The "hidden champion" enterprises refer to small and medium-sized enterprises that are not well-known to the public but occupy a leading position in niche fields. Represented by Germany, European countries are home to a group of "hidden champions" enterprises that are technologically advanced, innovative, have a large market share, and a high degree of internationalization. These types of enterprises, with their unique advantages, have established Europe's international competitive advantage in the high-end manufacturing field and played a key role in the economic system. Overview of European 'hidden champions' companies. The concept of "invisible champion" was proposed by German management expert Hermann Simon, who found that Germany's leading small and medium-sized enterprises in the international market contributed significantly to the export trade process. Therefore, he praised small and medium-sized enterprises that were in an absolute leading position in a certain segment, had an annual turnover of no more than 5 billion US dollars, and were not well-known to the public as "invisible champions". The reason why they are "invisible" is mainly because most of these enterprises are located in the upper and middle reaches of the industrial chain, without direct contact with end consumers, and have low public awareness. But within the industry, these enterprises have strong competitiveness, products and services are difficult to imitate and surpass, and they have high discourse power. According to statistics, there are 2734 "hidden champion" companies worldwide, with the vast majority concentrated in Europe, and Germany alone having 1307. These enterprises usually have a long history of inheritance, and some of them have even lasted for hundreds of years. From the perspective of development path, "hidden champion" enterprises generally start from specific niche fields, build core competitiveness through continuous technological research and innovation, and avoid direct competition with large enterprises in the early stages of development. After consolidating the local market, the enterprise gradually established a good reputation in the industry by strictly controlling product quality, and based on this, expanded into the international market, ultimately becoming a leader in the global segmented market. For example, Krones AG, a German company founded in 1945, focuses on the production of beverage filling equipment. After decades of development, it has now become a leading enterprise in this field worldwide; Laporte, a French company founded in the 19th century, has long been deeply involved in the field of flying targets and launchers. Currently, it is not only a core participant in the global flying target market, but also provides related products for 9 Olympic Games. It is worth noting that ASML, a Dutch company founded in the 1980s, was also a "hidden champion" enterprise focused on the research and production of lithography technology in its early days. Through continuous technological innovation and global layout, it continuously expands its global market share and currently holds over 80% of the global high-end lithography machine market share. The 'invisible champion' enterprises inject sustained momentum into the European economy through technological innovation and global layout. These enterprises adhere to the concept of long-term development, focus on technological innovation and iteration in specific fields, and occupy a dominant position in key links such as high-end manufacturing and precision instruments, effectively supporting the stability and competitiveness of the European industrial chain, ensuring that Europe maintains its technological leading advantage in the global manufacturing industry. The 'invisible champion' enterprises have strong international competitiveness and are an important pillar of European exports. The overseas sales of Germany's "hidden champion" enterprises account for over 50%, consolidating Germany's and even Europe's international trade position. In addition, these enterprises have further enhanced the voice and influence of European manufacturing in international rule making by deeply participating in the formulation of global industry standards. According to survey data released by the European Investment Bank in early 2024, "hidden champions" contribute 17% of employment opportunities and 21% of business revenue to the EU, highlighting their important role in driving economic growth and job creation in Europe. Key measures for the development of "hidden champion" enterprises in Europe. Deep cultivation of brand and knowledge assets. European 'hidden champions' focus on segmented markets and continuous innovation, emphasizing the cultivation of brand and knowledge assets. The European 'invisible champion' enterprise value evaluation system includes brands as important assets in the balance sheet, currently accounting for an average of 40% of the company's value, and is expected to increase to 60% in the future. These enterprises establish technological barriers within the industry through deep cultivation of technology research and development and patent layout, while maintaining a low-key brand strategy and focusing on the industry market rather than public awareness. Supported by continuous technological innovation and intellectual property protection, the dual enhancement of brand and intellectual assets has been achieved. For example, Lenze Group in Germany continues to focus on the field of industrial motion control, exporting high-precision servo motors and drive systems to overseas markets, winning a good reputation for technical quality and brand influence, and consolidating its market position through patent layout, becoming a leading "hidden champion" globally; GEM ü, a German valve manufacturer, has become a global leader in segmented markets due to its technological advantages in fluid control, extensive patents, and industry standard setting rights. Focus on segmented fields and flexible adaptability. European 'invisible champion' companies make full use of their small size to focus on a single niche area, avoiding blind diversification and dispersing energy. Since its establishment, the French company Laporte has always focused on the manufacturing and anchoring of flying targets, continuously developing new types of flying targets and launchers, and gradually developing the company into a major supplier of shooting training equipment for police and military institutions. At the same time, smaller scale can also encourage these enterprises to correct mistakes in a timely manner, and better follow the trend of the times to optimize their business layout. Faced with global competition and changing industry trends, "hidden champions" enterprises have strong adaptability. Under the background of green energy transformation, Norwegian Ak Engineering Technology Company has expanded its offshore wind power and carbon capture and storage technology business since 2020, successfully achieving transformation and upgrading. Comprehensive assistance from industry associations. European industry associations help "hidden champions" achieve globalization and technological innovation by building cooperation platforms, providing resource support and technological empowerment. Germany, which has the most "hidden champions" companies, has 300000 industry associations and federations, and publishes thousands of industry standards every year, of which about 90% are adopted by European and global countries, helping companies maintain a leading position in the global market. These industry associations, together with service agencies, industry academia research bases, think tanks, etc., gather massive amounts of data information, grasp industry development trends, and provide policy guidance, resource integration, marketing, and international business development support for hidden champion enterprises. The European Football Club Association (ECA) supports cross-border collaboration and innovation for small and medium-sized enterprises by integrating the European technology ecosystem, promoting digital transformation and sustainable development. Strong support for talent cultivation. The unique vocational education system in Germany enables schools, cross enterprise training centers, and enterprises to jointly play a leading role in talent cultivation, with significant results. Cross enterprise training centers are mainly supported by funding from the federal government and industry associations, closely monitoring changes in professional fields and market development. Every year, they launch hundreds of training programs that are highly compatible with enterprise positions. The French government is creating a regional cluster of technological innovation, industry, academia, and research competitiveness within its territory. The cluster is centered around "hidden champion" enterprises and supported by research institutions, educational institutions, and training institutions. By establishing this specific industry partnership aggregation model, a talent training mechanism that connects industry, academia, and research is formed. As of now, there are 10061 small and medium-sized enterprises, 2531 research institutes and training institutions in 71 competitive clusters in France. While realizing the transformation of a large number of research and development achievements into products and services, a large number of talent teams in emerging technology fields such as optoelectronics, microelectronics, smart cities, and artificial intelligence have been cultivated. The experience and inspiration of developing "hidden champion" enterprises in Europe. Improve the policy support system. The inherent disadvantage of upgrading from a small and medium-sized enterprise to a "hidden champion" enterprise is its small initial scale and low risk resistance ability, thus requiring a comprehensive policy support system to promote its development. Focusing on small and medium-sized enterprises in specific fields in policy-making, establishing special support policies, starting from the universal development law of "hidden champion" enterprises, providing research and development subsidies, tax incentives, and financing support, and encouraging the sustainable development of small and medium-sized enterprises. Focus on building core competitiveness. The "invisible champion" enterprises are based on industry segmentation fields, facing direct market demand for cutting-edge technology breakthroughs and commercial applications, improving the production and supply chain links, and are important carriers for promoting the upgrading of industrial foundations, modernization of industrial chains, and ensuring industrial security. Guide small and medium-sized enterprises to pursue specialized and refined development paths, promote better transformation and upgrading of small and medium-sized enterprises, meet market demands, enhance their position in the global value chain, take the path of independent innovation and endogenous driving, and build core competitiveness. Strengthen asset and equity protection. The 'invisible champion' enterprises come from continuous technological innovation, while the motivation for enterprises to maintain innovation comes from comprehensive intellectual property protection. Further optimize the intellectual property protection mechanism, strengthen patent layout and trade secret protection, and create a fair competitive environment for enterprises. Improve the market environment for fair competition, protect the property and intellectual property of enterprises, and enable entrepreneurs to confidently cultivate their industries and develop with peace of mind. Building a collaborative ecosystem. Deeply cultivating professional skills and focusing on avoiding blind diversification are the key to the success of "hidden champion" enterprises. Industry associations provide necessary supporting support in policy guidance, resource integration, marketing, and international business development. In the process of cultivating "hidden champion" enterprises, it is necessary to establish industry associations and industry university research cooperation platforms, which not only provide professional services for small and medium-sized enterprises, but also continuously provide talent support to help enterprises achieve long-term stable development. (New Society)