This unique combination of large firms and many smaller, highly specialised companies has created an economic structure of a type not found anywhere else in the country.

Characterised by the textile industry in Wuppertal, tool production in Remscheid and the blade-making and cutlery industry in Solingen, a structural change has taken place in the industrial development of the region, other sectors have come to the fore or have grown up out of the original specialisations.

Today the commercial region of the "Bergisch Triangle" concentrates on its particular competences, namely Automotive, Events & Communication, Health & Personal Care, Metalworking and Product design/development.

The electronics industry has also established a firm place for itself in the region, with such companies as the Wuppertal firm of Vorwerk, who besides carpets have also become world-famous for the "Kobold" vacuum cleaner, developed from a gramophone motor. Another well-known company in the field of electronics also has its headquarters in Remscheid - the Vaillant company, Europe’s leading manufacturer of heating equipment, here carries out research and development into energy production from fuel cells.

The traditional textile industry has also developed to meet the challenges of the future: membranes for medical equipment, and increasingly for industrial applications are developed and manufactured here, alongside technical textiles and components made of composite fibres.

Another Wuppertal invention has become a product now found in every home - woodchip wallpaper, where today, the largest manufacturer, the firm of Erfurt & Sohn, supplies customers throughout the world.

As a result of the available experience in the blade-making and tool industry, the region enjoys a clear know-how lead in the field of grinding and polishing machines and metal surface finishing. The region is also home to a unique assembly of companies engaged in galvanising and surface technology - from injection-moulding to plasma technology. The "Institut für Galvano- and Oberflächentechnik Solingen (IGOS)" ("Solingen Institute for Galvanising and Surface Technology") therefore represents yet another important location factor.

The traditional and the modern here lie cheek-by jowl, creating a contrasting and unique mixture.

The commercial region of the "Bergisch Triangle" has therefore maintained a presence in many sectors, but only with the concentration on its real competence fields do the local strengths of the region offer potential for the location for wider future positioning.