- TOP 100 award goes to HOBART for the fifth time
- Award presented on 29 June by TV host Ranga Yogeshwar
Offenburg – The warewashing specialist HOBART was elected one of the most innovative medium-sized enterprises in Germany. For the fifth time, the world market leader for commercial warewashing received the TOP 100 seal, and thus was elected once more as member of the innovation elite. This prize is awarded based on a sophisticated scientific selection process. Under supervision of Prof. Dr. Nikolaus Franke, the innovation management and innovation success of a total of 471 companies was analysed and assessed.
"We see this award as a special honour and are very proud that our innovative working methods are appreciated on such a high-level professional scale. Innovation is a key factor in our processes and successes. We strongly orient ourselves towards the requirements of our target group so that we can deliver real added value to our customers for their daily work," says Manfred Kohler, Vice President & General Manager Warewash HOBART Germany.
Innovative power as a guarantee for success
HOBART focuses on innovation. At the research and production facility in Offenburg-Elgersweier, which has a workforce of around 1,000, our innovative technologies are developed and implemented. Here, the engineers of the innovation leader for commercial warewashing are also developing the PREMAX series. Depending on the model, these machines use only half the water and energy of an average dishwasher. Just for the PREMAX technology, the company owns more than 100 patents. In the development of our dishwashers, we are guided by our vision: 'wash without water'. "Before the launch of our premium line PREMAX in 2007, a flight-type dishwasher with 50 % water savings would have been unthinkable. Today, it is reality. And with every year and every product innovation, we are coming closer to realising our ambitious vision", explains Silvio Koch, Vice President & General Manager Service HOBART Europe.
In the design and production of its warewashing, cooking and food preparation technology for the commercial kitchen, HOBART is intensively engaged not only in basic research but also in new and future-oriented technologies in order to further reduce the consumption of resources. More than 300 research and development engineers, marketing teams identifying customers' requirements world-wide, our own Technology Center in the USA, and our innovation site in Offenburg make up our global network. National and international hotel and catering industry, foodservice companies, bakeries and butcher shops, supermarkets, airlines, cruise ships, leading automotive suppliers, university hospitals, research centres and pharmaceutical companies swear by the high-quality HOBART products.
TOP 100: Fierce selection
The selection of the TOP 100 companies is governed by very high quality standards: More than 3,800 companies competed for the 2018 award. But many just could not meet the requirements of the competition. The scientific head of the TOP 100, Prof. Dr. Nikolaus Franke, and his team defined around 100 parameters as test criteria, classified in the evaluation criteria "Innovative processes and organisation", "Innovation climate (employee involvement)", "Innovation promotion by the top management", "Outward looking/Open innovation", and "Innovation success". "It is absolutely fascinating to see how the TOP 100 companies deal with challenges. With their creativity, purposefulness and audacity, they set an example for what our society needs: novel solutions for our problems, resulting in prosperity, growth and jobs", Franke said in his speech.
Science journalist and TV host Ranga Yogeshwar, the mentor of the TOP 100, was impressed as well: "The TOP 100 are medium-sized enterprises which dare to embrace change and have no fear of letting go of the old ways. They are managed by men and women who are not afraid of new things but welcome them. Entrepreneurs whose companies remain stable and successful because of embracing permanent change."
TOP 100: The competition
Since 1993, "compamedia" awards the TOP 100 seal for extraordinary innovative power and above-average innovation success to medium-sized enterprises. Prof. Dr. Nikolaus Franke has been responsible for the scientific management since 2002. Franke is the founder and Chairman of the Institut für Entrepreneurship und Innovation of Vienna University of Economics and works as a visiting researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). With 18 research prizes and more than 200 publications, he is one of the leading innovation researchers world-wide. The science journalist Ranga Yogeshwar is the mentor of the TOP 100. Project partners are the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der angewandten Forschung and the BVMW, the German Association for Small and Medium-sized Businesses.