QIAGEN Selected as the Company With the Best Innovation Management Strategy in Germany

HILDEN, Germany, June 9, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

- QIAGEN proclaimed the overall winner of the 7th "Best Innovator" Award sponsored by A.T. Kearney and business magazine WirtschaftsWoche

- Innovative personnel processes, clear anchoring of innovation within the corporate culture and a global innovation management strategy decisive to QIAGEN's success

- Over 100 companies in Germany from different industries participated

QIAGEN is the company with the best innovation management in Germany, concluded the jury at this year's "Best Innovator" award sponsored by the strategy consulting firm A.T. Kearney and the German business magazine WirtschaftsWoche. The judges were impressed with QIAGEN's approach towards a global and cross-functional innovation strategy anchored within the general corporate culture and aimed at stimulating "out of the box" thinking by all employees irrespective of their position in the company. This strategy set QIAGEN apart from the competition, which was made up of renowned companies active in a wide variety of different fields. The award for the overall winner is to be officially presented to QIAGEN this evening in Berlin by Ernst Burgbacher, Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology.

"We are very proud to have won this year's 'Best Innovator' Award as it recognizes the efforts we undertake to lead the field through innovation. We are always working to further expand and reinforce our market and technology leadership. In the biotechnology industry, the key to success can only be innovation," said Peer Schatz, Chief Executive Officer of QIAGEN. "Our main success factor is that we place selection, development and encouragement of employees at the center of our innovation management strategy."

In just 25 years, QIAGEN has developed from a start-up to a global market leader in molecular sample and assay technologies. Today, the company's technologies are regarded as the world's best in many areas, including molecular diagnostics, pharmaceutical and academic research as well as in applied testing, e.g. forensics, food and veterinary testing. "This success is based on a rigorous innovation management strategy that has been continuously developed over many years and is particularly impressive due to its clear orientation towards proactivity and its ability to create a culture of innovation," explained Dr. Kai Engel, Partner at A.T. Kearney business consultants and initiator of the award. "QIAGEN is the best example of a 'learning organization' as it focuses on its central values of inspiration, identity and impact," Dr. Engel continued.

At QIAGEN, innovation is anchored within the corporate culture to emphasize the impact that all employees have on the company, to stimulate "out of the box" thinking and encourage employees to introduce all types of ideas to the organization. "At our company, innovation is lived daily by our employees as part of the management guidelines," said Thomas Prasch, Director Innovation Management at QIAGEN. Expecting and encouraging innovation is clearly mapped out in all relevant personnel processes.

QIAGEN has also implemented its so-called "Beyond!" program that is designed to continuously identify, analyze and realize innovative possibilities and business opportunities. The program focuses on future growth drivers, covering ideas that lie within QIAGEN's strategic corridor but beyond its current fields of business. The "Beyond!" process is powered by a global "Innovation Facilitator Network" - consisting of volunteers from all business divisions - and a dedicated "InnoVenture Team" whose full-time job is to identify and assess opportunities and subsequently initiate corresponding projects. The company has also implemented many incentives, such as internal cash and non-cash prizes, that are aimed at encouraging the creativity of all employees and developing new ideas. "We focus on all aspects of innovation here: technological progress, product improvements, service and much more," Mr. Prasch continued.

The "Best Innovator" award, organized by A.T. Kearney in 17 countries throughout the world, rewards those companies that have implemented successful and sustained innovation management strategies. The processes and procedures used to spur innovation play a primary role in the award. In conjunction with the WirtschaftsWoche and under the patronage of the Federal Minister of Economics and Technology, A.T. Kearney has for the first time awarded prizes to not only the overall winner but also to companies in nine sectors as well as to the best company in this year's specialized field of "Corporate Venturing". The jury selected the finalists based on both quantitative business statistics as well as qualitative performance features. Selected companies were then invited to a personal meeting where they were given the opportunity to outline their innovation strategy to the jury.

About QIAGEN

QIAGEN N.V., a Netherlands holding company, is the leading global provider of Sample & Assay Technologies. Sample technologies are used to isolate and process DNA, RNA and proteins from biological samples such as blood or tissue. Assay technologies are used to make these isolated biomolecules visible. QIAGEN has developed and markets more than 500 sample and assay products as well as automated solutions for such consumables. QIAGEN provides its products to molecular diagnostics laboratories, academic researchers, pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, and applied testing customers for purposes such as forensics, animal or food testing and pharmaceutical process control. QIAGEN's assay technologies include one of the broadest panels of molecular diagnostic tests available worldwide. This panel includes the first FDA-approved test for human papillomavirus (HPV), the primary cause of cervical cancer. QIAGEN employs nearly 3,600 people in over 30 locations worldwide. Further information about QIAGEN can be found at http://www.qiagen.com/.

About Best Innovator Award

The competition Best Innovator rewards companies with successful and sustainable innovation management. Therefore the contest awards outstanding achievements in single disciplines and an overall winner. Each contestant receives personal feedback on own performance based on the questionnaire.

Competition sponsor in Germany are the consulting firm A.T. Kearney and the German business magazine WirtschaftsWoche. It is organized under the patronage of Germany's Federal Minister for Economics and Technology.

In the meantime, A.T. Kearney awarded innovative companies as "Best Innovator" in 17 countries worldwide. Up to now the contest was organized amongst others in Germany, Belgium, Brazil, France, Austria, Sweden, Great Britain, Switzerland as well as USA, Mexico and Canada.

    Further informationen can be found at http://www.best-innovator.com/

    Contact:

    Public Relations QIAGEN:
    Dr. Thomas Theuringer
    +49-2103-29-11826
    +1-240-686-7425
    e-mail: [email protected]

SOURCE QIAGEN N.V.