Jul. 02, 2018 - Nabaltec AG was once again among the most innovative small and innovative German mid-sized companies in 2018. The company received the "TOP 100" award for the eleventh time at the Deutscher Mittelstands-Summit (the German Small and Mid-Sized Companies Summit) on 29 June 2018 in recognition of its record as an innovator. In the independent selection procedure this year, Nabaltec won over jurors particularly in the category of "outward looking/open innovation."

"Being recognized for our innovation once again, and particularly being selected as one of the leading innovators in Germany in the field of open innovation, is above all a confirmation of the mission statement which our employees work day in and day out to realize. Those who consistently work closely with customers and join with them to develop new products which satisfy market demand can create real innovation," said Johannes Heckmann, CEO of Nabaltec AG, who accepted the award on the company's behalf. "We are proud that this award reaffirms our forward-looking approach and our strategy."

With highly specialized products, Nabaltec AG operates in the "functional fillers" and "specialty alumina" product segments, developing flame-retardant fillers which are used e.g. in cable and insulation materials. Changes in legislation, such as laws concerning the use of flame-retardant building materials, require constant changes in products. But developments in electric mobility are also generating demand for innovations. "The TOP 100 are small and mid-sized businesses which are taking a chance on change and are not afraid to let go of the old," said Ranga Yogeshwar, the mentor of the TOP 100 competition. "They are people who have no fear of new things, but rather welcome change."

The candidates in this year's TOP 100 innovation competition were 471 small and mid-sized companies, which were graded in around 100 parameters, as assessment criteria, in the following categories: "innovative processes/organization," "climate of innovation" (employee inclusion), "innovation-friendly senior management," "outward looking/open innovation" and "successful innovations." 288 companies in three size classes were awarded the TOP 100 seal this year (maximum of 100 per size class).

The "TOP 100" competition

The "Top 100" quality seal has been awarded by compamedia to small and mid-sized companies since 1993 for innovativeness and outstanding innovative success. Dr. Nikolaus Franke has served as research director since 2002. Franke is founder and Director of the Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the Vienna University of Economics and Business. The mentor of the "Top 100" competition is science journalist Ranga Yogeshwar. The project partners are Fraunhofer Association for Applicational Research and the German Association for Small and Medium-Sized Businesses (BVMW), and the media partners are manager magazin, impulse and W&V. More information can be found at www.top100.de.