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Consortium Benchmarking: WZL recognises companies for their excellent implementation of systematic innovation management
At the closing conference of the “Driving Innovations” consortium benchmarking project on 18 March 2026, the WZL Machine Tool Laboratory at RWTH Aachen University, in cooperation with Complexity Management Academy GmbH and a high-calibre industrial consortium, honoured the five best companies that had succeeded in enhancing their international competitiveness and innovation capacity through systematic innovation management. The aim of the benchmarking project was to identify particularly successful strategies, tools, methods, processes and structures for systematic innovation management. For their outstanding achievements, the companies Alfred Kärcher SE & Co. KG, CLAAS Selbstfahrende Erntemaschinen GmbH, HÜBNER GmbH & Co. KG, Lohmann GmbH & Co. KG and Wilo SE were honoured as “Successful Practices 2026”.
The five companies in the Successful Practice programme have demonstrated how, when managed effectively, the ability to innovate can help a company thrive on the global stage in the long term.
Prof. Dr. (Eng.) Günther Schuh, M.Sc. (Eng.)
The identification of “successful practices” was carried out in collaboration with a jury of experts from successful international companies, who also formed the project consortium. The consortium comprised the following companies: Endress+Hauser SE+Co.KG, Karl Mayer Textilmaschinen GmbH, Siemens AG, Syntegon Technology GmbH, Vaillant GmbH, Viega GmbH & Co. KG and WAGO Contact SA.
At the start of the project in May 2025, the WZL Machine Tool Laboratory at RWTH Aachen University, in close collaboration with Complexity Management Academy GmbH and the consortium, first identified the current challenges in this field. These challenges formed the basis for a detailed, written questionnaire survey. The companies surveyed as part of the study provided answers regarding their current status in terms of innovation management. In particular, the focus was on strategic planning and systematic trend analysis, procedural and organisational embedding, and the tools and methods used.
In total, over 100 companies took part in the benchmarking exercise. A detailed screening of 19 top performers identified the nine most promising candidates, which were presented anonymously to the consortium partners during the ‘review meeting’ in November 2025, so that they could jointly select the five ‘successful practice’ companies sought. The consortium partners visited the selected companies in January and February 2026 and discussed their strategies, tools, methods, processes and structures for systematic innovation management on site.
During the closing conference on 18 March 2026, the project findings were presented in the form of 12 key principles for successful innovation management. The examples of the five ‘Successful Practice’ companies, which received their awards at this event, demonstrated what successful implementation in practice can look like.
Source | RWTH