For many years now, the medium-sized vacuum-technology specialists J. Schmalz GmbH in Glatten (Germany) in the Black Forest have successfully combined economic growth with extreme economic and environmental responsibility.

One of the declared objectives of this traditional Black Forest company in the area of ecological responsibility is to make use of all locally available sources of regenerative energy. This year, Schmalz will succeed for the first time in sustainably generating more energy from environmentally friendly sources than it consumes. These efforts to become a positive-energy company have now been honoured with the award of the European Solar Prize 2007 in the category "Owners or operators of systems for utilisation of renewable energy".

The prize, which was received by the managing directors Dr. Kurt Schmalz and Wolfgang Schmalz at a ceremony in Berlin on Thursday, is regarded by the two brothers as a special confirmation of their strategic aim of sustainable business practices.

As long ago as 1910, the founder of the company and grandfather of today's managing directors, Johannes Schmalz, installed the company's own water turbine to generate electricity. His son, Artur Schmalz, also recognised that the utilisation of renewable energy is the key to solving many problems. In 1987, he was one of the first entrepreneurs in Germany who invested in a wood-chip heating system. Since then, the company has installed many solar collectors and two wind turbines, and Schmalz now generates more energy than it needs in its factory and offices. A major contribution to this is made by the new wood-chip heating system, which was put into service in October and will in future reduce today's consumption of heating oil by 90%. Furthermore, the old water turbine, which has been running almost continuously since 1910, will be replaced by a more modern unit. Schmalz is thus facing up to the consequences resulting from the finite supply of fossil fuels and is exclusively using the environmentally friendly and endless energy sources of the Black Forest.

But the efforts of the company, which has about 500 employees worldwide, in the area of environmental protection go even further: it uses rainwater for irrigation and for flushing the toilets and has heat-recovery systems in the factory buildings. At the company headquarters in Glatten, it has installed nesting boxes for various kinds of birds and for bats, and a large biotope was created during the erection of the new office building.

The company's products are also ecologically optimised, having a long operating lifetime, automatic air-saving systems and recyclable components.

Since 1994, the European Solar Prize has been awarded from EUROSOLAR e.V. to organisations which have made outstanding contributions to the utilisation of renewable energy. The president and patron is Dr. Hermann Scheer, member of the Bundestag and alternative Nobel laureate.

With this prize, the jury also expressly praised the company's harmonious successes in the economic, ecological and social areas: in the past ten years, Schmalz has created more than 200 safe jobs in Glatten and has expanded worldwide at the same time. With a trainee quota of 13%, Schmalz also shoulders its social responsibilities.

In the past, Schmalz has already won the Environmental Prize of the State of Baden-Württemberg and the German Environmental Prize awarded by the BDI, the Green Week Award of the European Commission and the German Prize for Ethics in Business. The Schmalz brothers were also elected the Eco-Managers of the Year in 2004.

Winning the European Solar Prize thus not only fills them with pride – it is also an obligation for the company's future activities.