TOP 100 competition success: KRÜSS is one of the innovation leaders in 2018

KRÜSS GmbH has been supplying high-precision measuring technology that is made in Germany for more than 220 years. The customer base of this family-owned business from Hamburg reads like a Who’s Who of international industry leaders, with Apple, Siemens, Mercedes and Airbus among the prestigious companies that have placed their trust in its products and technologies. KRÜSS specialises in the measurement of surface and interfacial tension, and is indeed the global market leader in this area. "Our technologies are used wherever fluids come into contact with solid objects, for example in aircraft and automotive construction when bonding components," explained managing director Florian Weser.

KRÜSS sees its ability to innovate as one of the key factors behind its success. So it’s no surprise that about a quarter of its 132 employees are engaged in research and development. Weser himself is also driving the innovation process forward, and has countersigned several international patent applications in recent times. The company has even entered a new business field with its latest innovation. The equipment control software that was developed in-house was so well received by customers that KRÜSS set up a spin-off company to market and further develop the program. Thanks to this inventiveness, the company is celebrating its third award in the TOP 100 competition for German SMEs.

The TOP 100 competition

Since 1993, compamedia has been awarding the TOP 100 seal of approval to SMEs with a particular ability to innovate and above-average success rates for innovations. Professor Nikolaus Franke has coordinated the project since 2002, and is the founder and director of the Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the Vienna University of Economics and Business. The TOP 100 is mentored by science journalist Ranga Yogeshwar and organised in partnership with the Fraunhofer Society for the Promotion of Applied Research and the German Association for Small and Medium-Sized Businesses (BVMW). Media support for the company benchmarking competition is provided by manager magazin, Impulse, and W&V. Further information is available at www.top100-germany.com.