“National Treasure”: The Dussmann Group is named the number one family enterprise in Berlin

05.09.2017 — A study, carried out by the foundation of family enterprises (Stiftung Familienunternehmen) has confirmed the importance of family enterprises for the German economy and has named the most important family-run companies in each federal state. In Berlin, the Dussmann Group takes first place for the number of employees and third place for annual turnover. At national level, the Group comes 11th and is ranked by the foundation as a premier league player.

  • The Dussmann Group was founded in 1963 and is still family-run
  • Of the 63,500 people who work for Dussmann worldwide, 6,100 are employed in Berlin and Brandenburg
  • Since 2006, the 500 largest family enterprises have created 50 percent more jobs than DAX-listed companies


More than 80 percent of the companies registered in Berlin are family enterprises and for Germany as a whole, the figure is 91 percent. The foundation of family enterprises carried out a comparison of these enterprises with DAX-listed companies for a period of over ten years. The results for Berlin: the Dussmann Group is ranked number one in the capital city for the number of employees and third for turnover. In the service sector, it also takes first place according to the number of employees and fifth for turnover. “The Dussmann Group has a unique position” comments Stefan Heidbreder, Managing Director of the foundation. “Dussmann Service is one of the few family-managed companies in the real estate and residential services and it has enjoyed long-term success. From our perspective, the Dussmann Group is a national treasure”.

The Dussmann Group also achieves a high ranking at national level. For employment, it takes 11th place nationwide and for turnover, 93rd in the list of the 500 most significant family enterprises in Germany. “The foundation of family enterprises awards recognize the economic importance of the Dussmann Group and our corporate culture. It makes me very proud and I would like to thank all members of staff. Every individual has made a contribution to this achievement.” says Catherine von Fürstenberg-Dussmann, Chairperson of the Board of Trustees.

The results of the study are scientifically significant: the respected Center of European Economic Research (ZEW) and the institute of SME research (ifm) in Mannheim base their analysis on data from 2.7 million companies over a period of around ten years. The data clearly shows the relevance of family-run businesses for employment: since 2006, the top 500 family enterprises worldwide have created over a million workplaces. Their overall contribution to employment in Germany is twice as large as that of DAX-listed companies. In this country, family-run employers created 19 percent more jobs between 2006 and 2014. DAX-listed companies increased their workforce by only two percent in the same period.

With 63,500 employees in 16 countries, the Dussmann Group provides services for people, by people. The largest service division, Dussmann Service, provides catering, security, reception, cleaning, technical services, surgical sterilization, commercial facility management and energy management from a single source. DKA constructs, installs and services all types of refrigeration and air-conditioning equipment and systems. HEBO Aufzugstechnik GmbH offers construction of premium elevators and modernization, service and repair of existing elevators. Kursana nurses and cares for 13,600 seniors. In addition, the Dussmann Group operates the media department store Dussmann das KulturKaufhaus in Berlin and in-house corporate child-care at Dussmann KulturKin-dergarten facilities. In 2016, the Dussmann Group generated total sales of 2.13 billion Euros. More information at news.dussmanngroup.com.