Not only global players but also quite a few hidden champions call Rheinland-Pfalz home

They are at home in the heart of Europe, in Rheinland-Pfalz, these vigorously competitive, world-famous companies on the one hand, and the hidden champions, the mid-sized traditional stalwarts, on the other. Among the globe-spanning firms headquartered in Rheinland-Pfalz are BASF (chemicals) in Ludwigshafen, Boehringer Ingelheim (pharmaceuticals) in Ingelheim am Rhein, and Schott (glass) in Mainz. Other global players also feel at home in Rheinland-Pfalz: Mercedes-Benz with its commercial vehicles plant in Woerth, Abbott Laboratories (pharmaceuticals) in Ludwigshafen and IBM’s operations in Mainz.

Hidden champions like Wirtgen, the construction machinery maker, maintain their headquarters in Rheinland-Pfalz as does Canyon, the high-tech bike manufacturer, Hillebrand, a leader in global wine logistics realizing enviable growth rates on the strength of the export boom in German wines, and Schiffer, a family enterprise producing Dr. Best toothbrushes, or the Griesson – de Beukelaer biscuit and cake bakers. 

It is this mix of entrepreneurial activity that makes the state successful. Rheinland-Pfalz ships more than 50 percent of its output abroad, a volume that traditionally ranks Rheinland-Pfalz among Germany’s top exporters. In the final analysis mid-sized firms account for much of the globe-spanning export prowess, serving neighbors like France, but also the United States and beyond. Trade with central and eastern Europe as well as southern and eastern Asia, like India and China, is surging.