Picture source: Boris Löffert, Oskar-Patzelt-Stiftung
[Stockelsdorf, 2019/03/11] At the end of September, the developer and manufacturer of X-ray solutions, VisiConsult, was awarded the German Grand Prize for medium-sized businesses. This was sufficient reason for a visit of local politicians to personally congratulate the innovative family business.
This renowned competition is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year and remains Germany’s most coveted business award in the SME sector. The theme this year for the competition was “Sustainable Business”. Hajo Schulenburg, Managing Director of VisiConsult, explains: “Sustainability has a high priority in family businesses such as VisiConsult. By that we mean healthy and joint growth. We attribute that success to our employees, reliable partners and local government that we indefinitely continue. “Furthermore, the company is ISO 14001 (environment) certified. The office building is a passive house and there are solar cells on every building roof. Environmental protection was very important here even before ‘Fridays for Future’”.
During the press conference at VisiConsult, the management and Mayor Samtleben were in agreement: the Stockelsdorf location is an attractive business location and will remain home to the company. From here, the world market leader in its field delivers over 60% of their products globally. This year almost 30 new jobs have been created, from marketing to production. Everywhere you can see new faces – coming also from Stockelsdorf. VisiConsult also applies their sustainability strategy to workforce education and employment, engaging 10% of employees as apprentices. Hamerich who is a member of Parliament remarks, “We are glad that VisiConsult will continue to offer apprenticeships in Stockelsdorf to young people as a medium-sized enterprise next year.” Many trainees were also hired on as permanent employees.
The team is the decisive success factor
In general, the VisiConsult team is the decisive factor for success. “Our engineering and passion of our team is highly respected worldwide”, explains Hajo Schulenburg. The company’s success has driven strong growth, and as a result space is now quite scarce. A move from Stockelsdorf was considered for a short time, but a local solution is now within reach. The construction of a new office building and production areas have been planned.
Lennart Schulenburg as Commercial Director provides some insight, “The municipality was able to offer us a solution in the immediate vicinity of our current location, so for now we will have to manage in our current premises, but by the end of 2020 it is planned to open the new company headquarters. This is a significant milestone that will enable even further growth.” The first blueprints have been drafted, and details are being discussed with Mayor Samtleben for submission to the licensing authorities when complete.
Despite times of uncertainty regarding the course of the global and German economy, VisiConsult continues to invest in Germany / Stockelsdorf, further securing its market position and jobs in Schleswig-Holstein which is consistent with the HanseBelt mission.
Sustainable innovation via the exchange of ideas
During the company tour, the facilities were proudly presented. A variety of systems and machines were shown, including:
- Electronics counting systems,
- Mobile solutions for the security sector,
- A variety of larger and more complex solutions for “Non-Destructive Materials Testing”
As typical end-users of VisiConsult solutions, renowned German car manufacturers rely on fully automated systems for inline testing of critical automobile parts. For example, when it comes to e-Mobility, x-ray inspection ensures their competitive edge while still maintaining quality. With regard to 3D printing, computed tomography (CT) is also highly relevant because this technology provides the only way possible of meeting the highest safety standards in critical applications like aerospace. Today, the company is also intensely involved with the implementation of artificial intelligence (AI) to optimize the fully automatic image analysis. These modern technology topics are discussed not only with customers, but also via cooperation with universities, technical institutes and international professional organizations.
Dr. Rohlfs, secretary of state of Schleswig-Holstein, sums it up, “VisiConsult is a worthy recipient of the Grand Prize for the Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises, especially with regard to this year’s motto ‘Sustainable Business’. I am pleased that the company appreciates the performance of its employees as well as the “Real North” – in reference to a regional theme. Following the press conference there was a company meeting to celebrate the award as well as the announcement of the new headquarters project.
Grand Prize for Medium-Sized Enterprises 2019
This coveted prize has been proudly awarded annually for 25 years, and is considered the number 1 of the 536 business competitions in Germany. It honors the overall development of the company, the creation and securing of jobs and apprenticeships, modernization and innovation, regional commitment and a customer-centered approach. The candidates are nominated, a jury selects the finalists, and then a winner is finally selected.
This year there were 5,399 nominees in Germany. Of these, 758 companies were submitted to the jury. There were 186 companies nominated from Schleswig-Holstein and Hamburg. This resulted in 5 finalists and eventually one winner. VisiConsult.
