Among the evening's guests were Albert Hettrich, the State Secretary for the Economy, Jürgen Büssow, President of Dusseldorf City Council and Saarland Minister (retired), Horst Rehberger.

Rudolf Ostermann GmbH was one of three prize winners from the State of North Rhine-Westphalia.

Excerpt from the jurors' commendation:

"The company was formed in 1948 by Wilhelm Ostermann as a wholesaler of chemical products. During the 80s his son saw a gap in the market for edgings and corners among small and medium-sized companies. The business is now Europe's largest in the wholesale and mail order selling of cabinetmaking materials. All goods ordered by 4.00 pm are dispatched that very same day from the warehouse to arrive with the customer within 24 hours."

"Ostermann is the fastest provider of semi-finished products, such as sliding doors. As a market-leader it sees the importance of providing customers with the highest level of service together with outstanding professional and friendly advice. The unique selling proposition within the European market is the size of the stocked range which boasts more than 10,000 edgings and profiles. Currently staffed by 220 employees and 13 trainees, Ostermann has almost doubled its turnover since 2003 to more than 75 million Euro - in stark contrast to the negative trends experienced in recent years, especially in the wood and plastics industry."

"Good liquidity and a high level of equity capital enable the company to maintain a spontaneously reactive marketing strategy, such as that implemented in France, Belgium, the Netherlands and other European markets. Since 1992 the number of employees has increased by around 15 percent year-on-year. The company also has its own foundation for funding regional and social initiatives."

Rudolf Ostermann GmbH was nominated for the 3^rd time since 2007, on this occasion by the City of Bocholt and the Bocholt-based company TERIETE IT-Beratung, having previously received an award as a finalist in 2008. IT coach Johannes Teriete provided consultancy services to Rudolf Ostermann GmbH over the previous three years in relation to the re-organisation of its IT system, and it was during this time that he came to the conclusion that the company was worth a nomination. The aim of the re-organisation was to optimise business processes with respect to future business requirements, i.e. a high rate of growth, the establishment of European branch offices and the continuous improvement of customer service. The successful business strategy, the flexibility in relation to business requirements, the expansion into the European market and highly motivated employees with an openness towards change were the reasons for Johannes Teriete to nominate Rudolf Ostermann GmbH for the competition.

The 3 North Rhine-Westphalian prize winners and 6 finalists announced on the evening had already succeeded in the 2^nd round (jury list) against stiff competition from 91 co-favourites. In this State some 299 companies were originally nominated for this, the 15^th competition.

The prize winners in Dusseldorf were recognised as

• exhibiting excellent overall development<//font>
• having created and secured jobs and training places
• and, in particular, having demonstrated exemplary performance in the competitive criteria of "Innovation/Modernisation", "Commitment to the region" and "Service/Customer Proximity/Marketing".

Frau Daxenberger receiving the prize (Photo: eventDiary)