The SMA Solar Technology AG has been recognized as one of the best employers for 2009. SMA reached 6th place in the nationwide competition "Great Place to Work®", in the category for medium-sized companies. In addition, SMA received a special award for "Lifelong Learning".
The German Great Place to Work® Institute names the best employer in Germany every year. The award recognizes the credibility and fairness of management, team spirit within the company, and the employees' identification with it. In addition to an evaluation of the work carried out by human resources departments within the companies, a comprehensive, anonymous employee survey judges the quality of cooperative work, the options for further professional development, and workplace satisfaction, among other facets.
This year, SMA reached sixth place in the category "Companies with 501 to 5,000 employees", following the awards of previous years. "Good work and good employers are a model for the future which will strengthen our national economy", explained Olaf Scholz, Federal Minister for Labor and Social Affairs, on the occasion of the award ceremony on February 13, 2009 in Berlin. "The award recipients demonstrate impressively that good management which offers support and appreciation to the employees pays off economically as well", added Scholz.
"Our company culture makes it easy for the employees to participate and to play a part with their ideas and commitment. The outstanding sixth place is a renewed endorsement for our cooperative management", explains Jürgen Dolle, head of SMA Personnel Management. "Our employees identify themselves with SMA and are proud of their company. As a result, we get a high degree of commitment and competence. At the same time, we promote flexibility and innovation through our unusual company culture, which accounts for the SMA success strategy to a considerable extent."
In addition, SMA received the special award "Lifelong Learning" for its overall concept in the field of employee development. "Through the establishment of a staff position for institutionalized knowledge management and the introduction of a competence management system, the topic of personnel development is firmly anchored within our company. With the aid of formation control which takes the form of, for example, dialogs with supervisors, tests and evaluations, the employee development measures offered are evaluated for their success and they are continuously developed further", was the Great Place to Work Institute's statement regarding its motives for the special award. "What is particularly positive concerning the SMA further development concept is that the company is attaching great importance to the development of special professional groups, especially for those with low qualifications and elder employees."
Already in 2006 and 2008, SMA was among the best employers, both at German and European levels. Furthermore, the SMA Management Board was awarded the "German Fairness Prize for 2008".
About the Great Place to Work® Institute
The Great Place to Work® Institute is an independent and international research-and-consulting institute which currently supports companies in 36 countries in the development of trusting and successful workplaces. Aside from its individual research and consulting activities, the institute identifies outstanding employers regularly within the framework of annual benchmark surveys and presents them to the public. Since 2002, the German Great Place to Work? Institute has organized the renowned "Germany's best employer" competition annually.
About SMA Solar Technology AG
With a turnover of approx. 680 million Euros in 2008, SMA is the global leader in the market for solar inverters, a central component of every solar power system. The SMA group's head office is located in Niestetal, near Kassel in Germany. It is represented internationally by foreign subsidiaries on four continents in eight countries. The group currently employs more than 2,500 people (including temporary employees). SMA produces a complete range of inverter types which offers suitable inverters for every photovoltaic module type used and for photovoltaic systems in all power ranges. The product palette includes inverters both for grid-connected photovoltaic systems and for stand-alone systems. Since June 27, 2008, the company has been listed in the Prime Standard of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (S92), and since September 22, 2008, the company's shares have been listed in the TecDAX. In the past years, SMA was recognized several times with awards for its outstanding performance as an employer.
Press contact:
SMA Solar Technology AG
Volker Wasgindt
Head of Press and Association Work
Sonnenallee 1
34266 Niestetal
Germany
Tel.: +49 (561) 9522 11 - 21
Fax:+49 (561) 9522 11 - 03
Volker.Wasgindt@SMA.de
Disclaimer:
This document contains forward-looking statements and information - that is, statements related to future, not past, events. These statements may be identified by words such as "expects," "looks forward to," "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "believes," "seeks," "estimates," "will," "project" or words of similar meaning. Such statements are based on our current expectations and certain assumptions, and are, therefore, subject to certain risks and uncertainties. A variety of factors, many of which are beyond SMA's control, affect our operations, performance, business strategy and results and could cause the actual results, performance or achievements of SMA to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements that may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. For us, particular uncertainties arise, among others, from changes in general economic and business conditions (including margin developments, the legal and regulatory framework, changes in currency exchange rates and interest rates. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described in the relevant forward-looking statement as expected, anticipated, intended, planned, believed, sought, estimated or projected. SMA does not intend or assume any obligation to update or revise these forward-looking statements in light of developments which differ from those anticipated.