Award-winning innovative strength DFE Chemie GmbH is Top Innovator 2021

Wien/Düsseldorf, January 2021

Since 1993, the TOP 100 seal has been awarded to medium-sized companies as part of an innovation competition. For this purpose, all stages of the innovation process of the applicants are examined with regard to innovative strength and innovation success.

DFE Chemie GmbH will now receive the coveted seal for 2021.

In a scientific selection process, all participants are evaluated according to 120 test criteria in five categories:
- Innovation success
- Innovation climate
- Innovative processes and organisation
- External orientation/open innovation
- Top management that promotes innovation

In addition to the innovative output, it is examined in particular whether innovations are the result of a planned approach and whether innovation achievements are thus repeatable. This makes TOP 100 probably the only innovation competition in Germany that awards SMEs for their innovation management and innovation success.

The scientific leadership is in the hands of Prof. Dr. Nikolaus Franke and his team from the Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the Vienna University of Economics and Business. Professor Franke is considered one of the world's leading innovation researchers. He can look back on 25 research awards and over 200 publications.

Project partners are the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft and the BVMW business association. In addition, the comparison of companies is accompanied by the business magazines manager magazin and impulse as media partners. The mentor of the innovation competition has been the science journalist and bestselling author Ranga Yogeshwar for ten years.

In September 2021, DFE will receive an individual "innovation balance sheet" from the scientific management, a detailed evaluation of the company's innovation management. This will contain recommendations for action on how the innovation processes at DFE can be further optimised, if necessary.

At the end of November, the award winners will come together once again to receive congratulations from Ranga Yogeshwar in person at the 7th German SME Summit.