiveness of German family businesses," says Dr. Kurt Schmalz, Managing Partner of Schmalz. "We urgently need a change of direction in economic policy." Above all, the excessive bureaucracy and lack of flexibility are causing the medium-sized company headaches. "If our buyers have to invest the majority of their time in checking suppliers for compliance, then something is seriously wrong," Dr. Kurt Schmalz continues. "We companies feel increasingly thwarted by politics."

Germany's economic policy is a stumbling block, especially in international competition. "We are active at 31 locations with 1,800 employees worldwide. This means we are competing with China, which supports its companies in every conceivable way," says Andreas Beutel. "German companies are fighting with blunt weapons in the current economic and energy policy." What could help would be significantly better tax conditions. "Investments in innovation must be allowed to be written off extensively," continues Andreas Beutel.

And Dr. Kurt Schmalz adds: "China is moving at high speed, while companies in Germany are slowed down by high regulations and tough approval procedures. We are currently experiencing this with the construction of a solar system near the company."

The Chinese are also in the lead when it comes to costs. "Labor costs in this country are already far too high," says Andreas Beutel. "If further social benefits were added on top of this, it would be impossible to prevent the migration of the middle class in the long term."

All in all, the Chancellor's visit was a special moment. "A historic day for Schmalz," said Dr. Kurt Schmalz. "It was an honor to have Olaf Scholz as our guest. We are delighted that he took the time to listen to our concerns and answer our questions."

As a parting gift, the Chancellor received chocolate from the Black Forest and a special suction cup produced by Schmalz - with suction cups in red, yellow and green colors. "So that you can keep your grip on the 'traffic-lights' coalition," commented Dr. Kurt Schmalz with a wink when handing over the gift.