The
Minnesota High Tech Association (MHTA) recognized 14 companies that are contributing to innovation, development, and commercialization of technology in the state, handing out its annual
Tekne Awards last week.
The awards included separate categories for small and growing businesses, with revenues under $50 million, and for established businesses. Winners range across a number of fields, from manufacturing to sustainable technologies to non-profit organizations.
"Minnesota’s technology community has responded enthusiastically to the Tekne Awards for the past twelve years," says MHTA President and CEO Margaret Anderson Kelliher. " Year after year the Teknes generate a tremendous amount of pride and help inspire a new generation of innovators."
Nova-Tech Engineering won for advanced manufacturing,
Ecolab took home the cleantech and energy award, and
Global Traffic Technologies won the computer hardware and electronic devices award.
For the most innovative collaboration of the year, MHTA chose
Maverick Software Consulting, which paired with
Digital River,
Thompson Reuters, and
MnSCU to bring together computer science students and corporations providing software development and testing. Students received real-world experience working in the technology field, and companies got talented candidates.
Other winners included
Sophia Learning,
Minntech Corporation,
Pursuit Vascular,
GeaCom,
Imation, and
Calabrio.
The
City of Minneapolis received an award for technology excellence in a non-profit organization, with MHTA noting the city's work toward bringing technology and information together to make Minneapolis safer. The city's new emergency operations training facility and strategic information center blend digital data, streaming video and interactive interfaces to create a communications center for the city.
The Tekne Awards also featured more inductees to the
Minnesota Science and Technology Hall of Fame, which was created four years ago to acknowledge the work of entrepreneurs, engineers, professors, inventors, researchers, and scientists.
Source: Margaret Anderson Kelliher, Minnesota High Tech Association
Writer: Elizabeth Millard