“TRAPO is part of the performance elite of the German SME sector,” praises jury member Prof. Dr. Nikolaus Franke from the Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the Vienna University of Economics and Business

At the beginning of the year, TRAPO GmbH, based in Gescher-Hochmoor, had already been admitted to the exclusive ‘Club of Excellence’ of the Top 100 Innovators in an independent selection process. Now the concrete evaluation followed by the specialized jury of the most important price in the German middle class.
This year, Franke continued, the competition was very high and it was all the more impressive to see how the innovative SMEs had dealt with the challenges of the Corona pandemic. “If only the public institutions were similarly entrepreneurial,” was his critical tenor.

TRAPO had strengthened the automation of supply-securing sectors with targeted innovations: through transport shuttles, autonomous loading and unloading of trucks and containers, and the consistent continuation of digitalization. Tools were bundled in the TRAPO Digital Hub to provide online support for commissioning, predictive maintenance and service.
The report card for TRAPO: The average top score, ennobled with an “A+” for three out of four areas: for innovation-promoting top management, innovation climate, and innovative processes and organization. Only external orientation/open innovation was rated “A-“.

The “A” rating is awarded to companies that have unusually professional innovation management, even by international standards. “Companies with this rating set standards,” said Frank. “The probability of future innovation success is very high.”To determine the rating, representatives of the Chair of Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration as well as renowned scientists such as Professor Dr. h.c. Reimund Neugebauer, President of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, examined the applications submitted, analyzed samples and compared companies. The innovation climate, which is reflected among other things in the TRAPO Technical Center, the in-house Center for Research & Development and in the successful cooperation with RWTH Aachen University, was expressly emphasized.

The company takes the award as an incentive and automation mission for the future!