Since their markets are narrow, going global is not a choice but an imperative. Not by accident are world maps the favored wall decoration in Mittelstand company offices. What these enterprises have in common, besides a global vocation and the determination to do one thing supremely well, is a fierce dedication to customer service, keen technical innovation and an informal, unbureaucratic management style. They sell directly, rather than through agents or importers, which means they must have local operations around the globe-a heavy financial load for companies of their size. Wurth, the screwmaker, for example, has sales and service offices in 44 countries.
Many firms also manufacture locally.
The lengths to which they go to keep customers satisfied are legendary. He claims to know every one of his company's customers personally. Foreign language fluency is a must, and some companies demand that managers master three. And many managers have impressive technical credentials. On a visit to a customer in Singapore, Gunter Sieker, director of Lenze, a maker of miniature gearboxes, found that the local staff had been unable to repair one particular machine.