NIESTETAL, Germany, October 23 /PRNewswire/ -- In the illustrious Alte Oper in Frankfurt, Germany, SMA Technologie AG received the renowned "Entrepreneur of the Year" prize on the 21st of September, 2006. In addition, SMA is nominated for next year's "World Entrepreneur of the Year 2007" which will be awarded in Monte Carlo. The jury, comprised of leading personalities from politics and business, was duly impressed with SMA's sustained growth, high level of innovative development, and their distinct employee-orientated approach.

The prize, which has been awarded by Ernst & Young since 1996, is intended to publicize instances of enterprising excellence and highlight their significance for the German economy. The award is presented to entrepreneurs who have made an important contribution to the innovative force and competitiveness of their company, because of their personal dedication and readiness to take risks.

"We are delighted with the enormous success of photovoltaics, without which the excellent political framework of the past 15 years would have been inconceivable, and which we have influenced to a large extent by developing innovative technologies," declares Gunther Cramer, Board Member and co-founder of SMA. "An entrepreneur is innovative by definition, but can only be as innovative as the contributions of their staff allow. Therefore, this prize belongs to everyone at SMA."

Very early in its development SMA Technologie AG committed itself to the ongoing growth of this young technology, and repeatedly initiated new solar technology trends, which became models for all other manufacturers worldwide. String technology, the Multi-String concept, the active temperature management of OptiCool, H5 topology, the integrated load disconnector ESS, and many more, are the highlights which have once again caused SMA inverters to be voted as test winner by the independent German product testing foundation, Stiftung Warentest.

When founding the company, SMA opted for "cooperative management". This means that the employees are involved in all information and decision-making processes. Information and transparency based on open communication are among the most important reasons for the high level of job satisfaction. Profit-sharing and the ability to become shareholders in the company capital encourage commitment to the innovative approach that sets new standards. SMA has successfully put its faith in their employees' motivation to adapt and increase their skills. This provides a basis of flexibility and reliability in dealing with future challenges. This innovative corporate culture has made SMA one of Europe's five best employers of 2006 (Great Place to Work Europe, 2006).

A strong development division, coupled with open management structures and flat hierarchies, has taken SMA from pioneer to market leader in photovoltaic system technology. The staff of 1,100 includes approximately 300 engineers and technicians.

This year, the company celebrates its 25th anniversary. With average annual growth of 30% for the past four years, and subsidiaries in China, Italy, Korea, Spain and the USA, SMA has sufficient scope to make innovative decisions. The objective for the coming years is to follow the sharp increase of worldwide interest in photovoltaics by opening new markets, and in so doing, to further promote the utilization of renewable energy sources internationally.

Printable images are available for downloading at:

http://usa.sma.de/general/press/press-releases/pressemitteilung-detail/in dex.html?tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=279&tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=1719&cHash=3c55afd edf

Press contact SMA America Inc.: Sue Barnette Public Relations 12438 Loma Rica Drive Grass Valley, CA 95945 Phone: +1-(530)-273-4895-100 Fax: +1-(530)-274-7271 Email: sbarnette@sma-america.com

CONTACT: Press contact SMA America Inc.: Sue Barnette, Public
Relations, 12438 Loma Rica Drive, Grass Valley, CA 95945, Phone:
+1-(530)-273-4895-100, Fax: +1-(530)-274-7271, Email:
sbarnette@sma-america.com