Ratingen, Germany:
K. Hardtke, Freelance journalist, e-mail: redaktion@stahleisen.de

The German industry in general and the German metallurgy in particular are especially responsible for the economical growth, for national prosperity, for creation of working placed and for proper operation of added value production chains. But public attitude to the iron and steel industry is often rather critical or even negative. The author tries to analyze the causes of such behaviour and possible measures for its overcoming. It is stated that comprehensive dialog between industry and society should be conducted permanently. It should be also taken into account that Germany is also a driver of European economy. Gradual transformation of a metallurgical engineer to innovative manager, based on Industry 4.0 tendencies, is also the important factor. So specialized education of the specialists should be corrected with attention on marketing, finances, It-technologies and soft skills.