Ann-Kathrin Unkelbach is a master hearing aid acoustician and founded the hearing aid manufacturer in Bad Honnef in 2019 together with her husband Jan, also a master hearing aid acoustician. (Photo: © NRW.BANK)
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29 November 2021
These are the most innovative founders in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia: Schüttflix GmbH from Gütersloh wins the NRW Founders' Award with a digital innovation for the construction industry. Dermanostic GmbH from Düsseldorf and Hörgeräte Manufaktur from Bad Honnef take second and third place, respectively.
Schüttflix GmbH from Gütersloh has won the NRW Founders' Award 2021 and secured prize money of €30.000. Founders Christian Hülsewig and Thomas Hagedorn impressed the jury with an app that makes transport in the construction industry more efficient.
Since 2018, the digital platform has been connecting clients for the disposal of bulk materials as well as construction and demolition waste with disposal experts. "This systematic networking of supply and demand saves time and costs while simultaneously reducing CO2 emissions," the jury stated.
Second place goes to dermanostic GmbH from Düsseldorf and third place is secured by the hearing aid manufacturer of Ann-Kathrin and Jan Unkelbach from Bad Honnef.
For the tenth time, the state's Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digitalization and NRW.Bank have awarded the NRW Founders' Prize for innovative and forward-looking business ideas. The award ceremony was streamed live from the K21 Museum in Düsseldorf.
Operations management
Craft policy
The Chambers of Skilled Crafts in Germany - HWK Münster
Economics Minister Andreas Pinkwart (FDP) was impressed by how Schüttflix uses digital applications to simplify complex processes in the construction industry, thus ensuring greater efficiency and sustainability.
"The founders from Gütersloh are exemplary examples of how a young company from North Rhine-Westphalia can successfully initiate changes for an entire industry with innovative strength, courage, and expertise," said the minister.
"Schüttflix GmbH is a sustainable example of economic innovation and is thus enriching an entire industry," said Eckhard Forst, CEO of NRW.Bank. "In this spirit, we are delighted to be able to award the company the NRW Founders' Prize as part of this anniversary edition."
Second place went to dermanostic GmbH from Düsseldorf, which received €20.000 in prize money . The founding team of Dr. Alice Martin, Dr. Ole Martin, Dr. Estefania Lang, and Patrick Lang developed an internationally usable app that allows patients to send photos of skin changes to a network of specialists.
From there, they receive treatment recommendations and prescriptions. The app functions as an online dermatology practice . The company now wants to implement collaborations with social organizations such as UNICEF or Doctors Without Borders.
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Third place goes to the hearing aid manufacturer from Bad Honnef. Founded in 2019 by Ann-Kathrin and Jan Unkelbach, the company receives prize money of €10.000 . The founding couple , both master hearing aid acousticians, enable people with hearing loss to return to an acoustic world and support them during the acclimatization process.
In response to the coronavirus pandemic, the young company is increasingly relying on remote fitting using iPads . Fine-tuning of the hearing aids now takes place via video call using special software in the customer's home environment. The customer receives the iPad to take home for the duration of the fitting.
This innovative craft business is also breaking new ground with a 32-hour work week and a hybrid workplace model . "I am delighted that this business model demonstrates that innovation is possible even in the skilled trades," said presenter Matthias Bohm of Grubenhelden GmbH, which took third place in 2020.
Some of the hearing aid manufacturer's customers are in the coronavirus risk group. It's therefore beneficial for them to be able to have their hearing aids adjusted from home during the coronavirus pandemic.
The entrepreneurs received funding for their innovation from the state of North Rhine-Westphalia – the Digitalization Premium NRW – in order to make the investment after the company was founded.
The jury for the NRW Founders' Award, chaired by Prof. Dr. Christine K. Volkmann, consists of representatives from the Ministry of Economic Affairs, NRW.Bank, and business start-up and economic experts from North Rhine-Westphalia. Around 140 founders applied for the award.
Source: NRW.BANK
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