When Werner Lieberherr looks at the global economy, he sees nothing but red flags. “Brexit is a mess, China is slowing, the US is losing altitude,” he says. “We’ve definitely passed the peak of global growth.”

That is potentially worrying for the company he runs, Mann + Hummel, a producer of filter systems based in south-western Germany which employs 20,000 people. Like most of his peers, he is highly reliant on exports. Yet the markets he sells into are looking increasingly fragile.

“From a geopolitical risk perspective, the [US-China] trade wars, populism in the EU, Brexit — these are all major concerns for me at the moment,” Mr Lieberherr says. To get ahead of the coming downturn he has just announced a €60m cost-cutting programme at the family-owned business that could involve steep job cuts.