Strategic vision, capacity to innovate, sustainable management culture and good corporate governance—the “Axia Best Managed Companies Award” sets expectations high for participating businesses. This year, the organizers from the consulting firm Deloitte, the German weekly business news magazine “WirtschaftsWoche” and the Federation of German Industries (BDI) have awarded the distinction to the EMAG Group. A speaker at the award ceremony pointed out that the innovative mechanical engineering company has contributed to securing Germany’s economic future and serves as a model for others. The event took place in Düsseldorf, Germany, at the beginning of May. 

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are essential to the German economy: For instance, they generate more than half the added value and provide nearly 60 percent of all jobs, according to recent data from the German Federal Ministry of Economics. This includes many hidden champions that have advanced to become global market leaders in their industry, such as EMAG: The Group is one of the few makers of manufacturing systems that can cover the entire process chain from soft machining to hard machining. The company produces complete process chains for automotive manufacturing, as well as, for the non-automotive sector. Over the past couple of decades, EMAG has succeeded in systematically expanding its expertise and tapping into new markets—an achievement that has now been recognized by the “Axia Best Managed Companies Award.” The consulting firm Deloitte, the German weekly business news magazine “WirtschaftsWoche” and the Federation of German Industries (BDI) award this quality label to exceptionally well-managed SMEs. To be considered, the award winners must first convince a panel of experts consisting of renowned representatives from business, science and the media. “Overall EMAG distinguishes itself by an exemplary management strategy that combines a strategic vision with the capacity to innovate, a sustainable management culture and good corporate governance. It thus conveys a model for other businesses to follow,” points out Lutz Meyer, partner and head of the SME program at Deloitte.  

There are a variety of examples that demonstrate what the catch phrase “capacity to innovate” means to EMAG: For instance, the company invests in the development of new production solutions that are crucial for the production of tomorrow’s products, such as electric cars, and it is also working on the digitalization of its machines with its “Industry 4.0” solutions. “We are very pleased to receive the recognition that comes with the ‘Axia Best Managed Companies Award.’ The distinction confirms the work we have been doing over the past few years and also is an incentive to keep making progress,” explains Claus Mai, CFO for the EMAG Group. “However, this does not change our goals in any way: With our custom-fit innovations, we help our customers manufacture their products faster, more precisely and more efficiently. This is where digitalization, for example, opens up entirely new opportunities that we will not miss.”