"Best of European Business" honors in Berlin

• Benteler AG wins first prize in the "Growth" category for companies with sales of more than EUR 5 billion
• Schmitz Cargobull AG is the winner in the "Growth" category for companies with sales between EUR 1 billion and EUR 5 billion
• Fresenius SE and BASF SE take home prizes for
  "Cross-border mergers and acquisitions"
• The special prize for "Efforts in the service of transatlantic relations" goes to Airbus CEO Dr. Thomas Enders
• On February 21-22, the "European Business Summit" in Brussels honor the overall European winners from the seven national competitions
• Survey among guests shows: Europe's decision makers are disenchanted with "Project Europe"

Tonight, three leading European companies were honored with the "Best of European Business" award for their outstanding performance. The German ceremony at Berlin's Allied Museum is the run-up to the pan-European awards in Brussels on February 21-22. CNN, n-tv, Financial Times Deutschland and manager magazin are the official media partners of the event.

"The companies honored here today are evidence that there is a European way of good – and perhaps even superior – management," says Dr. Burkhard Schwenker, CEO of Roland Berger Strategy Consultants. "First, they restructure and grow at the same time. Second, they often build up system heads in their home country and thus strengthen key functions there. Third, they use Europe's cultural diversity to establish competitive advantages. Fourth, they successfully combine an ability to grow with the right mindset, i.e. hard and soft factors."

Jury members drawn from business, academia and media

The jury of the German competition: Dr. Arno Balzer (editor-in-chief, manager magazin), Dr. Jürgen Großmann (CEO, RWE), Steffen Klusmann (editor-in-chief, Financial Times Deutschland), Prof. Dr. Klaus Spremann (Professor, University of St. Gallen) and Dr. Burkhard Schwenker (CEO, Roland Berger Strategy Consultants). The jury made its decisions based on an analysis of publicly available financial figures and strategic aspects.

Carola Ferstl, n-tv presenter and author, hosted the awards ceremony. The prizes were presented by Prof. Roland Berger, founder and chairman of Roland Berger Strategy Consultants.

And the winners are …

Benteler AG won first prize in the "Growth" category for companies with sales of more than EUR 5 billion for the second time. Its core business segments are automotive systems, steel/tubes and distribution. In this fiercely competitive market, Benteler AG managed to raise its return on sales from 2.4% to 3.4% between 2002 and 2006. At the same time, its headcount increased by 4,600 to 22,000. "Benteler pursued a targeted strategy of organic growth based on rigorous research and development," the jury explained. Dr. Mathias Hüttenrauch, Managing Director of Benteler Automobiltechnik GmbH, accepted the prize.

The "Growth" award for small and medium-sized companies went to Schmitz Cargobull from the town Horstmar. "The European market leader in semitrailers, platform trailers, tippers and swap bodies made it to the top because its returns have been stable for years and its focus on customers is outstanding," the jury said. CEO Bernd Hoffmann accepted the prize on behalf of the company.

The global healthcare group Fresenius SE won the "Cross-border mergers and acquisitions" award. The jury was especially impressed by how the company manage to create value from its acquisitions: "Fresenius has clearly perfected the art of integrating new acquisitions. The capital markets were really enthusiastic about Fresenius Medical Care's takeover of Renal Care Group in the US," the jury said. "What's more, Fresenius Kabi created global synergies with international acquisitions such as Laboratorio Sanderson in Chile, Ribbon Srl in Italy and Filaxis in Argentina. It also integrated Nestlé's food business in France and Spain, and the colloid business of Kyorin Pharmaceuticals in Japan." Dr. Ulf M. Schneider accepted the prize.

BASF, one of the world's leading chemical companies, was recognized for its successful acquisition of Engelhard, the American catalyst specialist. The jury felt that "With the expansion of its catalyst business, BASF has become much more competitive. This acquisition allows the company to access unique global research in catalysts. Now BASF can offer its customers in industrialized and emerging markets new innovative products and system solutions to comply with emissions standards that are becoming stricter." Dr. Kurt Bock, CFO, responsible for North America, accepted the prize.

The special prize in Germany for efforts in the service of transatlantic economic relations goes to the CEO of Airbus, Dr. Thomas Enders. Juror Schwenker explains, "What impressed us was Dr. Enders's continuous professional and personal commitment to Germany's relations with the US, our most important non-EU trading partner." The special prize is awarded in cooperation with the news broadcaster n-tv and Atlantik-Brücke e.V.

Survey on "Project Europe"

About 80 of those invited to the awards ceremony took part in a survey prior to the ceremony. The survey results revealed a certain disillusionment with the status of "Project Europe": Some two-thirds of those surveyed were of the opinion that people's euphoria for Europe has evaporated. All survey respondents feel that further reforms are urgently needed: No one described today's EU as fit for globalization. However, half are not counting on the fact that necessary changes will indeed be implemented. A good 90% of those surveyed see the single European market as a key project for making the European economy more competitive. Yet many are also doubtful: more than 25% believe that the common single market will never become a reality.