Handmade. Instead of rapid growth, the Munich entrepreneurial family Rambold and their chocolate manufacturer Elly Seidl focus on careful expansion and uncompromisingly high quality (picture above: Helmut Rambold (left) and Maximilian Rambold).

Expansion strategy. In 18 years, Wolfgang Trier, now 55, has turned the bankruptcy candidate Softing into a serious supplier of communication solutions for industry. "And the best," Trier is convinced, "is yet to come.

entrepreneurship. Alexander Fackelmann has been managing the fortunes of the family business for 30 years. During this time, turnover has increased tenfold to almost 400 million euros. Now the 64-year-old is handing over operational responsibility to a non-family CEO. Together with the fourth generation, he is to lead the way towards digitalization and sustainability.

Branding. From the small Allgäu village of Meckatz, the Weiß family has been delighting beer connoisseurs from the region and far beyond for almost 160 years. Owner Michael Weiß explains how he has succeeded in doing so despite competition from over-powerful large breweries.

Innovation. The Baden-Württemberg start-up company carbonauten has developed a plastic whose production uses raw materials that would otherwise produce harmful greenhouse gases. In ten years, the founders Torsten Becker (l.) and Christian Hiemer hope to generate more than one billion euros in sales with this super material.