Excellent on every levels

It is not only our future-oriented products and new approaches that are gaining international recognition.

Innovative ideas, new developments, the quality of our training or sustainability – the numerous awards we have received are the results of exceptional cooperation across all departments.

Teamwork – the secret of our success

Synergy effects are only possible through the right kind of interactions

What exactly makes us so innovative? Our strong sense of togetherness. We use our freedom, support each other and focus on the talents and strengths of the individual. Our team is composed of around 3,500 individuals and yet we all have one thing in common: the will "Together for an even better tomorrow." But we can only develop the power we need to set new standards by doing it together.

Not to be outdone for good ideas: nature

Innovation Award for Climate and Environment 2022

For the ADHESO gripping technology, we looked to the animal kingdom. We use a special microstructure to imitate the extraordinary adhesive force of the gecko, creating a gripping solution without any energy at all. This innovation was honored with the 2022 IKU award by the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection, the Innovation Award for Climate and Environment.

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You can find out all the essentials about our work culture here.

Working at SCHUNK

Current awards

German Innovation Award 2023

The chuck jaw configurator easyJAW is one of the winners of the German Innovation Award 2023 in the category of "W2 Excellence in Business to Business - Machines & Engineering". With the easy-to-use online configurator, customers can order application-specific chuck jaws with a minimum of time and resources.

German Innovation Award 2022

The smart toolholder iTENDO² provides real-time data "closest to the part" and helps to quickly introduce optimal machining processes. The German Design Council has honored this SCHUNK innovation with the German Innovation Award 2022.

World Market Leader Champion 2022

WirtschaftsWoche selected the "500 secret world market leaders" of 2022. We ranked among them for the fifth time: SCHUNK, the specialist for toolholding and workholding, gripping technology and automation technology.

iF Design Award 2022

The flexible ROTA THW3 jaw quick-change chuck manages the balancing act between short set-up times and low maintenance intervals. Its overall package of functional design, flexibility, and sustainability also convinced the jury at the iF Design Award 2022.

German Innovation Award 2021

The new bionically inspired ADHESO gripping technology received the German Innovation Award 2021 from the German Design Council in the competition category "Excellence in Business to Business".

Red Dot Award: Product Design 2021

Innovative, ergonomic, quickly put into operation: The intelligent design of the SCHUNK EGH makes automation with cobots especially easy, and this was the reason the gripper received the prestigious Red Dot Design Award 2021 in the "product design" category.

Special awards

Industry 4.0 Talents 2021

With this competition, the Allianz Industrie 4.0 Baden-Württemberg honors innovative projects for digitalizing professional training in industry. The network awarded SCHUNK for its project "Digital Twin in Training".

IHK Education Prize 2020

Heinz-Dieter SCHUNK GmbH & Co. Spanntechnik KG from Mengen was awarded a special prize as part of the IHK Education Awards for some particularly promising concepts and new approaches involved in the "Change of Perspective" training project.

Bosch Global Supplier Award 2019/2020

SCHUNK received the "Bosch Global Supplier Award" in the category of "Indirect Purchasing and Services", making it one of the technology and service company's 46 best suppliers worldwide.

German Brand Award Gold 2019

Successful B2B marketing: SCHUNK received Gold in the German Brand Award 2019 in the category of "Excellence in Brand Strategy and Creation | Brand Communication – Campaign" for its "Open" campaign.

Hermes Award 2017

SCHUNK received the Hermes Award as a part of the Hannover Messe 2017 for the SCHUNK Co-act gripper JL1, the world's first intelligent gripper for human-robot collaboration, which directly interacts and communicates with humans.

100 locations for Industry 4.0 in Baden-Wuerttemberg 2018

The "Alliance Industry 4.0 Baden-Württemberg" awarded SCHUNK for its intelligent gripper for collaborative applications, the SCHUNK Co-act Gripper JL1, in the competition "100 Places for Industry 4.0 in Baden-Württemberg".

Entrepreneurial Heart 2016

Henrik A. Schunk was presented with the "Entrepreneurial Heart" award by WirtschaftsWoche and Würth for his exemplary entrepreneurial commitment at the summit of global market leaders held in the town of Schwäbisch Hall.

Founder award from the Baden Württemberg Sparkassen financial group 2013

Heinz-Dieter Schunk was awarded the Baden-Württemberg Business Founder Award from the Sparkassen financial group on June 3, 2013. His entrepreneurial spirit helped shape the quality, economic performance as well as capacity for innovation of the entire sector, according to Peter Schneider, President of the Sparkassenverband of Baden-Württemberg.

Engelberger Robotics Award 2010

Heinz-Dieter Schunk received the "Engelberger Robotics Award for Leadership", the world's most prestigious honor in the field of robotics.

German Machine Tool Industry Award 2008

During the 3rd German Mechanical Engineering Summit in Berlin, the independent jury of experts from economics and science recognized the Swabian businessman's life achievements.

Dr. Rudolf Eberle Award 1986

The "Dr. Rudolf Eberle Award" state innovation prize is one of the first awarded for innovation in Germany. SCHUNK was awarded for its gripper and gripper change system.