Zimmern o.R., August 1, 2013. In this election year in Germany, SMEs and rural areas are the key topics of interest for Volker Kauder, Chairman of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group and member of the German national parliament representing the Rottweil-Tuttlingen constituency. During his visit to RAMPF Dosiertechnik in Zimmern o.R., the politician had an expert guide in the form of Rudolf Rampf, founder of one of the most successful SMEs in Baden-Württemberg and a long-standing advocate for the needs of such companies.
SMEs are the backbone of the German economy. That’s something that is repeated over and over again, particu-larly during election campaigns. However, it’s by no means a throwaway statement. In Germany, 99.7 percent of all companies subject to VAT are SMEs, more than 60 percent of all employees subject to social insurance contribu-tions work in such companies, and over 80 percent of all trainees learn their trade in them. Around 38 percent of the sales made by VAT-liable companies are generated by SMEs.
“Small and medium-sized enterprises make an enormous economic contribution but, due to the large number of companies in a very diverse range of industries, it’s difficult to push through shared economic policy demands,” stated Rudolf Rampf in a discussion with Volker Kauder. Continuing, he pointed out that the role played by SMEs goes far beyond economic KPIs: “A large proportion of SMEs are family companies, just like RAMPF. These com-panies stand for values such as trust, security and sustainability. As far as our company’s concerned, I can confirm that we adhere to these values day in, day out and are very proud of having a corporate culture which integrates ethical aspects into our daily work as a matter of course.”
Responding, Volker Kauder said that he was aware not only of the great significance of SMEs, but also of their concerns. “There has to be more support for these companies. Rural areas in particular are dependent on a healthy SME sector.” In this context, Kauder praised the commitment that politics and business are showing to the Interkommunale Industrie- und Gewerbegebiet Zimmern o.R. (INKOM Südwest industrial and business park). He said the business park was an outstanding example of successful dedication to rural areas. Stefan Teufel (CDU), member of the local state parliament for the Rottweil constituency, stressed that RAMPF was one of the first com-panies to commit to the new business park, thus encouraging other companies to establish a base there.
This discussion continued during a tour of the company, in which members of the CDU Stadtverband Rottweil and CDU Ortsverband Zimmern also participated. The visitors were extremely interested in the high-tech facilities at RAMPF Dosiertechnik and posed numerous questions to CEO Bernd Faller, Sales and Marketing Manager Hart-mut Storz, and Operations Manager Rolf Haag.
The significance of the company as an employer in the region was also a topic of discussion. “In the last ten years, we have increased our sales by a factor of 2.7 and built up our workforce from 62 to 126. We are very proud of that and hope that we can continue this success story here at the company headquarters in Zimmern,” commented Bernd Faller.
Read More: www.rampf-dosiertechnik.de
