Following awards in 2015 and 2016, Robert Bosch GmbH has awarded Schunk — a supplier of gripping systems and clamping technology — with the Preferred Supplier award for 2017.

CEO Henrik Schunk said: “The fact that we have been the best among Bosch’s world-leading suppliers is both valid recognition and motivation at the same time.

“The ‘hat trick’ highlights the permanently high performance level of our company as a technology and development partner all over the globe.

“We will do everything within our power to defend this title in the years to come.”

The Preferred Supplier status applies to companies that have made a “sustainable contribution towards improving the competitiveness of the Bosch Group over a period of several years or more”.

The award to Schunk was based on a comprehensive supplier evaluation, whereby the company’s “technical competence, product and logistics quality, entrepreneurial potential, price-performance ratio and production concept” were analysed.

As a preferred supplier, Schunk is involved with Bosch development projects at an early stage. Bosch says that this award highlights the intensive collaborations between the two companies.

Schunk has about 3,000 employees in nine plants and 33 subsidiaries, as well as distribution partners in over 50 countries. The company generates around 60% of its sales outside Germany.