Die Deutsche Wirtschaft: Innovator of the Year Award 2022
- Press releases
Altendorf honored as “Innovator of the Year 2022”
Big names, gripping impulses, exciting innovations: On Friday, November 4, 2022, the prestigious “Innovator of the Year” business award was presented for the sixth time, for the first time in Berlin, Germany. 300 guests came together to celebrate and experience innovation over three days. The Altendorf GmbH with its worldwide unique HAND GUARD safety assistance system for sliding table saws was also awarded “Innovator of the Year 2022”.
Minden, November 11, 2022. The Altendorf GmbH from Minden, Germany is a typical hidden champion of German SMEs. The world market leader for the manufacture of premium sliding table saws can now call itself “Innovator of the Year 2022”. The award was presented, appropriately enough, by Professor. Dr. Dr. Hermann Simon, author of the standard work first published in 2007 “Hidden Champions of the 21st Century. The Success Strategies of Unknown World Market Leaders” and founder of the term “Hidden Champions”.
Captivating presentations by Frank Thelen, Ralph Dümmel and Hermann Simon
Excellent speakers captivated the guests with their presentations. “Innovation is the key for mankind to be able to live in harmony with this world,” Frank Thelen made clear in his presentation on the subject of innovation, which is close to his heart. He said it was a personal concern of his to drive innovation in Europe and called on guests present to invest more capital in startups. The well-known entrepreneur Ralf Dümmel also inspired the audience with his enthusiasm for entrepreneurship and the spirit of innovation, and described the opportunities available to people with ideas. Professor Dr. Dr. Hermann Simon, a true luminary of the global economy, was on stage. The scientist, author and founder of the management consultancy Simon Kucher Partner was impressed by the diversity of the award-winning innovators. With energetic passion, he highlighted Germany’s technological achievements on the global market and left a lasting impression on the Berlin Capital Club.
Honorary award for Oliver Kahn
Oliver Kahn accepted the honorary award with pleasure and captivated the audience in his acceptance speech with a short journey through time to his personal feelings after the end of his active career and his urge for new tasks.
Altendorf: Commitment to greater safety in the craft rewarded
In Germany alone, an average of 9 reportable accidents per working day occur on table saws and sliding table saws. The Altendorf GmbH has not let the problem rest and has developed a safety system that ensures hands are not exposed to danger when operating a sliding table saw. The result is called HAND GUARD. “We started this development three years ago and are pioneers here when it comes to recognizing a hazardous situation early enough. AI, or artificial intelligence, helps us to do this,” says Peter Schwenk, CEO of the Altendorf Group.
The effort has paid off. The HAND GUARD optical system is the world’s first and only certified safety assistance system for sliding table saws and is regarded as the safety in the industry. With the HAND GUARD system, Altendorf demonstrates how innovative solutions based on the latest technologies can create real benefits – and ensure greater safety every day on construction sites and in workshops around the globe. In addition, HAND GUARD is the only safety assistance system for sliding table saws to have been awarded the Tested Safety Seal by the German Employers’ Liability Insurance Association for Wood and Metal (BGHM) and is the only system with a safety function that can process all materials such as wood, wet wood, aluminum and plastic without any problems.
“The award for “Innovator of the Year 2022″ underlines our innovative strength and confirms our claim to create an industry-wide safety standard for sliding table saws with our HAND GUARD system,” says Vit Kafka, CSO of the Altendorf Group.
Source: DGUV, figures 2022
About the Altendorf Group
The Altendorf Group is the world market leader for the manufacture of premium sliding table saws and is one of the hidden champions of the German SME sector. The company was founded in 1906 and has a strong brand recognition worldwide. Its most successful product is the F 45 sliding table saw, also known as “The Altendorf”. It is internationally synonymous with the sliding table saw product category. The latest innovation is HAND GUARD. A globally unique early detection system with two cameras that protects man, machine and material. Since 2018, the Hebrock company with its high-quality Hebrock edgebanders has been part of the Altendorf Group. With subsidiaries in Australia, China, India and the USA, it employs more than 360 people worldwide.