Germany as a business location: Between bureaucracy and competitiveness

Managing Director Markus Nölken shares his perspectives on Germany as a business location.

Germany is considered one of the leading economic locations worldwide due to its strong industry, high innovative capacity, and strategic location in Europe. However, this image is slowly crumbling. Above all, the often cumbersome bureaucracy threatens to undermine the location's performance and attractiveness.

Is Germany's economic location in danger? Many business owners are currently grappling with this question. Markus Nölken, CEO of Nölken Hygiene Products GmbH, also sees increasing bureaucracy as a challenge, but he remains committed to the company's regional ties.

Bureaucracy slows down small and medium-sized businesses.

The German Mittelstand is considered the backbone and innovation engine of the domestic economy. While other nations are embracing digitalization more rapidly and streamlining administrative processes, the German Mittelstand is struggling with bureaucratic constraints. Long approval procedures, complex tax laws, and labor law, often perceived as too strict, make it difficult for companies to act quickly and flexibly.

Markus Nölken also sees this in his daily work as managing director: „The bureaucratic hurdles in Germany are high, and it seems like a new regulation is added every week. The authorities are also becoming more complex and slower in their processes. This makes processes unnecessarily complicated and causes us difficulties, for example, with various applications for construction and renovation.“

Regional connection as an important factor

This complexity in bureaucracy also requires medium-sized companies to increasingly invest resources in understanding and implementing regulatory requirements. Such a shift in resources can pose a significant challenge, especially for smaller companies with limited personnel and financial capacity.

Giving up or relocating is not a solution for many medium-sized businesses, however. Markus Nölken states: „Currently, we are not aware of any specific trends where companies in the region are planning to close or relocate. The economy, characterized by its medium-sized businesses, tends to want to solve problems locally rather than giving up prematurely.“

The Nölken company also commits to the region: „We feel strongly connected to the region, even though our family only moved here in the 1980s. We plan to continue investing in our locations in Windhagen and Fernthal in the coming years. Our community has succeeded in bringing together social and economic interests well over the past decades. We are deliberately investing in our regional locations because we are convinced of the employees and the region.“

Quality speaks for the German business location

„Made in Germany“ still holds significant value for Nölken's international customers. Markus Nölken also firmly believes in the quality of the products his company develops and produces in Germany. „This consistent quality and reliability of products cannot currently be achieved elsewhere.“ And the commitment to employees is also a crucial point for the family company Nölken.

But for Markus Nölken it is also clear that something must change for Germany to remain competitive as a business location. „We hope that politicians in Berlin and Mainz will recognize that without a thriving economy, many projects cannot be sustained in the future.“