The USA Biz Awards are bestowed every year to recognize outstanding achievements by Austrian companies in the highly competitive U.S. market. This year’s winners, picked by a jury with the assistance of the Austrian Trade Commission in Los Angeles are: Wewalka, KNAPP, KTM, Anton Paar, AVL List and StreamUnlimited.
It goes without saying that all nominees have achieved exceptional success on the U.S. market. The ninth USA Biz Awards ceremony was held on February 22, 2019, at the residence of the Austrian Trade Commissioner Walter Koren in Los Angeles. 18 innovative companies competed in six categories over the reputable business trophy. Some representatives of the nominees even flew in for the ceremony from Austria!
And the winners are…
The category “Startup” was won by Wewalka (Lower Austria):
From left: Moderator Angelika Ahrens, Barbara Sprick (Wewalka Trading, Digital Media & PR Manager) and Walter Koren (Austrian Trade Commissioner in Los Angeles)
Starting in 2015, Wewalka has been distributing fresh dough products specially tailored to the needs of American consumers in the United States. In addition to the very first puff pastry and the first round pizza dough, tarte flambée-dough is now also part of their product range. Wewalka's biggest innovation in 2018 was the concept of "fresh doughs rolled on baking paper" providing improved baking convenience for U.S. households. The jump from the East to the West Coast also took place in 2018 thanks to supermarket giant Safeway Albertsons, in addition to Walmart and Kroger National. This brings Wewalka products to more than 10,000 U.S. retail outlets. Wewalka already has another novelty to their product line in store: a new vegan shortbread for America's countless pie lovers.
The category “Investment” was won by Anton Paar (Styria):
From left: Walter Koren (Austrian Trade Commissioner in Los Angeles), Thomas Carson (Anton Paar USA, Vice President Western Region), Gerhard Apfelthaler (Dean of the School of Management at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks), and Prince Mario-Max Schaumburg-Lippe
The Austrian metrology group Anton Paar is massively expanding its activities in the United States massively and opened two new locations in 2018. In addition, the Graz-based company acquired Quantachrome Instruments in Florida and has thus a manufacturing site in the U.S. now. This latest growth was driven by the new corporate offices in Houston, Texas and Los Angeles, California, which opened in 2018. They also have a mobile laboratory touring through the United States, bringing Anton Paar Messtechnik to customers. Furthermore a demonstration lab in Chicago, Illinois, as well as a state-of-the-art technical center at its headquarters in Ashland, Virginia, will begin operations. "Our regionalization strategy is aimed at improving statewide on-site services for our customers,” explains Reinhard Eberl, Managing Director of Anton Paar USA.
The category “Innovation” was won by AVL List (Styria):
From left: Walter Koren (Austrian Trade Commissioner in Los Angeles), Laura Miller (Advantage Austria Los Angeles), Don Manvel (AVL Americas, Chairman & CEO), and Friedrich Prinz (Finmeccanica Professor in the School of Engineering at Stanford University)
In 2018, AVL List received a big order for Integrated Test Bed Systems from California's World's Largest Zero Emission Laboratory: The California Air Resources Board (CARB) has awarded AVL a contract to supply all hardware and software for a new vehicle emissions testing and research facility. This is a big step towards a future with better air quality and less pollutant emissions in California. California is a pioneer in the fight against climate change and a dedicated advocate of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. These strategies began during the time of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who is also the top Climate Action Hero with his R20 Regions of Climate Action initiative launched jointly with the United Nations in 2010.
The category “Trendsetter” was won by KTM (Upper Austria):
From left: Moderator Angelika Ahrens, Viola Mader (KTM), and Walter Koren (Austrian Trade Commissioner in Los Angeles)
Europe's largest motorbike manufacturer with the brands KTM and Husqvarna Motorcycles has been on a steady growth path in the United States. According to the Motorcycle Industry Council, KTM North America with 8.1% holds a larger market share than any other top European brand. The KTM and Husqvarna motorcycles hold an enviable position in the U.S. as their broad range of models as they are able to attract the youngest population of motorcyclists in different core segments. KTM and Husqvarna motorycles are the U.S. market leader in off-road motorcycles with a 39.9% market share. Soon, they will start marketing a wide range of next-generation road bikes with intelligent, extreme and exciting powersports solutions. Their excellent image, coupled with the great successes of the Dakar Rally, sets new trends.
The category “Market Footprint” was won by KNAPP (Styria):
From left: Walter Koren (Austrian Trade Commissioner in Los Angeles), Prince Mario-Max Schaumburg-Lippe, Gernot Rupp (Knapp Logistics, S.VP), Kevin Reader (Knapp Logistics, Director Business Development & Marketing), and Gerhard Apfelthaler (Dean of the School of Management at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks)
KNAPP is one of the market and technology leaders among suppliers of complete intralogistics solutions, automated warehousing systems and logistics software solutions for the healthcare, fashion, retail, food retail and industry sectors. The company is a pioneer and leading supplier of shuttle systems and other revolutionary technologies such as vision systems with image recognition technology, the Pick-it-Easy robot, powerful pocket sorter solutions for e-commerce applications and pharmaceutical solutions with Six Sigma Accuracy. KNAPP with its U.S. headquarters in Kennesaw, Georgia, focuses on Fortune 1.000 businesses, e-commerce, and high-growth businesses in the North American market. The company achieved its best performance in 2018, with a growth of 375% over the past four years.
The category “Spectacular” was won by StreamUnlimited (Vienna):
From left: Walter Koren (Austrian Trade Commissioner in Los Angeles) and Markus Wagner (StreamUnlimited Board Member and i5invest CEO)
With its leading embedded streaming technology, StreamUnlimited revolutionizes music streaming of e.g. Spotify Connect and Voice Assistant from Google, Apple AirPlay 2 or Tencent Voice. The US market is managed from Mountain View, California. In 2018 they also launched products for other original equipment manufacturers such as Bose or SiriusXM. Another current U.S. growth segment is the Internet of Things and home appliances / smart home companies looking to expand their products with StreamUnlimited's audio streaming and voice assistant capabilities. StreamUnlimited is the first Austrian company to be certified by Amazon as "Alexa System Integrator" in time for the Consumer Electronics Show 2019 - a signal that StreamUnlimited is one of the superstar voice assistant companies worldwide.
All photos from the 2019 USA Biz Awards (c) Austrian Trade Commission in Los Angeles, Photographer: Carmen Porto
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