The Zschimmer & Schwarz Group, global supplier of chemical specialities and auxiliaries, was once again honoured with the Axia Best Managed Companies Award. Due to the measures aimed at containing the spread of the coronavirus, this year’s award was presented at the Zschimmer & Schwarz headquarters.
The Axia Best Managed Companies Programme is a competition in Germany jointly organised by Deloitte, WirtschaftsWoche business magazine, Credit Suisse and the Federation of German Industries BDI and considered a seal of quality for successful medium-sized companies. The vision: developing a national and global ecosystem of excellently managed small and medium-sized enterprises. One of the distinguishing features of the Best Managed Companies programme is its internationality: it was initiated by Deloitte in Canada in the 1990’s and has been successfully introduced in more than 20 countries since then.
Distinguished sustainability
The numerous candidates from a variety of industry sectors were rated by an independent jury composed of prominent representatives from business, science and the media. The sustainable and value-oriented corporate philosophy of Zschimmer & Schwarz received recognition in all four categories. The core areas were strategy, productivity & innovation, culture & commitment as well as governance & finance. The prize was awarded at the Zschimmer & Schwarz headquarters in Lahnstein, Germany. In order to contain the spread of the coronavirus, the initially planned ceremony in Düsseldorf was cancelled. Shareholder Christian Schwarz as well as the company’s General Managers, Dietmar Clausen, Dr Martin Haberl and Wolfgang Nowak, accepted the award on behalf of the company.
Self-concept as a family-owned company
“Success always goes hand in hand with responsibility. That means responsibility for our customers and partners as well as, of course, our employees all over the world. This is why our actions are always determined by long-term planning – it is how we understand our role as a family-owned company”, says Christian Schwarz, shareholder of Zschimmer & Schwarz. “We don’t just think about tomorrow, but with a mindset that focusses on future generations. This allows us to employ a sense of proportion in our response to even the greatest challenges. Our philosophy and values can be traced back more than 125 years to our founders and have been exported many of our company’s locations all over the world. Our tradition as an independent family-owned company with a sound financial footing forms the foundation of our sustainability.”
An award for the whole company
“Receiving the award once again is an affirmation of our success in combining tradition and innovation on the basis of our philosophy and strategic approach”, explains Dietmar Clausen, General Manager of Zschimmer & Schwarz. “True to our motto, our aim is to offer ‘chemistry tailor-made’ to our customers all over the world. This is possible because the proverbial chemistry in our company is just right. The close and trusting cooperation between the shareholders, the Advisory Board, the General Management, the managers and all employees is what makes our success possible in the first place.”
“The award also shows that Zschimmer & Schwarz continues to convince with its first-class corporate management – through high innovative capacity, a strategy focused on sustainability and solid governance structures. This means that Zschimmer & Schwarz is not only the benchmark for outstanding management in SMEs, but at the same time also symbolises the future of Germany as a business location”, highlights Lutz Meyer, partner and director of the Deloitte SME Programme.
“The current coronavirus crisis entails enormous challenges for SMEs in Germany. Entrepreneurial qualities like strategic vision, consistent and future-oriented action as well as a value-oriented corporate management are now in higher demand than ever before. This is what our Best Managed Companies stand for”, explains Markus Seiz, programme manager at Deloitte.
