A mid-sized company in a small town in Thuringia is helping big things get off the ground. N3 Engine Overhaul Services, an up-and-coming company in Arnstadt, services aircraft engines for more than 50 airlines, making sure that the Airbus A380 and the Boeing Dreamliner can take to the skies safely.
And business is booming. The subsidiary of Lufthansa and Rolls-Royce is now investing a further €150 million ($167 million) in expanding its operations so that it will be able to service as many as 250 engines a year in future.
It's an international success story, the company's financial director, Stefan Landes, told DW: "We are a company that connects people and cultures and brings them together to create this incredible product. It is also part of our DNA. The perception that this can be done only under our own steam is wrong. Without the valuable input from other companies and from other cultures, we would not have gotten to where we are today."
N3 has a total of 1,100 employees from 25 nations. Among them are IT specialist TJ from the Philippines, Chilean aerospace engineer Luis, and Yuth from Thailand, who works in customer service. All three are enthusiastic about the working conditions, the team spirit, and the ability to contribute in English.
But what was their reaction to the victory of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) in the state election in Thuringia, a party that Germany's domestic intelligence agency, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, describes as right-wing extremist?
"I am a bit worried, but I'm not afraid," Yuth told DW. "Parties shouldn't resort to stereotypes and lump all immigrants together. We come here to work for an up-and-coming company and do our part, which is not only good for the company, but for Germany as a whole."
In Arnstadt, one can see the contradiction of Thuringia firsthand: On the one hand, an up-and-coming, globally oriented company that is successfully working to shape the........