Excellent - Honoured winners of „Lausitz Goes International 2025“
The winners of this year's „Internationalisation Oscars“ of the Lusatian network initiative MinGenTec (Mining & Generation Technology – Made in Germany) have been determined. This evening, three companies from the region were honoured for their convincing internationalisation concepts: Wankel Aviation GmbH, GICON® and G&B Automatisierungstechnik GmbH & Co. KG.
The festive award ceremony took place as part of the established MinGenTec network meeting at the Newton Flight Academy Cottbus: The 1st place and a prize of 15,000 euros went to Wankel Aviation GmbH, headquartered in Cottbus. The 2nd place is shared by G&B Automatisierungstechnik GmbH & Co. KG based in Elsterwerda and GICON® Großmann Ingenieur Consult GmbH, headquartered in Dresden, each receiving 10,000 euros.
„All concepts were exciting to read and are very practical. I look forward to further market expansion activities abroad, which can now be realised with the prize money, being successful for the companies. The MinGenTec team actively supports all network members in establishing themselves internationally,“ says Jens Warnken, President of the Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK) Cottbus and jury member.
„The quality of the submissions was impressive. The prize money provides the winners with a valuable basis to specifically advance their international projects – whether through market analyses, consulting or business trips. In the MinGenTec network, we actively support them with our service offerings,“ says Sebastian Saule, Managing Director of the Economic Development Brandenburg (WFBB) and also a jury member.
About the winners:
Wankel Aviation GmbH from Brandenburg | 1st Place | 15,000 Euros
Wankel Aviation GmbH, headquartered in Cottbus, specialises in hybrid-electric drives for drones and light aircraft. It develops EASA-certified rotary engines based on the proven Wankel SuperTec engines for multi-fuel operation, which can be powered by both fossil fuels and e-fuels such as green methanol and hydrogen. A focus is on hydrogen-powered engines, whose safety is ensured through collaboration with a certification office from the outset.
GICON® Großmann Ingenieur Consult GmbH from Saxony | 2nd Place | 10,000 Euros
GICON® Großmann Ingenieur Consult GmbH, headquartered in Dresden with a branch in Cottbus, has been providing sustainable engineering and planning services both domestically and internationally for over 30 years. The company values resource conservation, energy efficiency, and climate neutrality, supporting medium-sized enterprises with services ranging from project planning to soil and groundwater solutions to the coordination of environmental and permitting issues. In Lusatia, GICON® is active with projects such as the world's tallest wind measurement mast in Klettwitz.
G&B Automatisierungstechnik GmbH & Co. KG from Brandenburg | 2nd Place | 10,000 Euros
G&B Automatisierungstechnik GmbH & Co. KG, based in Elsterwerda, has been a leading provider of software solutions in automation technology since 1992. The company covers PLC programming, robotics, safety and visualisation technology, as well as retrofit solutions. G&B accompanies its customers in consulting, planning, assembly, commissioning, and project management in special and series machine construction as well as plant engineering. The company is particularly active in the automotive, metal, building materials, packaging, and wood industries and also realises international projects according to corporate standards.
Around 50 active entrepreneurs in the network participated in the 19th network meeting. The prize money comes from the STARK project MinGenTec. The companies active in the MinGenTec network benefit from comprehensive service offerings, including market expansion and innovation checks for small and medium-sized enterprises.
Photocredit: Foto Goethe