RK Rose+Krieger belongs to the innovation leaders of 2018

For the seventh consecutive time, RK Managing Director Hartmut Hoffmann (left) received the TOP100 award from Ranga Yogeshwar. (Image: KD Busch / compamedia)

For the 25th time, the TOP 100 competition honors the most innovative companies in German Mittelstand. Among these innovation leaders once again this year is RK Rose+Krieger GmbH. This was revealed by the analysis of the scientific director of TOP 100, Prof. Dr. Nikolaus Franke. As a mentor of TOP 100, Ranga Yogeshwar honors the Minden-based company together with Franke and compamedia on June 29, 2018, at the award ceremony in Ludwigsburg as part of the 5th German Mittelstand Summit. RK Rose+Krieger has already made it into this innovation elite for the seventh time. In the independent selection process, the company impressed with around 230 employees, especially with its innovation processes.

RK Rose+Krieger GmbH is awarded the TOP 100 seal for the seventh time. Its success as a full-range provider of linear, profile, connection, and modular technology is based on a strategy of small steps. "In a time of digital transformation and disruptive business models, success through continuous improvement is the guiding principle for our daily actions," describes managing director Hartmut Hoffmann the company's orientation. An example of small changes leading to success are the colored overmolds: since the Minden-based company started marking the many similar-looking but different ball screw spindles with them, they are much less frequently confused.

Hartmut Hoffmann is convinced that it takes a lot of patience for a company to be permanently successful. The internal optimization project "3F" is planned over several years. It aims to harmonize the entire data structure of the company. The scale of this effort is illustrated by the number of 190,000 delivery items processed annually. Such complex projects are led by lean professionals. Since 2009, Rose+Krieger has been working according to the Japanese management method. As a subsidiary of the internationally active Phoenix Mecano AG, it is now so well positioned that it has already trained more than 100 employees as a pioneer within the corporate group.

TOP 100: The Competition

Since 1993, compamedia has been awarding the TOP 100 seal for exceptional innovation strength and above-average innovation success to medium-sized companies. Since 2002, the scientific leadership has been in the hands of Prof. Dr. Nikolaus Franke. Franke is the founder and chairman of the Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the Vienna University of Economics and Business. The mentor of TOP 100 is science journalist Ranga Yogeshwar. Project partners include the Fraunhofer Society for the Promotion of Applied Research and the BVMW. Media partners include manager magazin, impulse, and W&V, who accompany the company comparison.