There has been a lot of press given recently to Mittelstand in Germany, a family owned mid-sized business that is quite well known for being able to dominate its niche worldwide. Surprisingly, the UK has many such companies that are altogether too often overlooked; not only for their accomplishments but for the impact they can have on the economy during these hard times.
As reported to the media, there is growing awareness of privately held family owned companies in the UK that are, for all intents and purposes, withstanding the brunt of a hard economy. These firms are going strong and forecast to grow even stronger in the future. One such company is Dextra Lighting in Dorset. This year Dextra saw an increase in profits with £58 million in sales. That is a phenomenal success for a privately owned (not on the market shares) company.
Across the continent, Germany boasts Mittelstand which is also a mid-sized business that remains family owned. Mittelstand is globally renowned whilst British counterparts such as Dextra go highly unnoticed. This is why it is so important for the UK to set their sights on these mid-sized companies because in the end they could be the segment of the market that can stabilise and hold the economy together to a certain degree.
There has been a long term decline in the GDP, specifically in the manufacturing segment, and the news isn’t getting better. Yet mid-sized manufacturing firms such as Dextra are going as strong as ever, stronger in fact, many of which have a hand in keeping the GDP from dropping through the basement.
Research commissioned by the Daily Telegraph shows that cities and towns throughout the UK have manufacturing companies that are fast growing and significantly adding to the economy where the conglomerates are failing. Hope for the future now seems to be in the hands of so many of these mid sized companies which have long been overlooked.
