TOP 100 innovation competition
FAULHABER crowned innovation champion
Überlingen/Schönaich – Let go of the old and try something new: innovative small- and medium-sized companies such as Dr. Fritz Faulhaber GmbH & Co. KG from Schönaich near Stuttgart are not afraid of change, but rather embrace it as an opportunity. The company was thus able to convince in the 27th round of the TOP 100 innovation competition. As of June 19, FAULHABER is once again officially among the TOP 100. In the scientific selection process, the company, competing in size class C (more than 200 employees), convinced in particular in categories “Innovative Processes/Organisation” and “Climate of Innovation”. FAULHABER can count itself among Germany’s top innovators for the fourth time.
The TOP 100 company, which is based near Stuttgart, develops and manufactures high-performance DC motors, brushless DC motors, and stepper and linear motors as one of the leading providers in the field of high-precision miniature and micro drive systems. In addition, the drive specialist offers suitable precision gearheads, linear components, encoders and drive electronics assemblies for constructing complete systems. These are used in robotics, aerospace, optics, medical and laboratory technology, precision monitoring and measuring technology as well as other innovative industries. Surgical instruments used for minimally invasive procedures, for example, have little space for a drive. So little space is available, in fact, that the FAULHABER employees need to come up with solutions. Dr. Udo Haberland, head of the Development and Innovation department, reports on one such idea: “At the suggestion of an employee, we significantly improved the handling and practical uses of a motor.” The innovative employee had the idea to integrate the drive control directly in the motor – that saved space. Normally, the miniature drives – the smallest drive ever manufactured has a diameter of just 1.9 millimetres – are controlled by a separate electronic unit.
Innovative suggestions are always welcome at the top innovator. They can be submitted by any of the around 2,000 employees worldwide. A form simply needs to be completed. A committee then reviews the ideas for feasibility. “Whether or not an idea is successful depends largely on whether it benefits our customers”, says Dr. Haberland.
FAULHABER drive systems
WE CREATE MOTION Drive solutions at the limits of what is technically feasible with unmatched reliability and precision – that’s what FAULHABER stands for. The product range includes high-performance DC, brushless DC, stepper, linear and piezo motors as well as suitable precision gearheads, linear components, encoders and drive electronics assemblies for constructing complete systems. Main areas of application: production automation and robotics, medical and laboratory technology, aerospace and other innovative industries. In addition to the headquarters in Schönaich, the international FAULHABER Group operates further development and production locations in Switzerland, the USA, Romania and Hungary and is also represented in more than 30 countries. The around 2,000 employees worldwide are divided between the Drive Systems area and the Micro Precision Systems area. With innovative products, the company succeeds time and again in setting new standards. Awards as the four-time TOP100 Innovator, Best Innovator as well as 2018 Factory of the Year in the “Outstanding small-batch production” category underline the successful and sustainable innovation management of the owner-run family business.
TOP 100: The competition
Since 1993, compamedia has awarded the TOP 100 seal to small and medium-sized companies for outstanding innovativeness and exceptional innovation success. Prof. Dr. Nikolaus Franke has been the scientific director of TOP 100 since 2002. Franke is the founder and chairman of the Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the Vienna University of Economics and Business. The mentor of TOP 100 is the science journalist Ranga Yogeshwar. Project partners are the Fraunhofer Society for the Promotion of Applied Research and the German Association for Small and Medium-Sized Businesses (BVMW). Media partners involved in ranking the individual companies are “manager magazin”, “impulse” and “W&V”. For more information seewww.top100.de
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