The SGL Group – The Carbon Company – has been awarded as one of the “Top 100” most innovative German companies in Düsseldorf on Friday evening. This is the second consecutive year of the company’s wining the same prize due to its excellent innovation management activities. The prize was awarded by Lothar Späth, the mentor for Top 100 and also the former premier of the German federal state of Baden-Württemberg. SGL Group was ranked the fifth out of 340 candidates firms in total.
SGL Group wins this award due to its outstanding innovation management based on the close intercommunication with academic research institutes and universities, establishment of the innovation marketing department within the company, as well as the company’s involving customers into innovation activities at an very early stage. Concerning quality management, the SGL Group keeps pursuing the SIX SIGMA methodology (Design for SIX SIGMA - DFSS).
Dr. Hariolf Kottmann, Member of the Executive Committee of SGL Group: "This award gives us encouraging incentive to keep striving for innovations. Growth is ultimately driven by innovation, for which reason we are working closer than ever with universities and research institutes. This is also the purpose of our sponsoring the professorship for carbon fibers and carbon fiber composites at the Technical University of Munich."
The SGL Group has bundled its global research and development activities, named as “Technology & Innovation (T&I)”, at the Meitingen site (near Augsburg). The new Technology & Innovation Center (T&I Center) has been inaugurated in Meitingen in the end of May, where around 150 T&I experts are engaged in developing new products and materials to enter future markets.
The annually held cross-sectional comparative study Top 100 evaluates innovation capabilities of mid-sized German companies in five main areas: Top-Management’s support to Innovation, innovation climate, innovative processes and organization, innovation marketing as well as innovation success. In the last three categories, the SGL Group (2008) ranked among top ten out of all candidates.
This comparative study “Top 100” is conducted by innovation experts of Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration under the supervision of Professor Nikolaus Franke.
The experts begin by assessing the innovative potential of the applicants by means of a questionnaire and use a second questionnaire to evaluate the central aspects of innovation management. Franke then compiles individual studying results in a detailed benchmarking report respectively for each award-winning company.