Home of the world market leaders

One out of four German world market leaders comes from NRW

These champions and "hidden champions" come from all economic sectors. And that is not surprising if you look at the corporate landscape in North Rhine-Westphalia: 17 of the 50 highest grossing German companies are based in NRW. These include such renowned global players as Bayer, Bertelsmann, Deutsche Post DHL, Deutsche Telekom, E.ON, Henkel and thyssenkrupp. In addition, 13 of the 40 largest retail companies such as Aldi, Metro and Rewe are based in NRW. But above all, around 711,600 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) form the economic backbone of the state. This broad economic base produces top achievements. Many of the companies are world market leaders and innovators in their segments. They are magnets for international firms because many investors are looking for cooperation partners in the development of products, production processes, service or research. These partners can be found in NRW.