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Structural change in NRW North Rhine-Westphalia is, from an economic viewpoint, a giant: if it were an independent country it would hold 18th place in the global ranking of all national economies, thanks to its gross domestic product (GDP) of around 582 billion euros. That is only one place behind the Netherlands, and ahead of Turkey. NRW contributes no less than 22 per cent to the domestic product of the Federal Republic of Germany, and a whole 4.5 per cent to that of Europe. “Structural change now seems to be the norm in North Rhine-Westphalia”, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung daily newspaper has commented. And the state has learned to nurture change carefully: as the FAZ notes, NRW has a good number of major companies, but still more “stars” in its provinces. These include a large number of “hidden champions”, i.e., companies who are global market leaders in their niches, but nonetheless remain completely unknown to most consumers. Again and again, companies in North Rhine-Westphalia have
Wind energy and industry
adapted impressively to technological change and in recent decades have made the state one of the world’s most important industrial regions. Most medium-sized enterprises base the further development of their products on their many years of experience and expertise in their market segment. In many cases, their technical knowledge and production know-how can be traced back to the supposedly “old” technologies of coal and steel production. In North Rhine-Westphalia, wind energy is both a key technology and a driver of exports. Companies which have mastered structural change and entered the wind energy sector, adapting their specific products and services to global market needs, can be found in all industries: chemicals, mechanical and plant engineering, structural steel, mining, logistics, banking and insurance. They all supply essential and, in some cases, highly specialised, products for the wind industry, as the following examples, from a large range of similar companies, illustrate: