With Spain still deep in the grips of recession, many investors are staying away. Not so with many mid-sized German firms, who are taking advantage of the crisis to snap up smaller Spanish competitors and suppliers. But is it good business? "Made in Germany" takes a look.
With Spain still gripped by recession, many companies are going under or finding themselves unable to raise fresh capital. As a result they can now be acquired cheaply. Mid-sized German firms are taking advantage of the crisis to snap up smaller Spanish competitors and suppliers.
The mid-sized Lauda Company, based in Baden-Württemberg, did just that, buying a factory near Barcelona. Report by Anja Kimmig.
We talk about the issue with Ilja Nothnagel, an expert on foreign trade from the German Chamber of Industry and Commerce.
In the aerospace industry, pipes aren't just pipes. They're hand-made specialized titanium products - custom-built by PFW Aerospace in Speyer. The company is supplying the entire system of pipes for the new Airbus. PFW had been on the verge of bankruptcy.
Now not only Airbus but also Bombardier and the international aircraft manufacturer Embraer have placed orders with PFW, and the company's order books are full. Report by Julia Henrichmann.
They do exist, although you still might have to search for them with a magnifying glass - women founders in the start-up sector and tech savvy women learning programming languages. But in the male-dominated scene they're a rarity.
Now, instead of working in marketing or publicity, more and more young women in start-ups are finally taking over strategic planning and are interested in development jobs. Report by Joanna Gottschalk.
The world's largest artificial waterfall in Seoul and the dancing crane fountains in Singapore: what lies behind them is technology from Oase Living Water, based in the small German town of Hörstel near Osnabrück. The company is the world market leader in garden pump technology.
And although allotment gardeners in Germany are shutting down their waterworks for the coming winter, it's the high season in Hörstel, as the company works on its next large-scale projects around the globe. Report by Tabea Mergenthaler.
