In the Wieser House in Terezín, the Innovation Center (ICUK) together with the Ústí Region announced the winners of the 5th year of the Innovation Firm of the Ústí Region competition. The finals, which included 12 companies across the categories of small plus medium enterprises (SME) and large enterprises, were dominated by Děčín's Chart Ferox (large enterprises) and the Roudnik company Pardam Nano4fibers (MSP). Prof. was awarded for her extraordinary contribution to the development of the region. Jiřina Jílková in memoriam.
The announcement of the Innovation Company of the Ústí Region competition was held in previous years in Teplice and Ústí nad Labem, this time the gala evening was held in the reconstructed Wieser House in Terezín, where ICUK is trying to restart this historic city. Companies could enter the competition with their product, service, technology, and internal process innovations. An expert jury consisting of representatives of the CzechInvest agency, ICUK, competition partner Komerční banka and experts from the Platinn mentoring program then selected the best corporate innovations of 2022.
"The last few years have not been the best period for companies. I appreciate all the more that they invest their energy in changes that can bring them success in the future. I have my fingers crossed for the winners, because their success will also help our region," Jan Schiller, governor of the Ústí Region, comments on the competition, who introduced the gala evening and presented the prizes to the winners.
In the category of large enterprises, Chart Ferox, as took first place for developing a comprehensive solution for the storage and delivery of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in terminals. Yes, the commodity that is now the most valuable for Europe. The award was accepted by the director of the Děčín plant, Bronislav Převrátil.
"Děčínský Chart Ferox is one of the largest and at the same time the most innovative companies in the region. What I like about them is that they innovate practically continuously and thus prove that every crisis is an opportunity," says Petra Hrstková, director of the CzechInvest office in Ústí and one of the evaluators of the competition.
The victory in the category of small and medium-sized enterprises was won by a company from Roudnice nad Labem Pardam Nano4fibers, s.r.o, which, similarly to Chart Ferox, passed this competition for the second time (it won the year 2020). This time she convinced the jury by developing bioactive polymer nanofibers for dermatological purposes, which allowed the company to enter other markets with new products and expand.
"I have to admit that I was more strict when evaluating Pardam's innovation. After all, it won the competition for 2020. However, their innovation was very convincing and the fact that it is research that will be applied in the market is a nice cherry on the cake." says Jan Wedlich from the Innovation Center, one of the jury members.
The winning companies took home a check worth 50,000 crowns for their further innovations, a commemorative glass plaque and also got the opportunity to use the logo of the Innovation Company of the Ústí Region for the year 2022.
This year, for the first time, the Innovation Center brought a new award to the competition – Innovative Personality of the Ústí Region, which will be awarded to personalities who have participated in the development of the region in an exceptional way. She received a special award from ICUK director Martin Mata, who came up with this idea in memoriam Professor Jiřina Jílková, Czech economist and teacher with a focus on environmental economics and ecological policy. Her husband Professor Josef Jílek accepted the award.
"The professor has always been part of our organization. She was the one who came up with the idea of founding the Innovation Center of the Ústí Region and she was largely behind its gradual development. I was personally very affected by her passing, so we wanted to find a legacy that would make her be remembered by generations to come. Its role was crucial for the development of the region," concludes Martin Mata, director of the Innovation Center of the Ústí Region.
In the coming years of the Innovation Company of the Ústí Region competition, this prize will be awarded under the name of Professor Jiřina Jílková for an extraordinary contribution to the development of the Ústí Region in the field of innovation.
The main partners of Innovation Firms of the Ústí Region are the Ústí Region and Komerční banka, the professional partner is the CzechInvest agency. The competition is supported by the Smart Accelerator project for the Ústí Region +I.
