On 2 April 2001, H2O GmbH process water engineering of
Maulburg was presented with the Baden Württemberg Promotion Prize by State
Minister Erwin Teufel at a celebration at the New Castle in Stuttgart.
H2O was awarded first prize, worth EUR 40,000, in recognition of its business
performance and its commitment to the economy of the state.
Erwin Teufel is the patron of this prize, the aim of which is to award young
companies for their courage in trying out new avenues. That this price is a highly-coveted
award is illustrated by the 528 applicants this year.
From all of the applicants, nine companies were selected and had to show their
achievements to the jurors with two presentations and a question and answer session.
Criteria for selection were company concept, business performance, financial
success, and also personality of the company.
In the honorific speech to the winner, the speaker Martin Herrenknecht particularly
emphasized the fact that "the owners understood in an impressive manner, on the
basis of a purely technical business sector, how to build up a medium-sized company
that is holistic and above all successful."
H2O GmbH arose through a management buy-out in 1999 and now employs 23 workers.
The chief product is the VACUDEST range of vacuum distillation units.
The company is a specialist in the area of the processing and recycling of industrial
waste water and supplies machines and units for this area, as well as the complete
know-how. This begins with the analysis of the arising waste water in the company's
own lab, continues with the selection of the procedure, the planning, as well
as the building of the unit, up to the point of its operationality. Apart from
the supply of the units, H2O places particular importance on customer service
after the installation. Every unit is put into operation by a H2O service technician
and handed over to the customer.
H2O's customers come primarily from within Europe, but several units have already
been supplied to North America, Asia and the CIS. In total, there are currently
approx. 600 units in operation world-wide.
When the three partners and directors Matthias Fickenscher, Frank Schlegel and
Wolfgang Schneider are asked for the decisive reasons for receiving this award
the answer is clear. "With a qualified and motivated team of employees it is
possible to develop a new product, enter the market and subsequently offer a
top service within a short period of time. We are simply fast and implement good
ideas imediately. A current example is the development of the self-cleaning heat
exchanger ActivePowerClean. The market has waited for it for a long time. The
basic idea comes from the team and is develped in a short amount of time until
it is ready to go into production. After a test period of several months, over
20 units in 2001 have been furnished in this way. The units work to the fullest
satisfaction and have overfilled the expectations of our customers, no one wants
more than that."
Award Ceremony for the prizewinner of the Year 2001 a
the New Castle
in Stuttgard (on April 2, 2001).
from left to right Christian Brand, President of the L-Bank, Wolfgang Schneider, Sales and Marketing Director at H2O, Matthias Fickenscher, Technology Director at H2O, Frank Schlegel, Services Director at H2O, Erwin Teufel, State Premier of Baden Württemberg