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30 30 whose principles have spread beyond its origins in Germany. The “Made in China 2025” program launched in China has many quite similar goals. According to an unpublished study by the Chinese Academy of Engineering, by 2045 the country could rank with the United States, Germany and Japan as a leader in industrial production. China is entering a new age of production. Investments in automa- tion and digitization are rising dramatically; since 2005, the manufacturing industry has doubled its investments in IT. Meanwhile, China is the world’s largest sales market for industrial robots. By next year, most of the world’s industrial robots will likely be located there. China and the new engineering dynasty These examples illustrate why entrepreneurial change is so important: It is the key to maintaining competitiveness and therefore to a company’s long-term development. Hun- gry for success, the Asian nations – and especially China – will not willingly let us stay ahead in manufacturing depth and innovative strength. In the new engineering dynasty, as the Zukunftsinstitut (Future Institute) recently called it, the first wave of imported expertise will be followed by well-educated domestic talent. How, then, can domestic companies successfully shape change? I believe that this task places great demands on members of management. They must not only under- stand why the change is necessary, but also convincingly communicate the reasons and the consequences to their employees. They will need to expend a great deal of energy in order to overcome internal and external resistance. They will also need patience, because successful change does not happen overnight. It is the fruit of persistent work. I welcome the fact that Heraeus, with the Leadership Model introduced in 2015, has established a shared understanding of leadership. The model demands our agility in the areas of business leadership, organizational leadership, and team leadership. It also demands that we make the most of every individual’s potential. Every employee now has the opportunity to develop on the basis of a shared understanding. Passively remaining in existing structures cannot be good for any company. The same is true for every person at Heraeus. Fit for the future – through change Interestingly, many change processes are often not ques- tioned in the slightest. When we look at the realignment of our innovation and the construction of the Innovation Center at our Hanau headquarters, we see broad agree- ment with these measures. I call for the same openness in regard to the other major change projects within our company. Making Heraeus “fit for the future” has my wholehearted support, as well as the full support of our shareholders. My confidence is bolstered by two factors in particular: We have technical expertise that we often do not fully tap. Linking this expertise with digitized processes will give us an important competitive edge. Furthermore, we are already relying on start-up structures. It is impressive to observe the dynamics unleashed by the coupling of creative and entrepreneurial competence on the basis of a flat structure. There are plenty of role models for this in Silicon Valley, but also increasingly in Europe. I see tremendous potential in adapting these structures. It was physicist Georg Christoph Lichtenberg who once remarked: “I cannot say whether things will get better if we change. What I can say is they must change if they are to get better.” Let us set to work on this together. O »It is impressive to observe the dynamics unleashed by the coupling of creative and entrepreneurial comtetence on the basis of a flat structure.«

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