MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY
Ewald Dörken AG wins award for creative ideas
They possess excellent inventive energy, exemplary innovation processes and successfully bridge the gap between idea and market success: the most innovative SMEs in Germany. On 22nd
June they were awarded the ‘Top 100’
seal of quality by Ranga Yogeshwar in Friedrichshafen. Ewald Dörken AG of Herdecke was amongst the award winners for the third time.
and focus on the new is therefore a central component of the corporate strategy. This can be witnessed specifically in the corporate development department, founded approximately one year ago. Here four employees keep a keen eye out for innovation opportunities for the four business fields of laminated construction sheets, house paints, colorants and corrosion protection systems. When developing new products Dörken likes to follow
I
new paths: such as with the so-called contradiction-oriented innovation strategy, known as WOIS. Developed at the Coburg University of Applied Sciences, this innovation philosophy helps to think in new directions and generate new growth. “By opening up to new ideas we can prevent organisational blindness and avoid becoming entrenched in old thought patterns,” says marketing employee Jörn Selent, when describing the benefits of the method.
nnovation is not limited to new products or processes amongst the 720 employees of Ewald Dörken AG: the company also promotes innovation by acquiring firms and thus expanding its production capability. The promotion of
from examination of economic viability to the pilot phase at the customer.
New standards set Numerous innovations from Herdecke have undergone such
processes and are today successful products - or at least well on the way to becoming so. For example, in 2011 Dörken MKS- Systeme GmbH & Co KG developed a sealing with integrated lubricant that sets completely new technological standards with regard to fulfilling the highest requirements of German automobile manufacturers as far as the surfaces of screws in bodywork and engine construction is concerned. Delta-Protekt®
VH 301.1 GZ
prevents stick-slip effects when applying chromium(VI)-free surfaces against e-coated surfaces in particularly difficult applications. The topcoat can also be assembled against aluminium without problems and satisfies the requirements of the new VW standard 1131-1/2, such as double tightening in the yield point against aluminium or five times fastening with e-coated surfaces. The new surface has already been employed in various installation areas with both lightweight constructions and the difficult applications stated and has proved itself capable of solving the installation problems there.
The thorough test procedure Prof Dr Nikolaus Franke and his team from Vienna
University of Economics and Business ran the rule over the innovations management of 281 SMEs. The best of these were awarded the ‘Top 100’ seal of quality. Board member Karl Dörken is delighted with the award and praises the team performance in particular: “The Top 100 award is proof that we are on the right course with our innovation strategy. Laying out structures and creating processes and space for innovations is one thing. However, you have to find the right people for this - and we have them.” In association with the Vienna University of Economics
and Business compamedia awarded distinctions to 116 companies (maximum of 100 in each of the three size
However, even the best theoretical framework conditions
would be wasted if the innovative spirit was not carried over into the operational business. At Dörken there is particular focus on the employees as providers of ideas. An effective aid in this has proved to be the company database, which supports the workforce beyond the national borders in the form of a CRM system with connected project management program. Here it is possible for anyone to feed in their ideas without first having to overcome high hurdles. Accompanied by a process tool, the ideas then progress step by step through further development stages -
112 Fastener + Fixing Magazine • Issue 76 July 2012
categories). These include 51 national market leaders and 20 global market leaders. In 2011 all of the companies together generated turnover of around 8.1 billion euros. 100 of them achieved growth beyond the average of the industry in the past three years – an average of 20 percentage points. The SMEs invested 623 million euros in research and development as well as innovation processes in 2011. The companies plan to hire some 6,000 employees in the course of the next three years, an increase in workforce of 12%.
www.doerken-mks.com
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