TOP 100: DESIGNA is among Germanys top 100 innovators

Last year, it was announced that a competition would be held for innovative German companies under the patronage of Prof. Lothar Späth, once the premier of Baden-Württemberg and later CEO of Jenoptik AG. For several months the level of innovation at a total of 248 medium-sized companies was examined by the Vienna University of Economics and Business. DESIGNA took part in this competition with great success and can now proudly claim to be a German TOP 100 company.

Inventive staff, out-of-the-box thinking and the guts to try something new convinced the jury and shot DESIGNA to the top and onto the list of Germany's top 100 innovators. The driving force for an entire sector, not only does DESIGNA come up with technological parking equipment and the software to match but also something only very few can offer: innovative ideas. DESIGNA's managing director Dr. Thomas Waibel explains the key to the company's success: "We are open to solutions from unrelated sectors which, when cleverly integrated, can produce unique results." The latest innovation - Application Service Providing (ASP), meaning the outsourcing of entire administrative areas and work processes to a single service provider - has already found a firm foothold in other sectors. Be it an individual hotel garage or major worldwide networked project, "Application Service Providing" is suitable for any kind of car park. The reasons for using ASP are clear: in comparison with conventional server structures, in which each parking facility is controlled by a separate server, with ASP it is possible to network every facility together via a central server. Through this efficient and reliable data centre, car park operators have access to the most up-to-date software applications, which are made available and retrieved over the internet. This service offer helps car park operators to achieve greater cost efficiencies and time savings. The costs for personnel, updates and maintenance, as well as downtime in the event of server malfunctions, are reduced or entirely done away with.

Prof. Lothar Späth presented the "TOP 100" seal of quality to DESIGNA on 1 July 2010 at an official event in Warnemünde, Rostock. "Good ideas do not appear on the market all by themselves. We work hard to come up with them every single day. Of course, we are delighted that our commitment is being rewarded, as it shows us that we are on the right path and that our good ideas will not run out in future," says Dr. Thomas Waibel.

Further information

"TOP 100" has been singling out medium-sized companies for their innovation for 18 years. The 100 best, which include DESIGNA, bear this seal of quality for one year. Altogether, 32,500 people work for top innovators across Germany. They work meticulously and are not afraid of change, as their employers use stringent innovation management to create the perfect conditions for creativity, getting the best from their staff. This also makes them a significant driving force in the German economy, generating a total turnover of 11.1 billion euros in 2009. Of the 100 medium-sized companies that bear the seal of quality in 2010, 42 are the national number one in their sector and 10 are world market leaders. Moreover, the 60 family-run businesses in this year's "TOP 100" show that an awareness of tradition and a willingness to change are not mutually exclusive. Of the 100 companies, 86 have grown faster than the average for their sector over the past three years.