The award ceremony as part of the German Mittelstand Summit takes place on Friday, June 26, in Heidelberg for all medium-sized companies that received the TOP 100 seal at the beginning of the year. The former German President and Minister-President accompanies the innovation competition, now in its 33rd year, as a mentor. In the scientific selection process, Qeridoo stood out in size class A (up to 50 employees in Germany), particularly in the category of innovation-friendly top management. This is already the fifth time the company has been among the top innovators.
The TOP 100 company portrait published on the occasion of the award states:
One of the most important course settings of recent years was the decision to personally take over an externally developed concept from Austria and develop it further. It was a bicycle trailer with completely new, adjustable axle technology. Qeridoo GmbH bought the rights to this concept, filed the adjustable axle for a patent and placed it at the very top of the internal project list. The axle was to form the foundation of a new generation of one-seater trailers.
Decisions like these show the principle by which this medium-sized maker of childrens bicycle trailers works: innovation is steered, and it is determined which development projects come up and when. Projects are assessed by technical feasibility, safety benefits, scalability, patent protection and impact on the product program. Projects of central importance to the product program are to become the basis of new lines. "We are open to impulses from outside, but we have clear priorities, structured decision-making and follow through consistently," says Managing Director Nikolai Boldt.
No compromises on safety
Another technical trial was about weight: a new concept intended to enable a particularly lightweight trailer fails a load test at an independent laboratory because a joint fatigues faster than expected under extreme stress. Top management stops the project and brings the test laboratory and a materials partner to the table. Together they develop a hybrid solution for more stability at moderate weight. The new design is somewhat heavier, but performs better in the tests and also meets the company's own safety standard. "When data or customers signal to us that a solution is not good enough, we would rather turn back once more than make compromises on safety or everyday usability," Boldt emphasizes.
Feedback from users
Qeridoo GmbH uses outside contacts as a source of ideas. Test days with families, independent reviews and the integration of a Swiss lightweight construction manufacturer make differences in handling and in the design approach visible. One sentence from a customer particularly stuck with management: "I love the trailer, but I do not want to be working against it all the time." That observation was the trigger for the company to fundamentally question the handling of its one-seaters. From the analysis of complaints, helpdesk tickets and everyday videos came the idea of developing an axle that adapts to real-world use.
The portrait is also available here: www.top100.de/die-top-innovatoren
TOP 100: the competition
Since 1993, compamedia has awarded the TOP 100 seal for outstanding innovative strength and above-average innovation success to medium-sized companies. Scientific direction has been in the hands of Prof. Dr. Nikolaus Franke since 2002. Franke is founder and director of the Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the Vienna University of Economics and Business. With 27 research awards and more than 200 publications, he is one of the leading innovation researchers internationally. The mentor of TOP 100 is former German President and Minister-President Christian Wulff. Project partners are the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der angewandten Forschung and the SME association BVMW. The magazine manager magazin accompanies the company comparison as media partner, the magazine "ZEIT für Unternehmer" as cooperation partner. More information and registration at www.top100.de.