Guess who just received the distinction of innovation champion. The tech firm Swoboda, headquartered in Wiggensbach, has been awarded the 2024 TOP 100 seal. Only particularly innovative mid-size companies are given this award. Science journalist Ranga Yogeshwar will congratulate Swoboda on their success in person at the award ceremony in Weimar on June 28. Operating within the automotive supply industry, Swoboda passed a rigorous selection process and was counted among the top innovators for the first time. The company has made a name for itself in particular as a specialist manufacturer of sub-assemblies based on metal-plastic components, sensors and actuators. “Our products make mobility safer, more comfortable and more energy-efficient,” said Dr. Klaus Skrobanek, Chief Technology Officer at Swoboda. Innovation plays a particularly important role at the family company, which has a presence in three continents and six countries. “Our development team has a global network and works very closely with our customers to create the innovations of tomorrow,” added Skrobanek. Swoboda has already built up over 75 years of experience and renown in the various segments of the automobile industry. “We see the TOP 100 innovation award as recognition of the fact that we have been successfully helping the automotive industry to transition to electric mobility, autonomous driving and connectivity for years. That’s why all large automobile manufacturers (OEM) and suppliers come to us,” said Christian Göser, Chief Sales Officer at Swoboda.

Selection criteria

On behalf of compamedia, the organizer of the competition, the innovation researcher Prof. Nikolaus Franke from the Vienna University of Economics and Business and his team evaluated the innovativeness of all the contenders based on over 100 criteria across five categories: pro-innovation senior management, culture of innovation, innovative processes and organization, public-facing stance/open innovation and success in innovation. “Are the companies able to create new products, new services, new processes and new business models? And are these achievements down to coincidence or the result of a structured and purposeful approach? These are the questions we investigate at the TOP 100,” Nikolaus Franke said of his evaluation process. He also stressed the importance of whether and how it would be possible for new developments and product improvements to succeed on the market (for more information on the evaluation criteria, please see www.top100.de/pruefkriterien).

In the interest of equal opportunities, the TOP 100 seal is awarded in three size categories: 50 or fewer employees, 51 to 200 employees, and over 200 employees. In the 31st edition of the innovation competition, 388 mid-size companies vied for the award. 287 were successful and have been proud wearers of the 2024 TOP 100 seal since February 1. A maximum of 100 companies per size category can receive the distinction.On June 28, all the top innovators of 2024 will gather in the “congress centrum weimarhalle” for the award ceremony as part of the German Mid-Size Business Summit (Deutscher Mittelstands-Summit), where Ranga Yogeshwar will congratulate the TOP 100 in person on their success.

TOP 100: the competition

Since 1993, compamedia has been awarding the TOP 100 seal to mid-size companies for high levels of innovation and outstandingly successful innovation. Prof. Nikolaus Franke has been in charge of academic management since 2002. Franke is the founder and Director of the Institute for Entrepreneurship & Innovation at Vienna University of Economics and Business. With 26 research prizes and over 200 publications, he is an international leader in innovation research. The science journalist Ranga Yogeshwar is the mentor of the TOP 100. The Fraunhofer Society for the Promotion of Applied Research (Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der angewandten Forschung) and the BVMW Association of Mid-Size Companies (Mittelstandsverband BVMW) are project partners. The manager magazin and impulse publications are assisting in the comparison of companies as media partners, while ZEIT für Unternehmer is a cooperating partner.  For more information and to register, go to www.top100.de.

You can find more information and general images for the TOP 100 competition online at www.top100.de/presse or by e-mail to presse@compamedia.de. For more information about the winning company, contact Martin Neft, Head of Corporate Communications at Swoboda: