The problem with solid engineering

摘要

Elvis presley, Buddy Holly, Frank Sinatra, David Bowie and Celine Dion are among those who have crooned and cried into Neumann microphones, insisting that no others can so faithfully capture their voices. It is a powerful endorsement for a product that is, unsurprisingly, made in Germany. Neumann, like the companies behind many of Germany's highly regarded brands, has regained its old confidence and is expanding again. This is good news for corporate Germany, long regarded as the locomotive of the European Union. But just as these firms pull out of the station their passengers are being left behind. Unfortunately for Germany, its export champions have become uncoupled from much of the domestic economy.