In a joint event with the Upper Rhine section, the Villingen-Schwenningen/Donaueschingen section of the Economic Council met at Oskar Ketterer Druckgießerei GmbH in Furtwangen. The participants were welcomed by Ulrich Dietz, who had been unanimously elected Section Spokesman at the previous members’ meeting of the VS/DS section.

The host company was introduced by Managing Director Bernhard Ketterer: The Ketterer family business has been active in Furtwangen for almost 200 years. Today, the “Oskar Ketterer” pressure die casting foundry supplies die-cast products, particularly made of aluminum, to a wide range of industries.

Holger Knobloch, Authorized Signatory, then reported on the bureaucratic challenges which the company faces. In addition to high energy costs, these primarily include excessive, sometimes multiple reporting obligations and exaggerated regulatory requirements, which not only take up a great deal of time and effort in themselves, but also entail additional costs and expenses for training, certifications, etc. All in all, this is a difficult and dangerous combination for companies in international competition.

The challenges outlined by Holger Knobloch were taken up by the next speaker. Thorsten Frei, Member of the German Bundestag, representing the Schwarzwald-Baar electoral district (post meeting note: since May 2025, Th. Frei has become Federal Minister and Head of the Federal Chancellery), explained specific goals and measures he intends to pursue after the upcoming federal elections in order to improve the economic and regulatory framework for local companies.

After a lively closing discussion, which was moderated by the spokesman for the Upper Rhine section, there was an opportunity to take a group photo before moving on to a get-together with further opportunities for discussion.

Thanks to the speakers and to Oskar Ketterer Druckguss for hosting this event!