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Florian J. Müller, Ennepetal
If Ralf Stoffels could decide again whether to go to China with his company, he wouldn’t do it. Theft of ideas, corona lockdowns, supply chain chaos and the uncertainties caused by the Ukraine war in Europe: “With so many problems, financially supporting another location or building a new one would rightly meet with complete incomprehension here at the site,” says the entrepreneur from Ennepetal in North Rhine-Westphalia. The 60-year-old is senior manager of BIW Isolierstoffe, a medium-sized manufacturer of hoses and seals for the automotive industry, for example. His family business has 600 employees, in addition to the main location in Westphalia, there are also branches in Poland and in Kunshan, near Shanghai, China.