A targeted EU policy for Mittelstand-companies requires relevant business categories. Although there are many ‘micro, small and medium-sized enterprises’ (SMEs), they are only one part of the diverse business landscape of Mittelstand and family businesses. The supplementary category of ‘small mid-cap companies’ (SMCs) better reflects “bigger SMEs”, that is industrial Mittelstand-companies. This offers advantages for creating effective European and national policies for competitive companies, innovative value creation and profitable jobs. The SMC category must be introduced quickly and broadly and made fully operational.