Innovation Prize for belt-mic®

paragon won the OWL MARKTVISIONEN Innovation Prize awarded by OstWestfalenLippe Marketing GmbH. The seatbelt microphone belt-mic® stood its own against 102 innovative entries from 98 companies in Eastern Westphalia-Lippe (OWL). The prize was awarded by Thomas Rachel, Parliamentary State Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, at an award ceremony attended by more than 200 guests.

Parliamentary State Secretary Thomas Rachel (left) presented the Innovation Prize to CEO Klaus Dieter Frers.

After an extensive screening and evaluation process, the jury selected three entries to receive awards. paragon was awarded the OWL Innovation Prize for the belt-mic® seatbelt microphone, while saparatec GmbH, Bielefeld, won the Start-Up Prize for a method for recycling photovoltaic modules and Hettich Marketing und Vertriebs GmbH & Co. KG, Kirchlengern, won a special prize for its Arcitech drawer system.

In his congratulatory address, State Secretary Rachel emphasized that continuous new innovation is the only way to secure Germany’s prosperity, and that this is why Germany’s international profiling as a location for business and research is especially important. The objective of the government’s efforts, he said, is to shorten the distance from the lab to the market.

CEO Klaus Dieter Frers explained to the guests at the award ceremony what makes paragon’s process of developing products unique. In the case of the belt microphone, he said Eastern Westphalian persistence was an invaluable asset, making it possible for the first time to combine textiles and electronics in an industrial product. Another special feature of the product is that paragon uses an updated version of an ancient medieval weaving technique to produce the belt. Frers referred to the innovation prize as a “great honor and privilege,” adding that it gives the company added incentive to pursue new innovations.