2016
2016 – One of the most eventful years of our still short history
In addition to receiving a prize in the TOP100 competition, Somack was also awarded as a top young enterprise and the ‘Turnover King 2016’ by the German Chamber of Commerce.
Somack is counted as one of the TOP 100
The TOP 100 mentor Ranga Yogeshwar helped the company from Mücke to make it in this exclusive list of Germany greatest innovators.
For the 23rd time, the TOP 100 of the most innovative companies of Germany’s mid-sized organisations have been selected. This year, Somack Fertigungstechnik GmbH became a part of this elite group. Prerequisite was a demanding and science-based selection process. The judges examined and evaluated innovation management and innovation success. Ranga Yogeshwar, the mentor of the innovation contest honoured the top innovator during the “Mittelstand Summit” in Essen, Germany. On 24 June in Essen
TOP100: The competition
Since 1993, compamedia grants the TOP 100 seal for outstanding innovative energy and above-average innovation success to medium-sized companies. Since 2002, Prof. Dr. Nikolaus Franke from the “Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation” chair of the Vienna University of Economics and Business has the scientific oversight. Science journalist and TV presenter Ranga Yogeshwar is the mentor of the TOP 100. Partners in the project are the “Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der angewandten Forschung” and the German Association for Small and Medium-sized Businesses (BVMW). The “manager magazin” is the media partner for the comparison. For more information, visit www.top100.de.
Somack Fertigungstechnik GmbH, honoured with the TOP 100 seal, was selected for its notable innovation success and its processes. Thanks to their continuous development in which all 17 employees are contributing, the portion of innovative products grew to 60 percent of the overall turnover. Somack develops and manufactures special machinery including laser marking systems and packaging equipment. The required precision components and parts made from aluminium, steel, stainless steel, brass and plastics are manufactured in-house – regardless to whether they are individual components, small or large series.
This young company (founded in 2011) has clearly structured its innovation process: Prior to project start, the management reviews the idea for its viability and determines a market. “We look at any innovation by focussing on its ultimate value for the customer,” says Sinan Koc, the Managing Director. The top innovator then determines the sales potential and the price at which the product can be successfully marketed. “We attach great importance to ensure that all departments and the board are involved in these processes from the onset,” Koc adds. In the next step, project controlling weekly compares the progress of a specific project with the defined objective.
All employees are encouraged to make suggestions for improvement. “We collect their ideas and evaluate them dispassionately,” Koc explains. “The anticipated success is the centre of our deliberations and we measure the urgency of actions to be taken.” This procedure ensures a transparent value awarding the creative performance of the employees with so-called success key indicators.
More than 4,000 companies showed interest in participating in the TOP 100 competition in this year. 366 made it into the qualification round. Of them, 284 moved forward to the final round. Of them, 284 moved forward to the final round. 238 were actually selected for the TOP 100 (maximal 100 in every of the three defined size categories). Prof. Dr. Nikolaus Franke and his team from the “Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation” of the Vienna University of Economics and Business made the final evaluation. They surveyed more than 100 parameters in five assessment categories: “Innovation-supporting top management”, “Innovation climate”, “Innovative processes and organisation”, ” Innovation marketing and outward economic orientation” and “Innovation success”.
The TOP 100 are considered to the trailblazers in their industries. And the numbers confirm this: The selected companies comprise 97 national market leaders and 32 global leaders. In average, they obtained 40 percent of their turnover with innovations and product improvements introduced before their competitors. Their growth was 28 percentage points above each sector’s average. Together, these companies applied for 2,292 national and international patents in the last three years. This innovative power has its effect on jobs as well: The TOP 100 indicate that they plan to hire approximately 9,500 new employees over the next three years.
The mentor of TOP 100, the science journalist and TV presenter Ranga Yogeshwar, is impressed by the quality of the company and hopes for a signal effect: “It is remarkable how the TOP 100 generate new ideas and develop, from these ideas, trend-setting products and services. For this reason, I am truly glad that the award points a spotlight on these qualities. Hopefully, your company’s success will motivate other companies to do the same. Because a culture of continuous innovation will take on more significance for all enterprises.”