Arburg's Eugen Hehl awarded Baden-Württemberg Competence Prize

Eugen Hehl, Senior Partner at Arburg GmbH + Co KG, was named this year's winner of the Baden-Württemberg Competence Prize at a press conference on May 5, 2015, inaugurating the international Control trade fair for quality assurance in Stuttgart, Germany. This award annually recognizes companies and individuals who have made significant contributions to the development of Baden-Württemberg's global competitiveness through outstanding competence in innovation and quality standards.

The Baden-Württemberg Competence Prize is under the patronage of the Steinbeis foundation for business promotion and was bestowed this year for the eighth time. It is organized and managed by the Ulm-based TQU Group business consultancy and Germany's largest trade fair organizer, P. E. Schall GmbH & Co KG.

Hehl, who was born in 1929, received the prize for his leading and innovative entrepreneurship. It is the second such honor for Hehl this year: Only a few weeks ago, he was inducted into the American Society of the Plastics Industry's (SPI) Plastics Hall of Fame for his global activities. "Mr. Eugen Hehl has been awarded the personal Competence Prize for his entrepreneurial vision, innovation, social commitment and sustainability," said Prof. Dr. Heinz Trasch, Head of the Steinbeis Transfer Centre for Science, Technology & Engineering, quoting from the judges' report. He went on to say that innovation is the "lifeblood of dynamic economies," and that he took "particular delight in presenting the innovation prize to one of the most innovative and leading entrepreneurs in the southwest of Germany on behalf of the panel of judges."

Hehl has received numerous honors and awards in recognition of his lifetime achievements. In November 2000, the Federal Republic of Germany honored Hehl with the Order of Merit. Further awards include Baden-Württemberg's medal for trade in 1990, honorary citizenship of the community of Lossburg in 1997, as well as the golden master craftsman certificate in 2005. The American Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) also presented Eugen and Karl Hehl its Business Management Award for their joint life's work.