Basketball star Dirk Nowitzki is promoting top-quality products from Thuringia. A player for NBA team the Dallas Mavericks for many years, he recently became the global brand ambassador for Bauerfeind AG, a family-owned company founded in 1929. Bauerfeind, which has 2,000 staff around the world, is based in Zeulenroda, in eastern Thuringia. It develops and manufactures bandages, braces and supports, compression socks and orthopedic insoles. (gro)