About us

The economy of Southwest Germany speaks with one voice: The association “Unternehmer Baden-Württemberg” (UBW) bundles and moderates the economic, social, labor, societal, and educational policy interests of 63 member associations and more than 60 individual companies from industry, services, trade, crafts, and agriculture.

The primary goal of the UBW is to sustainably strengthen Baden-Württemberg as a business location. To this end, the association aims to improve competitiveness within the framework of the social market economy, guided by the principles of entrepreneurial freedom, collective bargaining autonomy, individual initiative, and equal opportunities.

The UBW is led by Thomas Bürkle as President, with Andreas Rippstein and Katrin Stegmaier-Hermle serving as Vice Presidents. Oliver Barta is the managing director of the UBW.

In addition to actively representing interests within Baden-Württemberg, the UBW is the state representative of the Federation of German Industries (BDI) and a member of the Confederation of German Employers’ Associations (BDA). This ensures that the positions and interests of the Baden-Württemberg economy are also represented at the federal level. Moreover, the UBW advocates for the interests of its members at the European level.

The UBW committees on “Labor and Social Law, Collective Bargaining Policy,” “Education, Labor Market, and Skilled Workforce Development,” “SMEs and Economic Policy,” “Energy, Environment, and Climate,” “Research, Technology, and Innovation,” and “Transportation” advise and support the management. The committees organize the formation of opinions and develop position papers and concepts in the statutory subject areas, thus providing substantive support for the association’s political work. They also support the exchange of experiences among members.

The UBW emerged in 2021 from the merger of the “Arbeitgeber Baden-Württemberg” and the “Landesverband der Baden-Württembergischen Industrie” (LVI). The “Arbeitgeber Baden-Württemberg” were originally primarily responsible for social policy issues, while the LVI focused on economic policy matters.