The "Bergisch Triangle" has a rich tradition as a commercial location, beginning with the early industrial blossoming of the hardware trade from the 15th to 18th Centuries, the dominance of the iron and steel-working industry from the 19th to the mid-20th Century, the specialisation of the individual towns (textiles, blades, tools and metalworking) and on to the beginnings of the chemical industry - the region was the veritable cradle of industrialisation of the European mainland! The "bleaching monopoly" in the 16th Century was also the basis for a flourishing textile industry.

Today, this has developed into a highly specialised company culture manufacturing products that are in demand throughout the world.

The formation of networks also has a long tradition in the region: individual businesses have come together, and in co-operation with larger, sometimes national firms, a very special structure of small and medium-sized has been developed and maintained over the centuries. Here the proverbial "dunces" of the region have applied their spirit of invention, courage and innovation to create solutions which today still make many regional companies world market leaders in specialised sectors.

Here "Aspirin" was developed; here the patent of the Mannesmann brothers for the first seamless tubes enabled them to found a worldwide company; and here were discovered x-rays, today indispensable in modern medicine. These are just a few examples, and the fact that the name of a town is also a registered trademark- "Made in Solingen" - is also unique in Germany.

Besides the tradition areas of engineering, tools, metalworking and blade-making, new competences have also been developed, such as event marketing and communications and product design. The health sector is also well-represented here in the location by many major companies from the fields of pharmaceuticals, medical technology, orthopaedics, hygiene and related services. This wide range of expertise makes the traditional region of the "Bergisch Triangle" an innovative commercial location with good opportunities for the future.