Germany's most successful companies

• For the second time, Roland Berger Strategy Consultants presents Germany's most successful companies with the "Best of European Business" awards
• The German winners are Benteler, E.ON, Haniel, Puma and Vaillant
• The awards ceremony will be held at the Russian Embassy in Berlin, and will include a round table about Russia, Europe's largest neighbor
• The competition will close at the European Business Summit in Brussels on March 15, 2007

Today, Roland Berger Strategy Consultants awards the most successful companies in Germany at the "Best of European Business" awards (BEB). The international strategy consultancy launched this competition in 2005 and is now being held for the second time in Germany. This year, Roland Berger Strategy Consultants has awarded the top-performing companies in ten European countries. Roland Berger's team of experts rated more than 8,000 companies in Denmark, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland against a number of specified criteria. A top international jury then selects the winners from each country. This competition takes several months, and ends at the European Business Summit in Brussels on March 15-16, 2007. This European summit will be attended by political leaders, EU parliamentarians and business leaders. BEB's German media partners are international news broadcaster CNN, Financial Times Deutschland and manager magazin, the German monthly business journal.

"The winners of 'Best of European Business' demonstrated business excellence. Their outstanding business performance is based on a host of different components, such as a viable long-term business strategy based on differentiation and innovation, and a strong position in their home markets. Another reason these companies are so successful, though, is that they know how to create trust within their own organizations, so they have also come to be trusted by others. Trust in their top management, in the abilities and motivation of all their staff and in what the company can do as a whole," said Burkhard Schwenker, CEO of Roland Berger Strategy Consultants, when awarding the prizes at the ceremony, which was held at the Russian Embassy in Berlin.

Burkhard Schwenker also called on politicians to start thinking differently. "More competition, being more open to new ideas, more business-minded and closer to their citizens and businesses" are what's needed. After honoring Germany's most successful companies, he turned to Europe's prospects for the future, focusing on its largest neighbor, Russia. Developing relations between Germany, Russia and other European countries was one of the topics discussed by Dmitri Tultschinski of the Russian news agency Novosti, former US Ambassador in Germany John Kornblum, the program director of the Körber foundation's office for Russia/CIS, Alexander Rahr, and Russian Ambassador Vladimir V. Kotenev. In his closing speech, Roland Berger, founder and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Roland Berger, said, "If Russia can continue transforming its economic and political systems, Europe will gain a strong, reliable partner. This includes Russia continuing to diversify its economy and businesses to reduce its dependence on raw materials, and Russian companies becoming more competitive and investing increasingly in Europe."

Jury from business, academia and the media

To find the top German performers for the "Best of European Business" awards, the jury considered companies in terms of growth, cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&As) and Europe (oriented towards the European market). The German jury was made up of members from business, the media and academia: Dieter Ammer (Chairman of the Management Board of Tchibo-Holding), Arno Balzer (Editor-in-chief, manager magazin), Nicola Leibinger-Kammüller (Managing Board Chair at Trumpf), Klaus Kleinfeld (Chairman of the Management Board of Siemens), Steffen Klusmann (Editor-in-chief, Financial Times Deutschland), Klaus Spremann (Professor at the University of St. Gallen) and Burkhard Schwenker (CEO of Roland Berger Strategy Consultants). Nominations were in two categories: companies with sales of more than EUR 3 billion, and those with sales between EUR 1 and 3 billion. The jurors reached their decision by comparing financial indicators and corporate strategies.

BEB winners in Germany

The winners in the growth category were Benteler AG (which has made a name for itself as an automotive supplier, steel tube maker and mechanical engineering company) and sporting goods maker PUMA AG. The jury said Benteler AG had shown how companies could grow profitably in tough competitive markets where pressure on prices was high. The company had concentrated on the right products, created competitive cost structures and positioned itself globally with innovative products. With 150 locations in 34 countries, Benteler has kept ahead by getting close to its customers.

PUMA has not only tripled its sales since 2001, but also more than doubled the number of staff it employs. By combining sport, lifestyle and fashion, the company has created new ideas within the industry. In the sports lifestyle segment, it has also created what is now a recognized established market that provides the foundations for lasting growth. By consistently exploiting brand potential in its core categories such as football, running and motor sport, where PUMA is now the leading equipment supplier in Formula 1, the company has succeeded in strengthening its profile as a desirable sports lifestyle brand.

In the European category, the winners were Franz Haniel & Cie. GmbH and heating and air-conditioning specialist Vaillant Group. Haniel's success is based on its strong presence in Europe. The company is now present in 24 European countries, with 55,000 jobs, and is still growing. Celesio, with its pharmaceutical wholesale, pharmacist and pharmaceutical services, is the group's largest business unit. Haniel is also growing much faster than the market as a whole; and its other four divisions also mean it is increasingly present in the growing Eastern European market.

In the past, the Vaillant Group has concentrated successfully on building up a leading position in its main market, Europe, as a specialist in heating and air-conditioning systems. Competition in these highly technically demanding markets, especially in terms of calorific value systems, air-conditioning and renewable energy – has created highly innovative products. Which puts Vaillant in the best position to expand its business globally, to China, for example.

In cross-border mergers and acquisitions, the jury was impressed by energy group E.ON AG. E.ON has changed from a broadly diversified conglomerate to a leading, focused utility company. E.ON's successful M&A activities have totaled more than EUR 100 billion in the last six years, and have been characterized by targeted growth in the energy business. In acquiring UK utility PowerGen, E.ON has created the foundations for an ambitious program of internationalization; and acquiring Ruhrgas has given it an entry into the long-distance gas pipeline business. This has created the largest utility company in Europe, whose successful strategy has been rewarded by the stock markets.

More national competitions in the pipeline

Today's awards ceremony in Berlin concludes the seventh of ten national competitions in all. So far, the winners have been selected in Italy, Portugal, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland and Poland. Further award ceremonies are scheduled for Denmark, France and Great Britain. The UK awards are next, in London on November 22.

For more details visit www.best-of-european-business.com