2021: a year of crisis, fresh ideas and awards

Blowing your own trumpet is unpopular. Children are told not to do it and, at MEIKO, we think that's quite right, too! But when independent institutions honour our work, that is a whole different matter – and one that has given us much cause for celebration in 2021. In this past year, MEIKO machines have once again won several awards and, this time, even our foundational values in action have won us an award! Well, MEIKO is known for them, after all. We are grateful, for example, for several honours recognising our efforts in the field of sustainability, such as the Footprint Award and the FCSI Sustainable Catering Equipment Award. These come alongside titles like ‘Environment Champion 2021,’ ‘Germany's Best – Sustainability’ and ‘Excellent Sustainability.’ All of which show that we must be doing something right!

We are involved in a lot here: green power, investments in the Innovation Centre for Energy Technologies, photovoltaic systems, state-of-the-art energy-saving technology that is 90% recyclable, active reforestation in our region, warewashing technology to facilitate reusable dishware systems and much, much more. This is how we are working with our customers to reduce the mountains of disposable dishware being used and striving to hit the targets in our sustainability strategy. Read intriguing insights and details on the subject in the MEIKO Sustainability Report. On the subject of disposable dishware: our new bottle rack system also received the Smart Label Award.

2021 was not easy. It was another year in a crisis. Nobody has come away from this year unscathed: not the industries we supply, not our suppliers and not the MEIKO family. MEIKO belongs to a foundation which exists to benefit MEIKO employees. All decisions and investments have to be judged according to this principle – it is required by the MEIKO Constitution. In times of crisis, this is more important than ever so we implemented the doctrine with great vigour in 2021.

On top of that, we took our crisis-stricken customers under our wing – because not all investments can be postponed. Even technical difficulties when reopening the business could have ruined several of them. Exceptional Financing and leasing structures for MEIKO technology provided security and a financial buffer in these cases. This is probably why now, at the end of the year, we can celebrate the titles, ‘Model Business in the Crisis’ and ‘Germany's Most Reliable Machine and Systems Engineering Company.’

After almost a century of company history, we remain inherently optimistic so we are ready to look forward and adapt for the future. That is probably the reason why we have also been named one of ‘Germany's Hidden Digital Champions’ and, thanks to all of that, we can call ourselves ‘Trendsetters in the German Economy.’ Who could possibly be dissatisfied with all of this recognition? Certainly not us! So here is a huge and important THANK YOU from MEIKO. But of course, we would never blow our own trumpet.