The jury, led by project mentor Ranga Yogeshwar, was particularly impressed by the way SIMONA has integrated all staff at every level of seniority in the innovation process and by the company’s ability to devise tailored solutions for its customers.

Back at SIMONA’s Kirn headquarters in the German state of Rhineland Palatinate, there was tremendous satisfaction that the plastics manufacturer has been recognised as one of the most innovative SME in the country.

The award is based on business analyses conducted by Professor Nikolaus Franke and his team from the Faculty of Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Vienna University of Economics and Business.

The expert panel reviewed and compared the innovation management systems of numerous SMEs and awarded a Top 100 quality mark to the very best.

SIMONA’s CEO Wolfgang Moyses expressed his delight at the honour and ascribed it to the company’s commitment to internal cooperation: “Receiving a Top 100 award is confirmation of our determined approach to innovation management. This success is the result of dedicated teamwork. It also shows us that we are on the right path.”

One key factor in that success is the way SIMONA involves all its staff at every level in the innovation process, including top management. Across the whole spectrum of business units, decisions on new product developments and production processes are taken by ‘innovation teams’ consisting of unit leaders, product managers and representatives from different departments. Senior managers can be found in each of the innovation teams, prioritising projects and taking definitive stop-go decisions. This facilitates the continuous and proactive implementation of new product and project ideas. SIMONA’s rating in the category ‘Senior management support for innovation’ was well above the average for German SMEs.

Many ideas for innovative products are driven by the technical challenges facing customers. As their development partner, SIMONA strives to ensure that aspects such as process technology, consulting and supply logistics are incorporated into the innovation process right from the beginning. These processes make it possible to improve and redesign off-the-shelf solutions as well as create individual and holistic solutions for customers.

The results of the benchmark survey are made available to all the companies in receipt of an award. Wolfgang Moyses knows what he plans to do with the potential and the practical advice highlighted and offered by the jury: “We will use the results to finetune our processes and bring new products to the market even faster.”

The quality award, now in its twentieth year and organised by compamedia GmbH, was formally conferred at a ceremony in Berlin on 5 July 2013.