Stiegelmeyer is delighted about guests from China

The "Greater Bay Area" in southeast China is one of the world's most important economic centres. At the outlet of the Pearl River, nine megacities with a total of more than 70 million inhabitants, including Hong Kong, are located in close proximity. A Chinese delegation from business, politics and sports is touring Germany in February 2023 to showcase the many strengths of this coastal region. One of their stops was the Stiegelmeyer headquarters in Herford.

The Stiegelmeyer Group is already highly active in the Greater Bay Area. In Foshan, Stiegelmeyer has built a modern location with production and administration in 2022. "We manufacture beds there locally for the Chinese market," explains Stiegelmeyer Managing Director Ralf Strübig.

China, like Germany, expects a large increase in the elderly population. At the same time, nursing care there is becoming more professional and is shifting from families to nursing homes for the first time. This offers many opportunities for our electrically adjustable beds with their easy operation and homelike appearance.

Ralf Strübig travelled to Berlin the day before the visit and took part as a speaker in the high-profile kick-off of the Chinese business trip – together with representatives from Siemens, LUQOM and other German companies. One day later, the Managing Director was delighted to welcome the guests to Herford. The 13-member delegation included Pan Dongsheng, Chairman of the Administrative Committee of the Sino-German Industrial Zone in Foshan, and Tong Quanqing, Vice President of the Foshan Chamber of Industry and Commerce.

The guests were given an insight into the more than 120-year history of the family-run Stiegelmeyer company and learned about the divisions of the comprehensive medical technology provider, from hospital and care beds to bedside cabinets, furniture and digital solutions. Guest speaker Jan Lutz Müller from the East Westphalia Chamber of Industry and Commerce in Bielefeld presented the many strengths of the East Westphalia economic region.

Pan Dongsheng praised the Stiegelmeyer presentation: "The mixture of a family-run company with a long tradition and forward-looking innovations is exactly what we also value in China," he said. Managing Director Ralf Strübig added: "This visit was primarily about building a network and creating mutual trust. Both sides succeeded excellently in this."

The business representatives from the Greater Bay Area are important multipliers who can contribute to the awareness of German beds in China. In return, Stiegelmeyer creates highly qualified jobs in Foshan and works together with regional supplier companies.

Globalisation as an opportunity from which everyone benefits at eye level – the meeting in Herford brought this vision a little closer.