TPT September 2015

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Industry News
September 2015 11
Major innovation award for Ernst
Blissenbach at SME Summit
ERNST Blissenbach GmbH has been
honoured as one of Germany’s most
innovative SMEs at the German SME
Summit in Essen. The company joined
an exclusive group of prize-winners
stretching back over more than 20 years
as Top 100 mentor Ranga Yogeshwar
awarded it the Top 100 award. The award
to Ernst Blissenbach is the outcome of
a two-stage analytical procedure by a
team of research scientists.
Ernst Blissenbach develops systems
that enable pipes to be produced with
particularly smooth internal surfaces,
while offering maximum reliability for
demanding pipe production processes.
The company scored particularly well
in the Top 100 competition’s Innovations
Marketing category. Its engineers work
together with customers to develop
tangible solutions and to exchange ideas
and information on best practice in joint
workshops. This enables the company
to check at an early stage whether its
innovation projects are feasible and to
react swiftly to the needs of the market.
Plenty of inspiration for new products
also comes from within the company.
Managing director Ernst Blissenbach
encourages his 15 employees to think
outside the box and places particular
emphasis on a no-blame culture. As
a result, there is a constant stream of
innovative products.
“Generating good ideas and imple-
menting them quickly is an important
competitive factor for us,” commented
Mr Blissenbach. “This is why we invest
a lot of time and money into managing
innovation. In doing so, we are relying
on the creativity and inventiveness of all
of our employees. I should like to extend
my heartfelt thanks to them for helping
us win this Top 100 award.”
The Top 100 accolade is awarded
on the basis of a two-stage analysis
developed by Nikolaus Franke, professor
of Entrepreneurship and Innovation at
the Vienna University of Economics
and Business Administration and his
team. The research scientists use more
than 100 parameters in five separate
categories to investigate how SMEs
generate successful innovations. The
decision as to which companies receive
the Top 100 award lies exclusively with
the academic coordinators of the project.
This year, Professor Franke reviewed
more applicants than ever before, with
234 out of 302 qualifying companies
making it into the final. After the finalists
had been split into three size categories,
178 were awarded the accolade. The
German SME summit in Essen provided
the setting for the ceremony.
Ernst Blissenbach GmbH – Germany
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