First presentation of the Phoenix Award to H. Rüetschi AG and Distillerie Morand

SMEs that have successfully ensured their succession and thus their preservation over such a long period of time have already had to overcome several crises such as world wars and economic crises and rise anew like the "Phoenix from the ashes". The focus as potential award winners is therefore on Swiss SMEs that have been entered in the commercial register for 100 years this year. From these companies, an expert jury and a jury advisory board with representatives from science, entrepreneurship and the media selected the Phoenix Award winners in the categories "Innovation/Disruption/Renewal Capability" and "Impact and Performance as a Team". The award was launched in 2018 by the initiative Successor bus.chan information campaign for SME entrepreneurs on the topic of business succession that is unique in this form. ORGANISATOR accompanies this initiative as a media partner.

Distillerie Morand: Honored for team performance and social responsibility

In the category "Impact and Performance as a Team," the jury and jury advisory board voted for the family-owned company founded in 1889 by Louis Morand in the Lower Valais, among other things because of its social responsibility, with which it was ahead of the times for a long time and continues to fulfill this comprehensively today. This includes the pension fund set up by André Morand for his employees in the first decades of the 20th century. Since 2015, the company has employed people with intellectual disabilities. In collaboration with FOVAHM (Fondation valaisanne en faveur des personnes handicapées mentales), 16 jobs were created in an integrated workshop in the areas of labeling and packaging.

Further essential for the approval of the award by the jury and the jury advisory board were the more than 100 years of consistency in the product portfolio with parallel constant development of convincing product innovations. "We are proud of this unexpected award, which honors our entire team. A really nice recognition and confirmation for our work, the family business and our strategy - and an inspiring motivation to keep at it," said a delighted Fabrice Haenni at the award ceremony on October 20, 2020.

Convincing in "Innovation, Disruption and Renewability": H. Rüetschi AG

H. Rüetschi AG in Aarau also received a Phoenix Award. This company has been in existence since 1367, i.e. for more than 650 years, making it one of the five oldest companies still in existence in Switzerland. The jury therefore considers H. Rüetschi AG to be a special example of sustainable entrepreneurship, as the focus here is not primarily on growth. Rather, thanks to successful diversification, innovation and market development, the niche player has managed to preserve an old craft over more than six centuries and to transform it into a modern SME. The willingness to disrupt and innovate has been ingrained in the company's DNA for more than six centuries. What began as a bell foundry in 1367 is now a company diversified into art and industrial casting, church tower and bell ringing technology, church and building automation, and research and development, with 45 employees from 14 different professional groups.

René Spielmann, owner and managing director of H. Rüetschi AG: "We are proud of this unexpected award, which honors our entire team. The award is an extraordinary recognition of our consistently future-oriented approach, our spirit of research and the close cooperation between different generations and professions. Personally, I am very pleased that the Phoenix Award is dedicated to successful company succession, as this is a particular concern of mine."

Phoenix Award as another highlight of a necessary initiative

The award, which is being presented for the first time this year, is seen as a further component of a necessary initiative on the subject of succession planning. Every day, 14 SMEs close in Switzerland due to a lack of a succession solution. Carla Kaufmann, an experienced expert in the field of business succession, has observed this negative development over the past eight years. Since it is well known that watching does not change anything, she initiated the succession bus. Together with 15 experienced experts, the owner of the Companymarket AG in 2018 for the first time across German-speaking Switzerland and offered SME entrepreneurs free qualified talks on all aspects of the entire succession process. In total, the Nachfolgebus made stops in 14 cities in German-speaking Switzerland in 2018 and 2019, and 300 hours of personal discussions were held by the Nachfolgebus "experts" with SME entrepreneurs. After two years "on tour", the initiative Nachfolgebus has reached a first milestone: the urgently needed awareness for business succession is growing. Now it is time to keep at it in order to achieve the appropriate social, economic and political relevance for succession. That's why the Succession Bus Tour 2020 has various innovations on board: digital expert talks, the succession magazine produced together with ORGANISATOR, the Succession Day, and the Phoenix Award.

More information: www.nachfolgebus.ch