Julia Semenko
PR & Marketing Lead
September 16, 2026
2
min read

Pilotfish Inc. Earns 2026 D&B SME Elite Award

Pilotfish has been selected as one of Taiwan’s Top 1,000 SMEs in the 2026 Dun & Bradstreet SME Elite Award (鄧白氏中小企業菁英獎), recognising Pilotfish Inc. among a select group of companies demonstrating sustained business performance, international competitiveness, financial soundness and long-term development potential.

Article hightlights
  • Selected through five core evaluation indicators
  • Taiwan as a strategic part of Pilotfish’s global network
  • Recognition aligned with an increasingly international business environment
  • About Pilotfish

Taipei, Taiwan - September 16, 2026 - Pilotfish has been selected as one of Taiwan’s Top 1,000 SMEs in the 2026 Dun & Bradstreet SME Elite Award (鄧白氏中小企業菁英獎), recognising Pilotfish Inc. among a select group of companies demonstrating sustained business performance, international competitiveness, financial soundness and long-term development potential.

Now in its 13th edition, the Dun & Bradstreet SME Elite Award is one of Taiwan’s established recognitions for small and medium-sized enterprises. The 2026 award selected 1,000 companies from more than 1.7 million SMEs in Taiwan, using Dun & Bradstreet’s business data and professional analysis rather than an application or self-nomination process.

Selected through five core evaluation indicators

The 2026 selection is based on five core evaluation indicators designed to provide a broader picture of a company’s business performance and resilience:

  • Revenue Growth Performance – assessment of revenue trends over the previous three years to identify companies demonstrating sustained growth momentum.
  • Export and Market Competitiveness – evaluation of international competitiveness based on export scale and presence in international markets.
  • Financial Soundness – analysis of multiple financial indicators to identify companies with sound financial and operational structures and effective risk management.
  • Risk and Negative Information Screening – screening designed to exclude companies associated with significant operational risks or adverse information.
  • ESG and Sustainability Performance – incorporation of ESG scores to assess companies’ achievements in sustainable development and corporate governance.

This methodology makes the recognition particularly relevant to Pilotfish's international business model. The company’s Taiwan operation is an integral part of a global product development network connecting European clients and teams with Taiwan’s highly developed electronics, engineering and manufacturing ecosystem.

“We are very pleased to see Pilotfish recognised among Taiwan’s Top 1,000 SMEs,” says Marco Heusdens, Managing Director at Pilotfish. “What makes this recognition especially meaningful is the breadth of the evaluation. It looks beyond a single year or a single business metric and considers growth, international competitiveness, financial robustness, risk, and sustainability. For us, it reflects the strength of our long-term presence in Taiwan and the contribution of our Taipei team to Pilotfish’s international business.”

Taiwan as a strategic part of Pilotfish’s global network

Pilotfish established its presence in Taiwan to connect its European product development expertise with the region’s strong capabilities in electronics, engineering and manufacturing.

Today, the Taipei team works as part of Pilotfish’s international organisation, collaborating closely with teams in Amsterdam, Berlin and Lisbon. This distributed model allows Pilotfish to combine European market and product expertise with local engineering and manufacturing knowledge, supporting clients throughout the product development journey.

Pilotfish works with technology companies, established organisations and start-ups on complex hardware products across MedTech, HealthTech, wearables, professional products, industrial electronics and other technology-driven markets.

Its integrated capabilities span strategy, industrial design, UX/UI, human factors engineering, mechanical and electronics engineering, prototyping, validation, compliance and industrialisation.

For clients developing products that need to move from technology and prototypes into scalable production, the Taiwan operation also provides direct access to a mature supplier and manufacturing ecosystem. Pilotfish’s teams work across the product landscape to address design-for-manufacturing, engineering, sourcing, prototyping and production transfer early in the development process.

Recognition aligned with an increasingly international business environment

The 2026 Dun & Bradstreet SME Elite Award carries the theme “Decision AI · Winning the Future”, highlighting the growing importance of data and informed decision-making in helping SMEs navigate an increasingly complex business environment.

For Pilotfish, the recognition comes at a time when the company is further expanding its capabilities in MedTech, DeepTech, AI-enabled hardware, wearables and professional electronics, while strengthening its ability to support clients from early product definition through engineering, industrialisation and manufacturing.

The award ceremony took place on September 16, 2026, at the Mandarin Oriental Taipei, bringing together recognised SMEs and business leaders from across Taiwan.

About Pilotfish

Pilotfish is an international innovation and product development consultancy specialising in turning complex technologies into products people can understand, use and trust.

With teams in Amsterdam, Berlin, Lisbon and Taipei, Pilotfish combines strategy, industrial design, UX/UI, human factors engineering, mechanical and electronics engineering, prototyping, validation, compliance and industrialisation within one integrated product development process.

The company works with established organisations, technology companies and start-ups across MedTech, HealthTech, professional products, industrial electronics, wearables and other technology-driven markets.

Pilotfish’s Taipei operation provides a strategic link to one of the world’s leading electronics and manufacturing ecosystems, supporting international clients with product development, engineering and production transfer.

Award information: 2026 Dun & Bradstreet SME Elite Award

Assessment methodology: 2026 Dun & Bradstreet SME Elite Award – Assessment Criteria

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