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At the heart of the TOP 100 innovation competition is a scientific selection process that participants have to go through. Commissioned by compamedia, the organiser of the comparison, innovation researcher Prof. Nikolaus Franke and his team evaluated Wiha based on more than 100 innovation indicators in five categories: innovation-supportive top management, innovation climate, innovative processes and organisation, external orientation/open innovation and innovation success. In principle, the TOP 100 analysis focuses on the question of whether the innovations of a company are only a matter of chance or if they are systematically planned and therefore repeatable in the future. A special emphasis is on whether and how the innovations and product improvements are established on the market.

Wiha is among the top innovators for the third time already. Wiha is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of hand tools for professional use in trade and industry. Wiha regularly presents innovative new products from screwdrivers via pliers, bits, wrenches or multitools, up to electrical screwdrivers, electrician’s cases and much more. Wilhelm Hahn, CEO of Wiha, said: “Creative thinking, searching for new ideas, the constant drive for progress and improvement are what moves Wiha in every company sector. From the highest management level down to each individual employee, we intensely apply a culture of innovation. We are very proud that our work, our innovative processes and structures were evaluated so positively within the scientific evaluation process that we are now able to celebrate the third star on the TOP 100 seal.”

 “How focused is a company on innovation? How consistently do its structures pursue this aim? This is what we look at with TOP 100," explained Prof. Nikolaus Franke, the scientific supervisor of TOP 100. “The most innovative SMEs receive the seal. It shows that they are excellently prepared for future challenges.”

On 24 June, the top innovators of the year 2022 will gather in Frankfurt for the award ceremony at the German SME business summit to be congratulated by Ranga Yogeshwar. The science journalist has been involved in the innovation competition as a patron for eleven years.