Page 13 - Annual report 2018 of the Böllhoff Group

Innovation and developments

TOP 100: The competition
The company compamedia GmbH has awarded the TOP 100 title to small and medium-sized
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businesses since 1993. Already being staged for the 25 time in 2018, the competition took
place in the presence of scientific journalist Ranga Yogeshwar, the mentor of TOP 100. The
awards were based on scientific analysis of the innovative potential of companies by scientist
Prof. Dr. Nikolaus Franke. Franke is the founder and director of the Institute for Entrepreneurship
and Innovation of Vienna University of Economics and Business. Based on detailed analyses by
Franke and his team, businesses were rated according to 100 different criteria, across a total of
five categories: “Innovative Processes/Organisation”, “Climate of Innovation”, “Innovation-friendly
Senior Management”, “Outward-looking/Open Innovation” and “Successful Innovations”.

ECOBIN container system receives 2018 German Packaging Award

Under the auspices of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, the association
German Packaging Institute (dvi) pays tribute to innovative industry solutions with presentation
of the annual German Packaging Award. In 2018 Böllhoff's modular ECOBIN container series
succeeded in impressing the independent panel of judges. This container system received the
German Packaging Award in the category “Logistics and Material Flow”. Above all, it was the high
level of functionality offered by the innovative mini-load containers that tipped the balance here.

Mario Graßy, Innovation Manager at Böllhoff, was presented with the Packaging Award at
Nuremberg's FachPack fair on 25 September 2018. These award-winning ECOBIN containers
®
are the linchpin of the RFID-controlled delivery system known as ECOSIT (ECOnomic Supply
In Time).
Easier access and secure group stacking

The ECOBIN container series combines numerous practical features in a single solution. Translu-
cent access flaps allow operatives to remove C-parts more easily than with Böllhoff's earlier series
of containers. As the mini-load containers are equipped with an access flap both at the front and
on one side, they can also be placed anywhere in the rack. Another new feature is how the inside
edges have been rounded off. This prevents C-parts getting stuck in the corners of the container.
The special waffle base allows all three available container sizes to be stacked together in any
arrangement to create a stable and secure unit.

The ECOBIN series was developed in cooperation with the Utz Group, a leading manufacturer
of plastic containers for modern two-way logistics. Innovation Manager Mario Graßy comments:
“Our aim was to design a future-proof container. It was to combine various features not offered
in a single solution by the other container systems on the market. The German Packaging Award
®
we have received is proof that we have come up with a great result for our ECOSIT customers.”

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