Hypertherm is named a 2015 World’s Most Ethical Company by Ethisphere Institute

Hypertherm, a manufacturer of plasma, laser, and waterjet cutting systems, today announced its selection as a 2015 World’s Most Ethical Company® by the Ethisphere Institute.

The World’s Most Ethical Companies designation recognizes organizations for having a material impact on the way business is conducted by fostering a culture of ethics and transparency at every level of the company. Hypertherm is one of eleven companies new to this year’s list, and one of only three companies in the Machine Tools & Accessories sector. Other companies earning the “Most Ethical” designation include Deere and Company, GE, Google and The Nature Conservancy.

“This honor underscores Hypertherm’s commitment to meeting the highest ethical business standards and practices, ensuring long-term value to key stakeholders including our associates, customers, and communities,” said Evan Smith, Hypertherm’s CEO and President. “Transparency, honesty, and integrity—long a part of Hypertherm’s core values and included in our Code of Ethics—define who we are as individuals and as a company.”

“The World’s Most Ethical Companies embrace the correlation between ethical business practice and improved company performance. These companies use ethics as a means to further define their industry leadership and understand that creating an ethical culture and earning the World’s Most Ethical Companies recognition involves more than just an outward facing message or a handful of senior executives saying the right thing,” said Ethisphere’s Chief Executive Officer, Timothy Erblich. “Earning this recognition involves the collective action of a global workforce from the top down. We congratulate everyone at Hypertherm for this extraordinary achievement.”

The World's Most Ethical Company assessment is based upon the Ethisphere Institute’s Ethics Quotient™ (EQ) framework developed over years of research to provide a means to assess an organization’s performance in an objective, consistent and standardized way. The information collected provides a comprehensive sampling of definitive criteria of core competencies, rather than all aspects of corporate governance, risk, sustainability, compliance and ethics. The EQ framework and methodology is determined, vetted and refined by the expert advice and insights gleaned from Ethisphere’s network of thought leaders and from the World’s Most Ethical Company Methodology Advisory Panel.

Scores are generated in five key categories: ethics and compliance, corporate citizenship and responsibility, culture of ethics, governance, and leadership, innovation and reputation.

Hypertherm designs and manufactures advanced cutting products for use in a variety of industries such as shipbuilding, manufacturing, and automotive repair. Its product line includes plasma, laser and waterjet cutting systems, in addition to CNC motion and height controls, CAM nesting software, and consumables. Hypertherm systems are trusted for performance and reliability that result in increased productivity and profitability for hundreds of thousands of businesses. The company’s reputation for cutting innovation dates back nearly 50 years to 1968, with Hypertherm’s invention of water injection plasma cutting. The 100 percent associate owned company has more than 1,300 associates along with operations and partner representation worldwide.