The prestigious award recognizes Thales for its outstanding commitment to innovation, the protection of ideas and the commercialization of inventors.
“It is truly a delight to be recognized as a Top 100 Global Innovator. It proves the success of the core innovation values that have driven the company to the cutting edge of technological development since its creation,” said Marko Erman, Thales Senior Vice President for Research and Technology.
Thales’s innovative range of products has put it at the forefront of its five predominant markets: Aeronautics, Space, Transport, Defense and Security.
Beyond its main fields of activity, Thales was present on Curiosity, NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory mission, having developed a high-power laser for rock analysis.
In 2012 Thales is also providing half of the world’s weather reports, through its Meteosat satellites designed by the group.
Thales is also part of the Clean Sky European research program, aimed at reducing noise pollution, CO2 and nitric oxide emissions of aircraft by 50%, 40% and 60% respectively between now and 2020.
Thales invests €2.5 billion (20% of revenues) in its research and development and employs over 22,500 researchers and engineers, of which 3,000 are dedicated to research and technology. Thales has forged more than 30 research partnerships with engineering schools, universities and public research institutes.
“Innovation is the foundation for economic prosperity and technological advancement,” said David Brown, Managing Director, Thomson Reuters IP Solutions. “We congratulate the 2012 Top 100 Global Innovator companies and their leaders for recognizing the important role innovation plays in the successes of today and of tomorrow.”
Thomson Reuters 2012 Top100 Global Innovators:
- Added 124,214 new jobs over their prior year employment figures
- Outperformed the S&P 500 by 3% in their market cap weighted average revenue (15% versus 12%)
- Spent 4% more on market cap weighted R&D than the S&P 500 (11% versus 7%)
