Rudolf-Diesel-Medaille 2024, Awarding
July 2024
Image rights: Fabian Kramlich, Eichmeister Kreativagentur GmbH
On July 4, 2024, Europe's oldest innovation prize, the Rudolf Diesel Medals, was awarded in Augsburg. Significant contributions were honored in the four categories "Best Media Communication", "Best Innovation Promotion", "Most Successful Innovation Achievement" and "Most Sustainable Innovation Achievement".
A recognition for excellent work, as well as an incentive for future innovations that can have a lasting and positive impact on society.
At an exclusive gala dinner, the award winners Univ.-Prof. Dr. Marion A. Weissenberger-Eibl, Dr. Sibylle Anderl, Udo Schütz and Dr. h.c. Heinz Dürr were awarded in front of around 100 selected guests from industry and technology. They were honored for their significant contributions to increasing the quality of life, prosperity and maintaining the culture of innovation in Germany.
We were particularly pleased to receive the award initiated by Prof. Kurt Mehnert for Udo Schütz, the founder of the Schütz company and revolutionary in the packaging industry, in the "Most Sustainable Innovation Achievement" category.
We congratulate all the winners and wish them continued success in the future!
About the Rudolf-Diesel-Medal
Since 1953, the Rudolf Diesel Medal, Europe's oldest innovation prize, has been awarded in memory of the innovator Rudolf Diesel for commercially successful, entrepreneurial innovation achievements. The award honors entrepreneurial personalities and companies who have demonstrated both their inventive spirit and their ability to successfully implement ideas in business. The Rudolf Diesel Medal is awarded by the non-profit German Institute for Inventions (Deutsches Institut für Erfindungswesen e.V.). The award winners are selected by the Rudolf Diesel Board of Trustees, which represents the industrial management elite with technical expertise in Germany. These are around sixty technology directors from world market-leading, medium-sized technology companies, which together employ half a million people and generate sales of over 125 billion euros.
What makes this award so special is that, unlike most awards, it is not a pay-to-win marketing award, but an award for lifetime achievement. Just as you don't have to pay anything to take part, you can't apply for it either. Instead, you are nominated by a committee - the Technical and Scientific Advisory Board - and selected by an independent jury, the Rudolf Diesel Board of Trustees. Some of the prominent winners from the history of the coveted award are personalities such as Carl Friedrich Benz, Wernher von Braun, Gottlob Bauknecht, Hans Viessmann, Artur Fischer, Harald Lesch, Hans-Peter Stihl, Martin Herrenknecht, Helmut Claas, organizations such as Jugend forscht, Girlsday, Bits & Pretzels, Fraunhofer Zukunftsstiftung, or formats such as Handelsblatt Disrupt, DRadio Wissen, Einfach genial or Wissen vor acht.
About Schütz
SCHÜTZ GmbH & Co. KGAA is a leading technology company in plastics and metal processing. Udo Schütz founded the company in 1958 and revolutionized the packaging industry with the development of the Intermediate Bulk Container (IBC). The IBC offers 25 percent greater transport efficiency compared to conventional solutions and is now an indispensable logistics tool worldwide.
SCHÜTZ operates a global network with over 58 locations and is consistently committed to the circular economy. Used containers are taken back, reconstructed and reused, which saves significant CO2 emissions. The company integrates 100 percent recycled plastic material into new packaging and uses the innovative GREEN LAYER technology.