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In March, the German Institute for Idea and Innovation Management presented HANNING & KAHL GmbH & Co. KG the German Idea Management Prize 2022. The family-owned company ranked Second in the category of “Best Idea Management”.

At HANNING & KAHL, idea management is an integral part of corporate strategy and brims with dynamic innovative ideas: with an input quota of over five ideas per member of staff per year as well as a participation rate of 69 per cent, the East Westphalian company has been honoured many years in succession. The jury was particularly impressed by the marketing activities and the integration of KAIZEN/CIP. Assessment focussed on the degree of innovation and sustainability as well as effectiveness, efficiency, impact and practicability.

The German Institute for Idea and Innovation Management is a partner for innovation-oriented corporate and staff development. The German idea management prize which is presented once a year is the highest award for idea management in Germany. An independent panel of experts from the worlds of science and industry honours companies and individuals who serve as role models.

picture: Susanne Mölle

At the German idea management award-giving ceremony 2019, HANNING & KAHL from Oerlinghausen won third place in the category “Best Idea Management“.

Bodo Haverig, KAIZEN/ Improvement Idea Manager, accepted the prize at the gala evening event in Fulda.

The German idea management prize is awarded once a year by the German Institute for Idea and Innovation Management, the professional body for the promotion of idea and innovation management in science and business practice, for outstanding achievements in idea management. This year, the patron of the organisation is Dr. Andreas Weber, Direktor Prävention VBG – “Your statutory accident insurance”, for "Ideas make the future", an initiative of the top management of German companies to encourage and promote idea management in business and administration.

European Innovation Impact Award

At the end of September, HANNING & KAHL GmbH & Co. KG was presented the European Innovation Impact Award 2017 at the first ideasEurope-Konferenz in Brussels.

The conference took place in the European Committee of the Regions. It is designed to bring people together and to bring companies and organisations up to speed for the future via idea and innovation management.

HANNING & KAHL received an award for “Best Ideas Management“. The jury primarily focussed on how idea and innovation management is structurally anchored in each particular company, and the social and entrepreneurial significance of the ideas and innovations submitted.

The award covers six categories. Five of these categories are designed to positively shape the future of companies: “From Imagination to Impact“. This year, there was an additional category for health care. IdeasEurope sees itself as a network for decision-makers and experts from companies who successfully shape the future with ideas and management. It is also an innovation hub for partner organisations and international networks. Last but not least, its raison d’être is to help companies, organisations and political institutions to create innovation-friendly framework conditions.

HANNING & KAHL places third for best idea management The German conference of the German Institute for Idea and Innovation Management (Deutsches Institut für Ideen- und Innovationsmanagement) took place in Bad Soden am Taunus from 29 to 30 March 2017. The coveted Idea Management Awards were presented during the evening event. Those in the “Best Occupational Safety and Health Management Idea” category were awarded in conjunction with accident insurance provider VBG – Ihre gesetzliche Unfallversicherung, Hamburg. “These awards promote the vision of idea management, which is a driving force for improvement in companies. We recognise excellent achievements of companies with the best idea management in this area. As in previous years, the winners were chosen in a transparent process by an independent international jury. We received more than 80 submissions this year”, said Christiane Kersting, Managing Director of the German Institute for Idea and Innovation Management. “A specific evaluation method based on five main topics covers all relevant aspects of modern idea management in companies. We recognise not only strengths, such as efficiency, but also lasting success resulting from systematic and continuous planning, implementation, monitoring, learning and refinement”, said Roland Rausch, also Managing Director of the Institute since January 2017. Werner Schmidt, President of the Centre for Idea Management (Zentrum Ideenmanagement), and Christiane Kersting presented the awards.   

Smart ideas and trends wanted (Leipzig, 26/04/2016). The German Ideas Award competition is considered one of the most important awards in the area of idea management within the industry. The German Business Management Institute (DIB) has been awarding ideas, people, companies and institutions for their outstanding commitment and success in relation to the values of creativity, innovation and responsibility since 2011. HANNING & KAHL was recognised by the DIB with 1st place in the 2016 German Ideas Award. This means that the company is now number ONE in idea management across Germany in the machinery and plant engineering sector. A formula is used to compare key performance indicators and the award is something that HANNING & KAHL can feel proud of as there is fierce competition for the top places each year. “How does HANNING & KAHL manage time and again to win awards for KAIZEN and its company suggestion scheme?” Our competitors posed this question and the answer is very simple: through motivated, creative employees! It motivates our employees that the majority of their ideas are implemented very quickly. It is very seldom that they cannot be realised for one reason or another. When such a situation arises, the company looks to communicate openly with the person who put forward the idea and discuss what is and is not possible. Such honest interactions are a real feature of the company, setting it apart from many others.

Outstanding, smart ideas (Hanover, 03/03/2015). Ideas shape the future - and the corporate world. Creativity leads to better market opportunities. That is why idea management is playing an ever greater role in many companies. The German Business Management Institute (DIB), the professional institution for idea management for many years now, issued the “2015 German Ideas Award” in 5 categories again this year. The winners were honoured during a formal evening gala held as part of the 30th annual conference of the DIB’s Idea Management Forum. HANNING & KAHL was honoured by the German Business Management Institute with 3rd place for “Best Idea Management” in the German mechanical engineering sector. Of course, finishing 3rd means there is still room to improve, but its national “idea management competitors” are not sleeping. In 2015, the company was able to push a well-known mechanical engineering firm from its region into 4th place.

Intelligent technology allows older people and those in need of assistance to live longer independently in their own homes The door welcomes visitors, the wardrobe mirror remembers the key, the cooker warns you if the milk is about to boil over. It may sound like Alice in Wonderland but these are just a few of the capabilities of the "thinking home" which 14 partners from science, industry, social and health services are developing within the framework of the KogniHome project. The objective is to assist people in their everyday lives - equipped with intelligent, learning technology that can be used simply by means of language and gestures. The technology offers the elderly, in particular, a good opportunity to live longer within their own four walls. "KogniHome – the thinking home " has been acknowledged as a landmark in the Land of Ideas. HANNING & KAHL is part of this project with GuideLight as an evacuation system.

GERMAN IDEAS AWARD

(Frankfurt am Main, 04/04/2013). We were honoured by the German Business Management Institute on 4 June with the 3rd place in the GERMAN IDEAS AWARD. More than 100 companies from all kinds of industries put themselves forward for comparison with other German companies. Therefore, competition was fierce. Nevertheless, we still managed to get onto the winners podium. This is a fantastic HANNING & KAHL team performance. Belated thanks go to all employees who contributed in terms of quantity and quality through their good ideas. Many large enterprises are very impressed and perhaps even a little jealous of how our medium-sized company in Oerlinghausen has been able to successfully implement established idea management for years. Even some customers have been convinced by our KAIZEN philosophy and company suggestion scheme. However, this is not the time to rest on our laurels, and we have to really aim for the next step on the winners podium.

Award of the TOP Innovation Prize in the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology

Global challenges, social changes and technology development continue to make innovative answers and sustainable solutions necessary. The technology-oriented visit and innovation programme TOP provides professionals and executives with the opportunity to visit suitable companies and inform themselves about innovative technologies and strategies. Dr. Philipp Rösler, Federal Minister of Economics and Technology, is the patron of the program. This year's TOP innovation prize was awarded to the company HANNING & KAHL GmbH & Co. KG from Oerlinghausen by the State Secretary Stefan Kapferer today. State Secretary Kapferer: "With its convincing practical dialogue in the companies, the TOP programme makes an important contribution to strengthen the innovation capacity of enterprises. The practical access to innovative methods and strategies of other companies encourages the willingness to consider new ways. It is an excellent example of the initiative of our successful German economy." Awards were also given to the three finalists Fissler GmbH, Freudenberg Sealing Technologies GmbH & Co. KG and ZF Friedrichshafen AG - Electronic Systems. More than 120 representatives of the host companies participated. For detailed information on the TOP programme which was initialised by the F.A.Z. Institut in 1992 please visit www.top-online.de.

Presentation of Idea Management Awards 2012 by the Centre for Idea Management (Cologne, March 2012) The title of  “Company with the best idea management 2012“  in the category 250 to 2,500 employees in the sector of machinery and plant engineering was awarded to HANNING & KAHL GmbH & Co KG. From 14 -16  March 2012, the annual conference of the Centre for Idea Management (ZI) took place in Cologne. The Centre for Idea Management is sponsored by the German Institute for Idea and Innovation Management, Frankfurt am Main, which aims to promote the crucial importance of ideas for sharpening competitiveness with the ZI Awards. The much-coveted ZI-Awards were presented at an evening gala. “With these awards we promote the vision of an idea management which is the driving force for improvements in companies. We honour companies with the best idea management for excellent work in this field“  said Christiane Kersting, Managing Director of the German Institute for Idea and Innovation Management, Frankfurt. As in the previous year, an independent, international jury selected the winners in a transparent procedure. A specially devised assessment method evaluates five key areas (Strategy and Acceptance, Objective and Marketing, Organisation, Processes and Quality, Acknowledgement and Appreciation, Reports and Performance Indicators), and registers all relevant aspects of modern idea management in companies. It is not just a question of recognition of strengths and performance capacity but also acknowledgement of sustainable successes which ensue from the systematic and continuous cycle of planning, execution, evaluation, learning and continuing to develop.

HANNING & KAHL named an Excellent Knowledge Organisation

(Oerlinghausen, 15 September 2009) - The results of the “Excellent Knowledge Organisation” project supported by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology are in. HANNING & KAHL is one of 25 small and medium-sized companies throughout Germany and Switzerland to have been awarded this title. These companies impressed the expert jury with their intelligent solutions. As examples of excellent practice, they should now give other companies practical ideas on how to ensure their use of knowledge as a resource is both effective and efficient. The companies chosen have between four and 500 employees and come from various industries. An award ceremony will be held on 30 October 2009 at the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology in Berlin. HANNING & KAHL was evaluated across various dimensions along with another 50 applicants. The jury paid close attention to the sustainable use of knowledge at management level and in business processes and projects and also with respect to the knowledge of employees and external partners, all supported by a knowledge-oriented infrastructure. According to the jury, HANNING & KAHL stood out thanks to its conscious and integrated knowledge management across all of the stated dimensions. Its solutions are also innovative and pragmatic and can be applied to other companies.

Otto awards 2012 Innovation Prize

(Berlin, 23 October 2012). Hans-Joachim Otto, Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology, presented the 2012 innovation prize to 3M Deutschland GmbH in Berlin.

Medium-sized mechanical engineering company HANNING & KAHL GmbH & Co. KG also received an award, along with Infraserv GmbH & Co. Höchst KG. The companies took part as hosts in the Technology-Oriented Visit and Innovation Programme (TOP), which is under the patronage of the Federal Minister of Economics and Technology, Dr. Philipp Rösler. The programme promotes knowledge transfer between specialists and managers with respect to new technologies, methods and processes. More than 100 innovative companies act as hosts in this, opening their doors to an exchange of information between specialists and managers from other companies.

State Secretary Otto: “The companies honoured are distinguished by their innovative spirit and selfless willingness to make their practical knowledge available to others through the programme. The host companies thereby provide important ideas for successful innovations in Germany. This commitment is unique and exemplary.” An external evaluation of the TOP has shown that almost 80 percent of the innovations demonstrated during the discussions under the programme are implemented in the host companies.

HANNING & KAHL is “Selected Landmark 2007” in Land of Ideas

(Oerlinghausen, 21.08.2007) – Today, the long-established German mechanical engineering company HANNING & KAHL was awarded the title “Selected Landmark 2007“ in Oerlinghausen by Bernd Hirschfeld from the corporate banking division of the Deutsche Bank. This means the company now officially is one of the “365 Landmarks in the Land of Ideas” selected by the “Place-Branding Initiative “Germany – Land of Ideas” and their project  partner  the Deutsche Bank.

The ceremony was attended by a large number of interested guests. Mrs Thomann-Stahl, the President of the administrative district of Detmold, and Professor Dr. Pörner, Managing Director of the German Railway Industry Association (VDB), welcomed and congratulated the place branding initiative and the company on the accolade. During the evening, visitors could also view the “idea” live for themselves on a tour of the company.    

In his laudatory speech, Bernd Hirschfeld stressed the company’s sense of responsibility and its sustainability: “At HANNING & KAHL, responsibility is a genuine value proposition. With innovative technological excellence and a modern approach to management, the company generates sustained successes for customers, employees and public transport. This way, the global player from North-Rhine Westphalia designs part of our future.”  Wolfgang Helas, Managing Director of HANNING & KAHL is delighted with the award: “We are very proud to be a selected landmark in the Land of Ideas. Our motivation for taking part in the competition was to see where we stand. To be selected from over 1,500 companies, is an amazing accolade for our employees who live out our idea and our philosophy and make the success possible in the first place”, said Wolfgang Helas.

HANNING & KAHL was one of over 1,500 landmarks who took part in the competition “365 Landmarks in the Land of Ideas“ which was staged by the Deutsche Bank and the Place-Branding Initiative “Germany – Land of Ideas“.

The Deutsche Bank as exclusive partner of the initiative makes this unique action possible. “365 Landmarks in the Land of Ideas” paves the way for a network of performance potential, visionary thinking, creative passion and entrepreneurial courage in Germany“, is how Bernd Hirschfeld explained his commitment. “Germany – Land of Ideas”  is the joint branding initiative of the German government and of the German Economy, represented by the Federation of German Industries (BDI). The objective is to convey an image of Germany as an innovative and cosmopolitan country, at home and abroad. The patron of the initiative is Federal President Horst Köhler.