For the 25th time, the TOP 100 competition selects the most innovative companies in German SMEs. One of the innovation leaders for this year is the NORRES Group. This was the result of an analysis of the scientific director TOP 100, Prof. Dr. med. Nikolaus Franke. As a mentor of TOP 100, Ranga Yogeshwar will honor the company based in Gelsenkirchen together with Franke and compamedia on June 29, 2018 at the award ceremony in Ludwigsburg within the framework of the 5th German SME Summit. In the independent selection process, our company with 215 employees at our corporate facility in Gelsenkirchen impressed all with our innovation processes.

In the 25th round of the TOP 100 innovation competition, the scientific management commissioned compamedia to look at 471 applications from medium-sized companies. Franke and his team applied around 100 parameters as initial test criteria, subdivided into the evaluation categories "Innovative Processes and Organization", "Innovation Climate", "Innovation-Promoting Top Management", "External Focus / Open Innovation" and "Innovation Success". 288 companies were successful in this selection process and this year they will receive the TOP 100 seal in three size classes.

The NORRES Group develops and produces technical hoses and hose systems for a wide range of applications, including the food and pharmaceutical industries, agriculture, woodworking and the plastics industry. The TOP 100 company has been based in Gelsenkirchen for almost 130 years. At that time, the former miner Wilhelm Norres developed a mechanical safety fuse for blasting. Today, the NORRES Group is one of the market leaders in the segment of technical hoses. For example, the company has developed hoses that are antistatic, food grade and microbe resistant – this combination of hose properties is in high demand in many industries. Even flame-retardant hoses for passenger transport vehicles are new to NORRES’ portfolio.

In recent years, NORRES has also initiated various innovations internally. For example, EDI (an electronic data exchange) was introduced. Many orders are now completely automated: they go straight from the customer to the warehouse, where they can be processed immediately. A monitoring system constantly checks the stock levels. Innovative ideas of this type do not just come from the management or the senior executives. Each employee can contribute ideas and suggestions for improvement as part of the newly created innovation management. An innovation committee comprising representatives from all departments awards the best proposals. It is constantly being reoccupied, so that everyone can co-decide.

"We are very happy about this award!" reports CEO Burkhard Mollen. "Officially belonging to the innovation leaders in 2018 is for us the confirmation that we have taken the right path with the combination of experience and focus in quality and performance as well as our intention to create innovations again and again!"

TOP 100: The competition

Since 1993, compamedia has awarded the TOP 100 seal of approval for outstanding innovative strength and above-average innovation success given to medium-sized companies. Since 2002, the scientific direction has been in the hands of Prof. Dr. med. Nikolaus Franke. Franke is founder and director of the Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation of the Vienna University of Economics and Business. Mentor of TOP 100 is science journalist Ranga Yogeshwar. Project partners are The Fraunhofer Society for the Promotion of Applied Research and the BVMW. As media partners, ‘manager magazine’, ‘impulse’ and ‘W&V’ assist in the company comparison. More information can be located at www.top100.de.