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The German stock market has developed by leaps and bounds over the past two years. German legislators have, for example, introduced a large number of improvements that have brought the underlying conditions of the German financial markets into line with international standards. Market participants thereby have the potential — above all through the introduction of a single European currency — to actively avail themselves of the resulting opportunities. The future will see progressive globalisation and increasing international competition on the financial markets and the markets for goods and services. There will also be a greater need for pension plans funded through the capital markets. These developments will further promote the utilisation of shares as a financing and investment instrument in Continental Europe and, especially, in Germany. Introduction of the Euro will considerably reinforce these developments and the integration of markets. The German financial markets are well prepared to meet these challenges. Market participants are taking advantage of the improved underlying legal environment to develop their position among international competitors.

The purpose of this paper is to provide an outline of German corporate governance.

The history of the German Corporate Governance Code is highlighted. Then a short overview of the acceptance of the code by companies in practice is given which is based on an empirical survey. This is followed by the most recent changes as well as an overview of the developments of corporate governance in Europe. Finally, a summary of the current discussion of codetermination in terms of company management in Germany is provided.

This appraisal, accompanied by a high degree of approval of the code, shows that, on the one hand, its stipulations partly break with tradition and, on the other hand, have undergone frequent changes: in a period of four years, already four amendments have been made.

The paper offers insight into issues of corporate governance in Germany.

Numerous metals can be processed using the additive manufacturing process laser-based powder bed fusion of metals (PBF-LB/M, ISO/ASTM 52900). The main advantages of additive manufacturing technologies are the high degree of design freedom and the cost-effective implementation of lightweight structures. This could be profitable for gears with increased power density, combining reduced mass with considerable material strength. Current research on additively manufactured gears is focused on developing lightweight structures but is seldom accompanied by simulations and even less by mechanical testing. There has been very little research into the mechanical and material properties of additively manufactured gears. The purpose of this study is to investigate the behavior of lightweight structures in additively manufactured gears under static loads.

This research identifies the static load-carrying capacity of helical gears with different lightweight structures produced by PBF-LB/M with the case hardening steel 16MnCr5. A static gear loading test rig with a maximum torque at the pinion of T₁ = 1200 Nm is used. Further focus is set on analyzing material properties such as the relative density, microstructure, hardness depth profile and chemical composition.

All additively manufactured gear variants show no failure or plastic deformation at the maximum test load. The shaft hub connection, the lightweight hub designs and the gearing itself are stable and intact regarding their form and function. The identified material characteristics are comparable to conventionally manufactured gears (wrought and machined), but also some particularities were observed.

This research demonstrates the mechanical strength of lightweight structures in gears. Future research needs to consider the dynamic load-carrying capacity of additively manufactured gears.