SÜLZLE GROUP receives business award

Finalist for the Grand Prix of Small and Medium Business, 2017

Last Saturday in Würzburg, the SÜLZLE GROUP was named as a finalist for the Grand Prix of Small and Medium Business. The competition, which has been held by the Oskar Patzelt Foundation since 1995, draws attention to the brand “Made in Germany”, and the awards it confers are among the most coveted in the country.

This year’s award ceremony took place on 30 September in the Maritim Hotel in Würzburg. The finalists and prize winners, who came from Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg, Hesse and Thuringia, were honoured at a gala evening event attended by eminent politicians, business leaders and media representatives. The Rosenfeld-based SÜLZLE GROUP was among the finalists for 2017. Managing partner Andreas Sülzle accepted the award in person. The family-owned company, which is now run by members of the fourth generation, has five divisions: SÜLZLE Stahlpartner, SÜLZLE Nutzeisen, SÜLZLE KOPF, SÜLZLE KLEIN and SOTRALENTZ CONSTRUCTION. It can look back on a 136-year history.

The purpose of the competition is to promote respect for corporate responsibility and entrepreneurial initiative and to encourage networking among medium-sized businesses.

The annual contest explicitly refrains from rating companies solely on the basis of their business success, employment statistics or innovativeness. Instead, they are judged as a whole and in regard to their role in society.

The criteria:

  • Overall development of the company
  • Creation and preservation of jobs and apprenticeships
  • Modernisation and innovation
  • Commitment to the region
  • Marketing, service and customer focus

The participating companies are engaged in manufacturing, service, retailing, the skilled crafts and trades. A special feature of the award is that companies cannot apply for it; they must be nominated by third parties. In 2017 a total 4,923 enterprises received nominations. “Considering the large number of applicants, we feel especially honoured to be among the most successful small and medium-sized businesses in Germany – especially because we were nominated by outsiders,” say managing partners Heinrich and Andreas Sülzle. “No other business competition in Germany has attained such prominence for so many years. That makes us extremely proud.”