German passion for perfection leads to business success

Washington Times:

...... Germany’s reascendance did not come without a struggle. 

“Germany has no natural resources, so traditionally our success has been based on innovation and creativity,” Ms. Muller said. The nation’s heavy reliance on imports of raw materials forced Germany to “live on its exports” of manufactured products, she said. Today, more than 341,000 German companies are oriented toward exports. 

A recent tour of German factories highlighted how the nation’s manufacturing renaissance grew not from some overarching government policy but rather from the initiatives of a small army of entrepreneurs who started with sometimes simple ideas or humble products that they honed through hard work and years of refining into the best in the world.
Here in the picturesque town of Glashutte in the Ore Mountains near Germany’s border with the Czech Republic, the tradition of making some of the best and most expensive timepieces in the world started modestly. 

Merchants sought loans from the king for startup capital in the early 1800s. Their craft gradually grew and flourished, and the region became known for its excellent watches. 

The watchmaking tradition was broken during the Cold War years, when the town was behind the Iron Curtain. Venerable companies were dismantled by the East German government, forcing entrepreneurs to start from scratch after reunification in the 1990s, drawing together remnants of the old watchmaking companies. 

Today, the town of 4,700 is buzzing and producing watches again, regaining its reputation. Each watch is spun from fine brass wire and other tiny components - some thinner than a human hair - hand-assembled and tested by workers in a process as intricate as the watches themselves. 

The name “Glashutte” on a watch denotes its high level of craftsmanship. At least 50 percent of the timekeeping movement must be made here by hand. That allows companies like Nomos Glashutte to charge from $1,315 to $5,000 for each watch they make....Southwest of Glashutte near Nuremberg is a company that started out making ordinary lead pencils used in school and today is the leading manufacturer of pencils of all colors and kinds worldwide. Like the Glashutte firms, its story is one of attention to detail and years of refining a humble instrument. 

Most Americans have used a Faber No. 2 pencil to take college-entrance exams or other tests - one of the early products of the Faber-Castell company founded by the family of the same name in the 1700s. An American offshoot of the firm produced the widely used pencil. 

Today, Faber-Castell is a multinational company with revenue of $535 million a year and key operations in Brazil, Indonesia, Malaysia, Peru and other far-flung locations. But it is still family-owned and follows the German tradition of seeking excellence and being the best in its class....

There is much more.

The Germans work much harder than the French who want to return to the 35 hour week and retiring at age 60.  They also make better products from cars to pencils.  But it is the passion for perfection that has made them successful. It is something that US manufacturers have strained to immolate.  The Japanese have also had this trait since the end of World War II.  One of the choices we and other countries will have to make is whether we will follow the German example or the Greek example.  Obama seems to be on the side of the Greeks when it comes to profligate spending with little purpose.  It is one reason why I would like to see Romney win.

Germany is not without its faults.  It bet heavily on solar power and other alternative energy and it was a losing bet, much as it was in Spain.  This is another area where Obama is pushing failed policies while trying to strangle domestic energy production.  It is another reason to vote against him.