The jury, it was reported, had a hard time choosing, as only three companies from Germany were to receive the coveted prize for their forward-looking product innovations. For each of the three categories, startups, SMEs and large companies, three finalists traveled to Munich for the festive, grand awards ceremony in the beautiful Kesselhaus. The nine teams were very excited and had butterflies in their stomachs, because it had been kept top secret until the last moment which three companies would be awarded. 

KNAUER made the running in the medium-sized company category: Team leader Daniela Fehr, department head Anja Roden and managing directors Alexandra Knauer and Carsten Losch were beaming when they were allowed on stage. Chief editor Beat Balzli of WirtschaftsWoche was impressed by the short time in which KNAUER had designed and manufactured novel large-scale plants for the encapsulation of mRNA at its own risk. Equipment for the production of millions of mRNA vaccine doses had never been manufactured by any company before.  

Mr. Balzli asked the team on stage why this project was made at KNAUER and given top priority. Company owner Alexandra Knauer replied, "We all agreed. We wanted to do our part to save the world from COVID-19."

More than two billion vaccine doses have now been produced worldwide using KNAUER equipment. Managing Director Carsten Losch reported how this very special development project began and that the expertise of the employees and the high added value at KNAUER were factors in its success. Anja Roden informed that KNAUER’s decades of experience in high-pressure pump technology and mixing technology were important prerequisites for the quick implementation. Recently, the portfolio was expanded to include screening and the production of smaller quantities of lipid nanoparticles for personalized therapies.  

 The winner in the large companies category was Infineon, whose new technology makes it possible to produce more powerful and longer-lasting computer chips. The start-up CUREosity from Düsseldorf convinced with special rehabilitation therapies via virtual reality.

The Berlin-based medium-sized company KNAUER is delighted to receive this special award in the anniversary year "60 years of KNAUER". Laudator and WirtschaftsWoche editor-in-chief Beat Balzli described medium-sized businesses as the secret backbone of the German economy. At the end of a company visit to KNAUER in September, 2021 Dr. Angela Merkel called the company a "pearl of the SME sector".

KNAUER will celebrate the great success with all employees at a barbecue in the large company garden, where the fruit trees are now in full bloom.

KNAUER Wissenschaftliche Geräte GmbH develops and produces laboratory instruments and is known for liquid chromatography systems and components. These can be used to gently separate molecules. The systems serve analytical purposes as well as the purification of valuable substances, such as active pahrmaceutical ingredients. High-pressure dosing applications and engineering services according to customer requirements are another important mainstay. Owner Alexandra Knauer, who runs the company together with Carsten Losch, advocates sustainable and responsible corporate governance with a focus on users, the 170 employees and society. Learn more about KNAUER at www.knauer.net 

Learn more about the award ceremony on the WirtschaftsWoche website www.wiwo.de/technologie/digitale-welt/deutscher-innovationspreis-2022-energieeffizientere-chips-mrna-therapie-per-virtual-reality/28292218.html  and on dip2022.de.