Hans-Julius Ahlmann - Rede auf dem Weltwirtschafltichen Preis 2022

Distinguished Professor Codes, Minister, Dr. Kämpfer, Mr. President, ladies and gentlemen. As my predecessor said to the four prize winners, one feels quite humble. I thank you very sincerely for the World Economics Prize—my first economics prize ever. I often thought we must have done something right when Wago received the prize, but now it's our turn. Thank you. I was born in 1952 in Rendsburg and have lived there again for over 40 years, so I am a true Flensburger. My ancestors have been family entrepreneurs here for 140 years, deeply rooted in the heart of Schleswig-Holstein. I was told that as prize winners we are to be ambassadors for the Institute for World Economics—the greatest honor for a child of the land to do something for his homeland. That's why I'm wearing this tie today. You have chosen an entrepreneur who had the great chance of an era: the chance of globalization over the last 40 years. Our company started in the USA in 1978, then my uncle; I joined in 1981. We experienced the euphoria of reunification, where an employee said, 'Mr. Ahlmann, it's a joy to live, it's worth living.' I'll never forget that. We also experienced the opening of the Iron Curtain, the opportunities in many countries including Lithuania, the opening of China—we started there even before it was fully open, with a 50-1% joint venture with the Communist Party. That joint venture still exists but we later founded anew when we could go alone. We couldn't go to Iran/Persia due to sanctions, which would have been wonderful for our business. Today we have production on all continents—37 production sites in 47 countries. Of course, we also face the dark sides: in Ukraine we fear daily bombardments; we supply our employees with food in Lviv, where nearly three million people are refugees, lacking food and medicine. Getting medications is extremely difficult, even from Germany or the Czech Republic. We help our employees flee to the West. In Russia we have a production on the Volga with 200 employees, cut off from Western supplies—we now have to source from China. We fear what will happen politically; if we step out, the plant would be auctioned internally and the proceeds go to the front. In China we experienced an endless lockdown in Shanghai—30 employees lived in the plant for ten weeks. In Turkey we face 70-100% inflation but we remain courageous, even considering an acquisition. In the USA we see a boom despite extreme supply chain problems, preparing for a soft landing. This year we aim for 1.2 billion euros in revenue and 5,500 employees. Over the last 40 years, we realized we would hit management limits, so we adopted a 'national network' structure: national full entrepreneurs build their own production and organizations in their markets, the opposite of sending out many children. We made naked trust our management tool, and it has mostly worked well. This structure gives us an excellent position in a rapidly changing world of onshoring. We are resilient against all kinds of isolation—Russia, inflation in Turkey—by producing locally. As a global market leader in rainwater management, how do we return to our headquarters in Rendsburg? The motto of the IfW is 'location policy between state and market,' and we are a product of such state location policy. Our roots go back to the iron foundry Carlshütte, founded in 1827, the oldest industrial company in the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein. The founding family was lured to Rendsburg by the construction of the first Schleswig-Holstein canal—a state measure. That canal was built because a compromise was reached with Catherine the Great of Russia, freeing Schleswig-Holstein from Russian interests. Denmark then took over and built the most expensive canal in the world. Today, we see again major state-driven investments in Schleswig-Holstein: Amazon's northern center in Büdelsdorf and the Northvolt battery factory in Heide, both enabled by state support. Our company has had to reinvent itself multiple times over 200 years. Today our claim is 'We care for water.' We are on the way to becoming a genuine greentech company. Our products protect the environment: climate change brings more heavy rain events, and increasing urbanization leads to surface sealing. We manage rainwater to reduce flooding and damage, purify water to protect groundwater, and enable water reuse. For example, we clean rainwater from the huge tent roof of the new Berlin Palace, removing heavy metal ions, and then use the water for canal flushing, street cleaning, or tree watering. The concept of the 'sponge city'—letting water stay where it falls and managing it like a sponge—has become a business area for ACO. Another key concept is the 'smart city': digitally networked and controllable infrastructure. Sensors, IoT, data transmission, cloud solutions, and dashboards allow city managers to operate the city like an ocean liner. For instance, a weather report signals an impending cloudburst, automatically opening underground sluices to empty reservoirs so they can absorb the rain. We are installing such systems in Croatia. During dry periods, the water can be used for trees. Modern sensor technology can measure flow speed, fill levels, even drugs in wastewater, and detect clusters of bacteria or viruses. We are enthusiastic about our goals at ACO, and our employees are eager to create something meaningful for tomorrow's world. We also contribute to the region: my son, who is filming me, helped bring a world championship to Kiel Week; ACO sponsors it. For over 20 years we have supported the NordArt exhibition with 100,000 visitors, and the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival has its orchestra tent on our premises. Such activities are called corporate social responsibility. I accept this prize with great joy, also on behalf of my wife, my family, our great managers worldwide, and all our highly engaged employees. We will continue to strive to spread the performance and livability of our land between the seas. Thank you.