Craft businesses in Brandenburg: Who will take over the future?

Craft businesses in Brandenburg: Who will take over the future?

In East Brandenburg, numerous craft businesses are currently facing a tricky challenge: company succession. According to Martin Römer, press spokesman for the Frankfurt (Oder) Chamber of Crafts, succession is crucial for the continuation of these companies. Despite positive examples such as Elektro Albert GmbH in Milmersdorf, which successfully found a successor, it turns out that this is not the rule. Many companies struggle with the lack of successors, often within their own family or company.

But why are there so few successors? A main problem is the shortage of skilled workers and the tense economic situation, which often makes it difficult for potential successors or their families to find prospects. In addition, personal decisions by the owners and increasing bureaucracy contribute to the problem.

Offers of support for successors

To counteract the misery, the Chamber of Crafts has launched various initiatives. A particularly effective project is “Sensitizing companies to early business successions”, supported by the state of Brandenburg and the EU. This is supplemented by individual discussions on succession planning and support from experienced business consultants throughout the entire handover process. Numerous information events and seminars on legal and organizational aspects are also offered. One example is a webinar taking place on April 14th on tax aspects of business transfers.

But it's not just the Chamber of Crafts that is active. The Chambers of Crafts, Chambers of Industry and Commerce as well as the Bürgschaftsbank Brandenburg have established the Brandenburg successor center. This innovative online portal, accessible at nachschlagzentrale-brandenburg.de, connects relinquishing entrepreneurs with potential successors. Over 90,000 companies in Brandenburg have managing directors over 55 years old, many of them without successors. A specialized algorithm is used to search for matches between transferring and interested successors.

Securing strategies for jobs

The Minister of Economics Prof. Dr.-Ing. Jörg Steinbach emphasizes how important craft businesses and small to medium-sized companies are for the economic stability of Brandenburg. The funding for the successor headquarters includes a generous 1.2 million euros until 2027. Through a company takeover, successors benefit from an already established market position, experience from existing employees and an existing customer base, which often leads to faster success.

Another problem that cannot be ignored is the fact that many business owners downsize their companies shortly before retirement and no longer invest any resources in training. As a result, a number of companies are “quietly” closing, which not only endangers their existence but also the regional supply. CDU member of the Bundestag Nora Seitz emphasizes the need to sharpen the sense of responsibility of potential successors and to better establish the value of craftsmanship in society. Her suggestion: founder protection zones for start-ups and viable models for business takeovers.

According to reports, it is difficult to combat the bureaucratic hurdles that burden many tradesmen. A third of an entrepreneur's workforce is tied up in bureaucracy. Digitalization as a solution could help here, but in practice it often represents a challenge, especially for companies with limited financial resources. At least one good approach can be seen in the activities of the chambers of crafts to facilitate entrepreneurship and handovers.

It is clear: the future of many craft businesses in Brandenburg depends on successful succession. Entrepreneurs should address this important issue at an early stage in order to preserve their life's work and secure jobs.