"Germany is today our largest and one of the most important trade partners. On the other hand, I am also pleased that more and more Polish investors are active on the German market. Over 1800 of our companies have already established their offices there. This also proves that the Polish-German Chamber of Industry and Commerce (AHK), which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, is doing an excellent job of promoting economic cooperation between the two countries. I would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate the winner and all finalists of this year's Polish-German Economic Award," said Deputy Minister of Development and Technology Grzegorz Piechowiak during a gala ceremony organised on the occasion of the AHK's 25th anniversary in Poland."

This year's winner

The winner of the Polish-German Economic Prize 2021 was Anmet.

"Recycling worn-out wind turbine propellers is an under-recognised challenge of the energy transition. Anmet is an example of how innovative Polish-German cooperation and innovative thinking can offer new answers to pressing questions," emphasises Markus Baltzer, President of AHK Poland.”

The Polish-German Economic Prize is awarded annually by the AHK and rewards special innovations, successes or impulses in Polish-German economic life. This year, 31 companies applied and five of them became finalists for the AHK Gala, judged by a jury and a live audience. More than 1,200 participants had previously cast their votes for the five finalists in an online vote.

"We are positively surprised by our success and are very pleased that so many people have appreciated our company. We believe that this award will allow us to reach a wider audience and the cooperation with AHK will bring our work to a higher level - emphasised Andrzej Adamcio, the owner of Anmet.”

Anmet from Szprotawa on the Polish-German border recycles metals and composite materials, in particular disassembled wind turbine propellers. Until now, these have been difficult to recycle. The company has developed technology to recover carbon fibres from wind turbine propellers and is working on new materials and products made from recycled composites. Together with a German partner, Anmet has launched a project for the reuse and market recycling of wind turbine propellers. This led to the creation of Wings for Living, which sells outdoor furniture made from propellers. The designer furniture has already found its first customers and is growing in popularity.

The winner of the business prize will receive an AHK Poland image campaign for their brand, a year's free membership of the AHK and other prizes.

The German-Polish Chamber of Industry and Commerce promotes Polish-German economic relations, supports Polish and German companies entering the neighbouring country's market and offers a platform for international business contacts. With around 1,000 members, it is the bilateral chamber with the largest number of members in Poland and one of the largest German chambers of commerce abroad in the world.

The other finalists of the second edition of the Polish-German Economic Award are:

GROWmatica is a pan-European company supporting international expansion and cooperation of companies in the IT industry. The basis of its activities is a network of local sales partners - professionals from various industries, who through their knowledge, experience and contacts facilitate and accelerate the entry of companies into new markets.

Kirchhoff Polska, part of KIRCHHOFF Automotive, a global supplier to the automotive industry in Poland, produces metal parts and sub-assemblies for car bodies, chassis and interior systems for cars and vans using hot and cold press technologies and modern joining methods.

Metroplan is a technical and design consultancy company. In its workshops in Hamburg, Wrocław and Warsaw it develops solutions for production and logistics plants. It implements fully integrated projects for the largest companies in Poland and Germany. It conducts R&D programmes aimed at creating new tools for designing automatic production and logistics systems.

Spyrosoft Solutions specializes in the development of embedded software. The company offers its clients comprehensive services: from system engineering, project functional requirements management, acquisition and implementation of ISO26262, ISO21434, IEC 62304 and A-SPICE requirements, to system and software architecture development, coding and maintenance of implemented systems. It is involved in software development for the automotive, medical and telecommunications industries.