HHLA SKY has been named one of the most innovative medium-sized enterprises in Germany by the Top 100 competition. The award was given for the company's record of innovation, which includes an innovative corporate culture, cooperation with partners, the development of forward-looking products and technologies and the promotion of innovation by the management. The award was presented to the managing director of HHLA Sky, Matthias Gronstedt, by science journalist Ranga Yogeshwar in Frankfurt on 24 June.

The overall result of the competition is the innovation score, which is divided into the five assessment criteria of innovation climate, innovation-promoting top management, innovative processes and organisation, external orientation / open innovation and innovation success. In the competition, HHLA Sky's innovation ranking is impressive: Overall, innovation management is given the highest grade of "A+", thereby surpassing the average "A" of all Top 100 innovators. The evaluation "'A' is awarded to companies that have unusually high innovation management and set standards, even when compared internationally. The probability of future innovation success is very high.”

HHLA Sky was able to achieve the top score in four out of five criteria in the innovation assessment – the fifth criterion was not graded individually.

"We are grateful for the recognition of our efforts. Innovation is part of HHLA Sky's DNA. With our Integrated Control Centre, we are opening up the third dimension for the safe and efficient deployment of drones for industrial and commercial purposes. With our mobile robot management software, we want to continuously open up the field of application for robot mobility in the air and on the ground," says Matthias Gronstedt, Managing Director of HHLA Sky.

All top 100 innovators are subjected to a scientifically based selection process that examines the status of innovation management including realization analysis (previous innovation successes) and potential analysis (future innovation potential). Prof. Dr. Nikolaus Franke from the Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration and his team decide who will be among the top innovators in Germany.

Included in the renowned jury of experts from business practice and research as well as media and politics, are the President of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft Prof. Dr.- Ing. Ing. Reimund Neugebauer, Prof. Dr. Fredmund Malik, the founder, owner and chairman of Malik St. Gallen, the leading company for holistic management, leadership and governance solutions, Dorothee Bär, deputy chairwoman of the CSU, Prof. Dr. h. c. Roland Berger, founder and honorary chairman of the supervisory board of Roland Berger Strategy Consultants, Frank Thelen, founder and managing director of the venture capital firm Freigeist Capital, and Achim Berg, president of the digital industry association BITKOM.

The Top 100 Innovator Award is the third prize won by HHLA Sky in the field of innovation within one year. Last month, HHLA Sky's Integrated Control Centre was awarded the German Innovation Award for outstanding innovation performance in the special category “#W2 Excellence in Business to Business – Aviation & Maritime Technologies”. HHLA Sky had already received the Deutscher Innovationspreis 2021 in the category “Start-up”.

Discover more about the TOP 100 competition.