The Bavarian enterprise ranks in 21st place of the fastest growing European companies in terms of turnover and number of employees.
Dornach near Munich. Gehrlicher Solar AG was awarded the “Europe’s 500 Award“ on 3 February 2011. With this award, Europe’s 500, the association of top European growth Entrepreneurs, honours companies from 18 European countries that were most successful in creating jobs. With a Birch Index of 680 und an absolute employee growth of 245 percent, Gehrlicher Solar AG ranks 21st and thus makes the company the most successful European energy company in the ranking.
The awards ceremony was held in the course of the “European Growth Summit 2011“ in the European Parliament in Brussels. The Award Certificates were handed over by Gerhard Schröder, the former Federal Chancellor of Germany. Sabine Sattler, HR Manager of Gehrlicher Solar AG, is happy about the award: “It makes us very proud to be honoured for our sustainable growth and the creation of numerous jobs at the European level. At the end of 2007 we had around 60 employees, today we have more than 400 – and we continue to grow! At present we have about 40 vacancies in Germany and around 50 in the following countries: Italy, India, Spain, South Africa and Brazil.“
The ranking represents those 500 small and medium sized companies that have created jobs most successfully in the 18 European countries. Only owner-managed, independent companies with more than 50 employees are rated in this competition that has been held since 1997. The selection is based on seven criteria: entrepreneurial commitment, turnover and employee growth, organic growth, profitability, size (at least 50 employees), market presence (at least three years). The companies are rated according to their absolute and relative creation of jobs (David Birch Employee Growth Index).
About Europe’s 500
Europe’s 500 is an association of the fast growing owner-managed companies in Europe. The organisation, founded in 1996, represents more than 2,300 growth companies from across Europe, with the common goal of contributing to growth and more employment in Europe and promoting entrepreneurship. Europe’s 500 does not see itself as representing interests in the classic sense, but rather as an NGO, offering its know-how and expertise for the collective good. With the European Growth Summit, Europe’s 500 offers an established platform both for dialogue with EU institutions and for the exchange of experiences between entrepreneurs. Europe’s 500 is open to high-growth European companies. For further information please visit www.europes500.eu.
About Gehrlicher Solar
Gehrlicher Solar AG is a photovoltaics company, which was founded in 1994 by its present chairman, Klaus Gehrlicher. As a globally active PV specialist, the company designs, constructs, finances and operates photovoltaic plants up to the multi-megawatt range. In addition, Gehrlicher Solar AG acts is a wholesaler offering solar modules, inverters and in-house Gehrtec components ranging from cabling solutions to support structures. For investors, the company designs, constructs and manages photovoltaic funds and private placement systems. Gehrlicher Solar AG has two German offices– Neustadt near Coburg and Dornach near Munich – as well as subsidiaries in Brazil, France, Greece, India, Italy, Spain, South Africa and the US. The company employs some 400 staff worldwide. For further information please visit www.gehrlicher.com.