时代周刊：德国是怎样成为欧洲之中国的（一）

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于2011-03-02 13:15:04翻译 | 已有1546人浏览

实际上，在斯迪希公司这些以高成本著称的德国工厂里，86%的产品用于出口。管窥一斑，斯迪希的成功之处恰是一个德国经济复苏的缩影，并为欧洲和世界带来某种冲击--这种冲击褒贬不一而足。

By Michael Schuman / Stuttgart

Thereis no particularly special technology needed to make a chainsaw. It'sreally just plastic and metal parts screwed together with old-fashionednuts and bolts. The Chinese already make chainsaws. But that hasn'tstopped German power-tool manufacturer Stihl from selling itsmade-in-Germany chainsaws around the world, even though its top-endmodels are among the priciest on the market. In fact, 86% of theproducts Stihl makes in its high-cost German factories are exported. HowStihl manages that says a lot about the impact a revived German economyis having on Europe and the world — both good and bad.

制作链锯确实无需高深科技，只是用传统的螺丝螺母将塑料手柄和金属链条加以组合。中国人在大量地制造链锯，这并不妨碍德国工具制造商斯迪希(Stihl)公司在世界范围内畅销他们的“德国制造”链锯，虽然其均有不菲价格。实际上，在斯迪希公司这些以高成本著称的德国工厂里，86%的产品用于出口。管窥一斑，斯迪希的成功之处恰是一个德国经济复苏的缩影，并为欧洲和世界带来某种冲击--这种冲击褒贬不一而足。
The family-ownedfirm, based near Stuttgart in Germany's south, could shift moreproduction to its lower-wage factories in China and Brazil, butmanagement is committed to manufacturing many of its most advancedproducts at home. In contrast to the American habit of outsourcing asmuch as possible, about half the parts in a German-made chainsaw — fromthe chain to the crankshaft — are produced in Stihl factories, and manyof them are made in Germany. And instead of laying off staff during theGreat Recession, as so many U.S. firms did, Stihl locked in highlytrained talent by offering full-time workers an employment guaranteeuntil 2015. Stihl even added specialists to its product-development teamduring the downturn. The result is high-quality products that commandprice tags big enough — professional Stihl chainsaws cost as much as$2,300 in Germany — to make manufacturing profitable even with thenation's high wages. U.S. companies "don't try hard enough to keepproduction inside the country," says Stihl chairman Bertram Kandziora.

斯迪希公司位于斯图加特，是一个家族企业，它本来可以将产品转移到中国的低薪工厂去做，但是管理层仍然信守先进工艺德国制造的承诺。“德国制造”链锯的配件--从锯条到手柄--大约有一半在斯迪希的工厂完成，绝大部分在德国本土，这与美国人的尽可能外包生产形成鲜明对比。在大衰退期间，斯迪希公司非但没有像美国企业那样解雇工人，相反，他们与高素质员工续签了直到2015年的长期劳动合同，甚至在经济低迷期，也没有忘了给产品开发团队增加人手。这样的结果就是，精良品质，昂贵价格--一把专业斯迪希链锯在德国售2300美金之多--以及高工资基础上的丰厚利润。斯迪希总裁BertramKandziora认为：“美国公司在本土生产方面略逊一筹。”

Stihldefines how Germany resurrected its economy — and how the U.S. mighttoo. The small, often family-owned enterprises that make up the backboneof German manufacturing have historically specialized in the unsexyside of the industrial spectrum: not smart phones or iPads but machineryand other heavy equipment, metal bashing infused with sound technologyand disciplined engineering. But in recent years, German firms, aided byfarsighted government reforms, have turned that into an art form,forging the most competitive industrial sector of any advanced economy.The proof is a boom in exports, which jumped 18.5% in 2010, that is theenvy of the developed world.

斯迪希的成功正是德国经济复苏的例证，美国可引以为鉴。这些小企业，家族企业，恰恰构成德国工业的中坚力量，他们生产领域均有古板简约的传统：这里没有智能手机和ipad，有的是重型装备和金属器材，辅之以尖端科技和严谨设计。但是近年来，在政府的锐意引导之下，德国企业在这方面有所改观，产品在设计的艺术性方面风生水起，活色生香。随之而来的是出口繁荣，据统计德国在2010年出口跳跃式增长18.5%，令其他发达国家刮目相看。
Thatsurge has carried Germany out of the Great Recession more quickly thanmost major industrialized countries. GDP rose 3.6% in 2010, comparedwith 2.9% in the U.S. While joblessness in the U.S. and much of Europehas spiked to levels not seen in decades, unemployment in Germany hasdeclined during the crisis, to an estimated 6.9% in 2010 from 8.6% in2007, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation andDevelopment (OECD). "Germany is in a very competitive position today,more than ever," proclaims Stéphane Garelli, director of the WorldCompetitiveness Center at the Swiss business school IMD.

出口的异军突起使德国比其他工业化国家更迅速地摆脱了大衰退的困扰。2010年GDP增长了3.6%，而美国只有2.9%。据经合组织统计，在衰退时期，美国和大部分欧洲国家失业率都保持在10年来的高点，而德国风景这边独好，失业率自2007年的8.6%下降至2010年的6.9%。瑞士IMD商学院世界竞争力中心的负责人，斯蒂芬妮.贾乐里认为：“德国比过去任何时候都具有竞争力。”
Germany's revival has reversed itsrole in Europe. Less than a decade ago, Germany was a bumbling behemothbeset by chronic unemployment and pathetic growth. As its moreaggressive neighbors such as Spain, Britain and Ireland rode the crazein global finance to stellar performances, they looked at Germany astheir stodgy old uncle, unable to change outdated, socialist habits andadapt to a new world. But the financial crisis proved just the opposite.While Spain, Ireland and other former euro-zone highflyers tumble intodebt crises, victims of excessive exuberance and risky policies, asteady but reformed Germany has emerged as Europe's dominant economicpower. According to the OECD, Germany accounted for 60% of the GDPgrowth of the euro zone in 2010, up from only 10% in the early 2000s."We changed from the sick man of Europe to the engine," says SteffenKampeter, parliamentary state secretary at Germany's Ministry of Financein Berlin.

德国的复兴改变了其在欧洲的角色。仅仅在不到10年前，德国还是一个为失业和滞涨所困扰的经济巨兽，步履蹒跚。当时在积极财政政策指引下的邻国诸如，西班牙、英国和爱尔兰，经济加快增长，俨然一个个冉冉升起的新星，反观德国如顽固不化的长者，敝帚自珍，难以适应世界的变化。然而经济危机却改变了一切，西班牙、爱尔兰等先前快速增长的欧元区国家如今由于冒进的风险政策而前赴后继地陷入主权债务危机，相反，稳中求胜并不断改进的德国显露端倪，成为欧洲经济大国。据经合组织统计，2010年度德国占整个欧元区GDP增长的份额达到60%，而2000年左右，其份额只有10%。“我们由落后者一举成为欧洲的经济引擎，”德国财政部议会秘书斯蒂芬.康彼得在柏林说。
Germany's engine,however, has spewed toxic fumes. As manufacturers rev exports, the restof Europe has been unable to compete. Some 80% of Germany's tradesurplus is with the rest of the European Union. The more German industryexcels, the more other Europeans feel that Germany's success comes attheir expense, cracking open schisms within the euro zone just when theregion can least afford them. "There is frustration with Germany," saysAndré Sapir, a senior fellow at Bruegel, a Brussels-based think tank."Germany is moving ahead, but what are they doing for the rest ofEurope?"

德国战车引擎轰鸣，也造成一些负面影响的烟雾。德国厂家提振出口，其他欧洲国家却疲于奔命。德国贸易盈余有大约80%来源于欧盟内部的其他国家。德国越干得出色，其他欧洲哥们就越发感到自己为德国做了垫背，从而造成欧洲内部不能承受之裂痕。“说到德国有一点令人沮丧，”一家布鲁塞尔智库的首席研究员安德烈.萨博在布鲁日说：“德国勇往直前，欧洲其他国家怎么办？”

（未完待续 1//3)