2 Dec 2011

Ludwig Erhard award: ASSA ABLOY plant in Albstadt receives coveted prize

 

ASSA ABLOY Sicherheitstechnik’s Albstadt plant has achieved second place in the medium-sized company category for the famed Ludwig Erhard awards. This national competition has thus honoured the company's integrated management services.

With this award, the Initiative Ludwig-Erhard-Preis association (ILEP) recognises the concerted drive towards business excellence within the Albstadt facility. ASSA ABLOY has attached great importance to sustainable economic activity with regard to its customers, employees, society and company earnings for years. Organisational performance at the Albstadt plant has been gradually improved over recent times as a result of the European quality management organisation EFQM’s Levels of Excellence programme. “This excellence model has served as a basis for Ludwig Erhard Award competition,” explains Works Manager Siegfried Weber. “The award honours our efforts and shows that we have taken the right steps towards continual further development in our organisation.”

The Ludwig Erhard Award competition attracted a large number of entries this year, for which the initiative carried out a total of around 40 assessments in different organisations. The ASSA ABLOY Albstadt plant achieved second place in the medium-sized company category, which features organisations with up to 500 employees. “This year, we saw a large number of exceptional companies among entrants. Such companies promote sustainable development in a competitive setting while also taking into account environmental and social concerns. The response to the Ludwig Erhard award is proof of how important business excellence is for German companies and organisations,” explained ILEP Chairman Thomas Kraus.

Works Manager Siegfried Weber will also continue to focus on economical, ecological and social management in the future. “ASSA ABLOY would like to do much more than merely exceed the expectations of its customers, employees and other stakeholders in order to ensure continued success.” The Albstadt site currently employs a workforce of 420.

About the Initiative Ludwig-Erhard-Preis e.V. (ILEP)

The IELP comes under the patronage of the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology. It has been actively promoting the pursuit of optimum quality and continual improvement in companies for fifteen years. The methodological basis for assessment is the EFQM excellence model. The competition is organised along the same lines as the EFQM Excellence Award, which offers recognition to exceptional companies in Europe.