Below are the Featured Ranked Companies, winners of the 2022 Excellence Awards which celebrate industry innovation and achievement. The programme recognises people and companies driving change and promotes excellence by highlighting a range of corporate activities including deals, business projects, and company initiatives, both internal and in the community. The Awards & Rankings Report which includes this year’s rankings, award winners, shortlists, and company profiles will soon be available for download.
Business Expansion is one of our largest categories and recognizes core functions of business operations within the sector. This includes projects that expand the company’s footprint in the sector, such as contract wins, launching new product lines, launching in new territories, acquisition and expansion of facilities and real estate, acquisitions of new machinery or assets, improved logistics, partnerships, and significant staff increases. VivoPower wins the Business Expansion award for their innovative use of conversion kits to electrify mining operations vehicles.
The Environmental category showcases companies undertaking projects that reduce their impact on the natural environment or contribute to its general health. This includes projects leading to a reduction in a company’s environmental impact and carbon footprint, changes to materials and manufacturing, supply chain reviews, reduction in energy use, switches to renewables, recycling initiatives, carbon offsetting, tree planting schemes, and river cleaning. Audi wins the Environmental award for their development of innovative filter technology that tackles microplastics.
The Financing category recognises companies and institutions that raise significant capital during the research period through corporate finance, the capital markets, or fundraising. We look specifically at high-value deals, novel structures, and companies using (for them) new forms of financing such as high-yield bonds. Tata Motors wins the Financing award for their efforts in raising capital to fund passenger electric vehicle operations expansion.
The Innovation category focuses on novel new approaches in the industry, from research and development to novel new business practices. This category includes new products, services, product features, business practices, marketing and sales strategies, and more. Ascend Elements wins the Innovation award for their work in advancing EV battery recycling.
The Investments category looks at significant financial investments into a company or its assets, specifically those that facilitate expansion of a company’s operations. BMW wins the Investments award for a number of notable investments, including the lead investment in ACTnano’s latest funding round. ACTnano has developed nanocoating that offers “unparalleled” protection for electronics across the automotive and consumer electronics markets.
The M&A category includes organisations that have expanded their business operations by entering into significant mergers and acquisitions deals within the sector. The category specifically looks at the acquisition of whole businesses or stakes rather than asset transactions, and deals must have been closed during the research period. Faurecia wins the M&A award for the completion of their US$6bn acquisition of German automotive parts supplier Hella, creating the world’s seventh-largest automotive supplier.
The Marketing category recognises significant marketing campaigns launched during the research period that have led to an increase in revenue or company profile. Lanxess wins the Marketing award for their demonstration of a new design for EV charging inlets.
The Product Launches category recognises companies that have launched notable new products or services into the market, including physical products, software, services, and concepts. HUBER+SUHNER wins the Product Launches award for their latest ADAS long-range antenna extension.
The Research and Development category includes organisations that have demonstrated a commitment to the research and development of new products and/or new processes, such as discovering or creating a unique material, improving the performance of an existing product, or creating a new simulation or design tools. StoreDot wins the Research and Development award for their work in developing EV battery technology.
The Social category includes companies and institutions that have undertaken projects with a tangible positive impact on the communities they serve.
