29.06.2009
Nabaltec AG / Miscellaneous
Release of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a company of EquityStory
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Nabaltec AG:
- Nabaltec honoured as a top innovator
- Lothar Späth awards the 'Top 100' seal of approval to chemicals firm for
its outstanding innovations management
Schwandorf, 29 June 2009 - It's official: Nabaltec AG is one of the 100
most innovative small and medium-sized companies in Germany. So say the
results of this year's 'Top 100' corporate benchmarking competition - a
cross-sectoral business initiative covering the entire country. One key
element of the firm's success in this, the 17th year of the renowned
contest, was its finely-tuned innovations management. Lothar Späth, former
state premier of Baden-Württemberg, presented the prestigious 'Top 100'
seal of approval to Gerhard Witzany, member of the Management Board, at an
official ceremony in Königswinter's 'Gästehaus Petersberg' on Friday, 26
June 2009.
As patron of the SME initiative, he has recognized this Bavarian company's
achievements in the five key categories of 'Innovation-friendly Senior
Management', 'Climate of Innovation', 'Innovative Processes and
Organisation', 'Innovations Marketing' and 'Successful Innovations'. This
is the fourth time that Nabaltec has been among Germany's top 100 most
innovative SMEs.
Nabaltec AG produces mineral-based flame retardants for the cable and
plastics industries and, with a workforce of 347, it generated revenue of
EUR96 million in 2008. It no longer makes the classic distinction between
sales and development and manages its customer relationships holistically,
which means that right from the start the marketing function is integrated
into the innovation process for new developments
- which definitely scores points in the 'Top 100' competition. To achieve
this, Nabaltec trains its technicians in specific aspects of marketing.
Following customer meetings, technical sales staff go straight into the lab
where they and their colleagues develop customised products, thus forming a
structured link between R&D, production and the market. At Nabaltec a
similar approach is taken when constructing new production machinery, with
a series of lab tests following the initial idea for an innovation. If the
tests are successful, a pilot machine is created and selected customers
carry out a beta test to evaluate it. If they give it the thumbs up, a
commercial-scale trial at a reference customer follows.
To qualify for the award, Nabaltec had to undergo a stringent, two-stage
process devised by the Vienna University of Economics and Business
Administration. 'Our results show that the 100 top innovators generally
tackle challenges head on and are thus well-equipped to deal with the
current economic situation, for example. Innovation is a matter of priority
at management level for most of these companies,' commented Professor
Nikolaus Franke, head of the research team, on the analysis. In the past
three years, these award-winners generated two thirds of their revenue from
innovations and innovative improvements, compared with 30 per cent in a
sample of similarly-structured German SMEs. In addition, Top 100 firms were
able to shave some 12 per cent off their costs through process innovations,
compared with a paltry 4 per cent on the part of 'average SMEs'. As a
result, this year's 'Top 100' contains 54 German market leaders, 22 of
which are global leaders in their field. Gerhard Witzany, member of the
Management Board, is jubilant about the firm's success: 'We are now
officially classed among the most formidable innovators in the German SME
sector. This is a great boost to our credibility and will inspire our
employees, partners and, of course, our customers with confidence. We could
scarcely have hoped for better news in these times of crisis.' Overall, 319
companies entered the 'Top 100' competition this year.
All of the 100 top innovators are featured in the book 'Top 100 - the 100
most innovative companies in Germany's SME sector' edited by Lothar Späth,
and featured on the website www.top100.de. The project is organised by
compamedia GmbH, Überlingen, Germany. Companies interested in entering the
competition can apply as of now via the website. The deadline for entries
is 30 October 2009.
Mentor and partners
The project's patron is Lothar Späth. Partners in the project are: Bayern
Innovativ GmbH, the Fraunhofer Society for the Promotion of Applied
Research, the German Centre for Productivity and Innovation (RKW), the
Association for Electrical, Electronic & Information Technologies (VDE) and
the Association of German Engineers (VDI). Its media partner is the
Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper.
Project management
The project is coordinated by Dr Nikolaus Franke, Professor of
Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the Vienna University of Economics and
Business Administration. The focus of his research is on entrepreneurship,
innovation management and marketing. He is one of the world's leading
experts in user innovation.
Organiser: compamedia GmbH
compamedia specialises in organising benchmarking projects and creating
networks for small and medium-sized enterprises. The agency concentrates on
promoting its projects in the media, leaving technical implementation to
its specialist partners. In addition to the Top 100 innovation project,
compamedia coordinates two other prestigious projects that highlight the
achievements of Germany's SME sector: the Top Job employer benchmarking
competition under the mentorship of Wolfgang Clement and Ethics in Business
with Ulrich Wickert as patron.
Photographs of the awards ceremony are available in the Press section of
www.top100.de.
Photos of Nabaltec are available from InvestorRelations@nabaltec.de or +49
9431 53-204.
About Nabaltec AG
Nabaltec AG, with registered office in Schwandorf, a chemicals business
which has received multiple awards for innovativeness, manufactures,
develops and distributes highly specialized products based on aluminum
hydroxide ('ATH') and aluminum oxide, as well as other raw materials, on an
industrial scale through its 'functional fillers' and 'technical ceramics'
divisions. The company's product range includes flame-retardant fillers for
the plastics industry, used e.g. in cables, tunnels, airports, high-rise
buildings and electronic devices, as well as base materials for use in
technical ceramics, the refractory industry and catalysis. Unlike
halogenated flame-retardant fillers, the products manufactured by the
company's 'functional fillers' division contain no hazardous substances and
do not require separate disposal. Rather, the company's flame-retardant
fillers actually decrease the development of fumes hazardous to human
health and the environment in the event of fire. Nabaltec maintains
production sites in Germany and the US and plans to continue to consolidate
its market position by expanding capacity, further optimizing processes and
quality and making strategic extensions to its product range. On the
strength of its specialty products, the company strives to attain not just
the quality leadership, but also the market leadership in each segment.
Contact:
Kerstin Schuierer
Nabaltec AG
Phone: +49 9431 53-204
Fax: +49 9431 53-260
E-mail: InvestorRelations@nabaltec.de
Julie Bohac
Better Orange IR & HV AG
Phone: +49 89 8896906-25
Fax: +49 89 8896906-66
E-Mail: julie.bohac@better-orange.de
29.06.2009 Financial News transmitted by DGAP
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Language: English
Issuer: Nabaltec AG
Alustraße 50-52
92421 Schwandorf
Deutschland
Phone: +49 9431 53-0
Fax: +49 9431 53-260
E-mail: info @nabaltec.de
Internet: www.nabaltec.de
ISIN: DE000A0KPPR7
WKN: A0KPPR
Listed: Freiverkehr in Berlin, Düsseldorf, München, Stuttgart; Entry
Standard in Frankfurt
End of News DGAP News-Service
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