At a special celebration held at Capitol Theater in Düsseldorf, Euler Hermes Deutschland AG together with GE Capital and Commerzbank as well as other partners, industry association Bundesverband der Deutschen Industrie (BDI), Ruhr University Bochum, business daily Financial Times Deutschland and the magazine impulse bestowed awards on companies which are characterised by exemplary communications with their lenders. The award comprises three categories with total prize money of EUR 30,000.
“In difficult economic times it is particularly important to maintain an active and transparent dialog with lenders. The winners of this year’s awards show how this should be done,” said Gert Schloßmacher, a member of Euler Hermes Deutschland AG’s Board of Management.
The winners in the three categories are:
- “Small SME”: CONTAG AG, Berlin.
- “Medium SME”:KAIMANN GmbH, Hövelhof.
- “Large SME”: Kurtz Holding GmbH & Co. KG, Kreuzwertheim.
The patron of the “Best SME financial communications” initiative is Dr. Philipp Rösler, the German Federal Minister of Economics and Technology. Working in close collaboration with GE Capital and Commerzbank as well as the other partners in the initiative, Germany’s leading credit insurer wants to improve the dialog between companies and their lenders. Although professional financial communications demonstrably facilitate companies’ access to finance, SMEs in particular do not make sufficient use of this opportunity.