ThermHex is one of the top 100 most innovative companies in Germany. The company from Halle prevails in the nationwide innovation competition and receives the TOP 100 seal 2022. The company is being honoured specifically for its excellent innovation achievements.
Excellent innovation work: ThermHex Waben GmbH convinces in the 29th round of the German competition “TOP 100” and receives the coveted Top 100 award, making the honeycomb core specialist from Halle (Saale) one of the most innovative companies in the German SME sector.
The core of the innovation competition is a scientific selection process that the participants undergo. Under the direction of innovation researcher Prof. Dr. Nikolaus Franke, the companies are examined on the basis of more than 100 indicators in the five categories of innovation-promoting top management, innovation climate, innovative processes and organisation, external orientation/open innovation and innovation success. Basically, the analysis is about the question of whether a company’s innovations are just a product of chance or are systematically planned and thus repeatable in the future. Among other things, questions such as “To what extent is a company oriented towards innovation?” or “How consistently do its structures follow this goal?” are examined.
Especially in the category of innovation-promoting top management, the engineering and owner-managed company ThermHex convinced the jury. Flat hierarchies, short decision-making paths, regular team meetings and an “open-door” policy make it possible to make ground-breaking decisions within the shortest possible time and thus drive innovation forward. In addition, key positions are occupied by technically highly educated people who like to think outside the box.
ThermHex receives the award for the first time and thus positions itself as a pioneer in the composite industry. Based in the plastics processing industry, ThermHex has been producing honeycomb cores made of polypropylene in Halle since 2010.
The honeycomb cores are used as core material in sandwich panels and lightweight components and enormously reduce the weight of components. They enable sustainable yet affordable construction with an optimal strength-to-weight ratio, making them more in demand than ever. Whether for the production of panels for truck side walls, in ship interior, in automobile interiors, in caravans, prefabricated bathrooms or for modern swimming pools, the honeycomb cores from ThermHex are versatile. Internationally, the lightweight construction specialist is at the top of the market and generates 95% of its sales abroad.
Thanks to the specially developed and globally patented continuous production process, the honeycomb cores and sandwich panels for lightweight construction products can be produced particularly economically. Conventional honeycomb cores are produced in several complex steps and cut from the block. In the ThermHex production process, on the other hand, the honeycomb cores are produced continuously in a single highly efficient production line.
In addition to small innovation steps to improve existing products and the production process, it is also a matter of rethinking them in order to dare to take larger innovative leaps.
“I am pleased about the appreciation of our innovative strength. We are constantly working to further optimise our honeycomb cores and production process to produce honeycomb cores that make our customers even more competitive. I am very proud of my team and the award. It is something special to be among the 100 most innovative companies in Germany,” says Dr.-Ing. Jochen Pflug, managing director of ThermHex.
436 medium-sized companies applied for the award. In order to give the companies equal chances, the seal is awarded in three size categories: up to 50, 51 to 200 and more than 200 employees. On 24 June, there will be cause for celebration: then the top innovators of the year 2022 will come together in Frankfurt am Main for the award ceremony at the German SME Summit to receive congratulations and exchange ideas about their innovation processes.
TOP 100: the competition
Since 1993, compamedia has been awarding the TOP 100 seal of approval for special innovative strength and above-average innovative success to medium-sized companies. Since 2002, the scientific management has been in the hands of Prof. Dr. Nikolaus Franke. Franke is the founder and director of the Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the Vienna University of Economics and Business. With 25 research awards and over 200 publications, he is one of the leading innovation researchers internationally. 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 BVMW association of medium-sized businesses. More information at www.top100.de.
