Of the approximately 600,000 companies in Switzerland, almost 74,000 are currently facing a succession plan. 30 percent fail in this task, because it is complex, time-consuming and requires a wide range of skills. A good 5,000 companies and 30,0001) jobs are lost every year as a result. This development prompted Carla Kaufmann, an experienced succession expert, to focus more attention on business succession among entrepreneurs and the general public in 2018. To this end, she called the "Successor Bus Initiative" and toured throughout German-speaking Switzerland. An Infomobile with 15 experienced succession experts on board, who provide comprehensive information to entrepreneurs in free talks and point out possible solutions. After a more than positive response to the premiere tour with over 170 hours of information talks and 950 tour kilometers, it was clear: the succession bus will be back on the road in 2019.

Successor bus 2019: Start in Zurich

The tour will kick off on April 4, 2019, 7 a.m. to 12 p.m., in Zurich, Talstrasse 39. Under the motto "We present company stories and discuss realities," this second tour will focus even more strongly on succession practice. To this end, in addition to the one-on-one meetings, insights into the succession stories of a wide variety of Swiss companies will be provided through interviews and practice dialogs with entrepreneurs and experts.

Broad-based team of experts

How does a succession work? What do I have to prepare? What is the value of my company? How do I find a successor for my company? Am I suitable as a successor? The "Initiative Nachfolgebus" (Succession Bus Initiative) and its team of experts in Zurich answer these and other "burning" questions for SME owners and provide them with a wide range of information.

www.nachfolgebus.ch

Challenges 2030: Reality or friction? No, that's not a spelling mistake: The KMU Swiss Forum on March 21 at the Trafo Baden was actually about this topic. Because the reality in which SMEs operate today is VUKA, i.e. characterized by volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity. It goes without saying that friction is almost inevitable. According to organizer Armin Baumann in the conference brochure, the world is open to those who can best deal with it.

Decide and innovate

The conference topic was treated from different aspects by the speakers. The decision architect Reto Blum set a first point: His presentation was about the topic "Decisions". "Those who do not decide, others decide for them", was his introduction. Using vivid examples, he was able to show that we humans still often decide intuitively. "We are too lazy to think," the speaker concluded. He pointed out that humans develop linearly, but technology develops exponentially. This leads to us being paralyzed and preferring to remain in the status quo.

This future: It will be stark, said Jürg Zwahlen, Chairman of the Board of Birchmeier Sprühtechnik. Humans will increasingly struggle with the speed of exponential technology. A paradigm shift away from preservationists to change agents is now necessary. And for change, innovation is imperative. He showed how his company is tackling this with the new development of a sprayer with electronic spray jet control. This innovation was only possible through cooperation with know-how providers outside the company. And this is precisely the concept with which Switzerland must reinvent itself: By networking competencies.

Reality or friction in matters of law and money

In the next presentation, Mascha Santschi Kallay addressed a completely different reality. The new media sometimes lead to things getting into the public domain that no company likes to talk about, e.g. ongoing court cases. Media reports show almost daily how clumsy communication about criminal cases can damage the reputation of individuals or companies. However, the so-called principle of judicial publicity is part of every functioning constitutional state, which is why it is also important to communicate unpleasant things professionally.

Fritz Zurbrügg, Vice Chairman of the Governing Board of the Swiss National Bank, is convinced that Switzerland will still be a successful model in 2030. The Swiss economy has repeatedly shown itself to be very resilient despite crises. The independence of the National Bank has made a decisive contribution to this. By enforcing price stability with all means at its disposal - even by entering the new territory of negative interest rates in the meantime - the successful Swiss model will continue to endure.

Disruption on all channels

"Disrupt yourself" - that was the title of the contribution by TV business journalist Patrizia Laeri, who regularly writes about the opportunities of digitization in her blog #aufbruch. She showed the audience how social media can be used as recruitment platforms, for example, and function as simple Big Data analysis tools. She also pointed out the importance of storytelling - "nothing works without content" - but also that it is still necessary to play the offline channel as well.

Andreas Münch, responsible for logistics, IT, buildings/infrastructure/facility management and transport at Migros, spoke about the transformation in retail. A look at the company's history showed that Migros has always been disruptive. He described the first sales carts of 1925 as "Mobile Shopping 1.0." Today, on the other hand, it's about "Everywhere commerce." And that poses major challenges for logistics. Today, algorithms are already able to anticipate consumer needs through predictive analytics and provide goods accordingly. And shopping in stores without staff or even completely virtually from home is no longer just a dream of the future. However, the extent to which such convenience has to be bought at the cost of privacy also needs to be discussed.

Sport and powerful security

The afternoon was initially dominated by skiing. Urs Lehmann, President of Swiss-Ski, explained how the ski association has steadily professionalized itself in recent years. "The athlete is at the center, not the official," Lehmann said. How ski stars today are individual entrepreneurs in their own right was then discussed on the podium with Bruno Kernen and Marco Odermatt. According to Kernen, the beauty of the sport is that you can turn a hobby into a profession. However, he also let it be known that after the end of the sports career, a new life begins where you have to take many things into your own hands again. He hoped that the association would develop new solutions.

Finally, the last speaker was Philipp Rebord, head of the army. He began by thanking all SMEs, because it is they who make a militia army possible in the first place. He also explained the further development of the army and how it intends to prepare itself for new threats - especially in the area of cyber war. Of course, Rebord also touched on the ongoing discussion about the procurement of new combat aircraft, which will then be in service from 2030 if the entire political process runs without friction.

The KMU Swiss Forum was once again moderated by Hugo Bigi. The event was concluded once again this year with a "public part" at the invitation of the Baden City Council in partnership with the Trafo Baden Congress Center and KMU Swiss.

www.kmuswiss.ch

Perikom, the professional association for human resources management and internal communication, unanimously elected Cyril Meier as its new president at its general meeting on March 19, 2019. He replaces Matthias Mölleney, Managing Director PeopleXpert, President ZGP and Head of the Center for Human Resources Management & Leadership at the HWZ Hochschule für Wirtschaft Zürich. The board thanked Matthias Mölleney, who remains on the board, for his great services as founding president of Perikom. Dr. Barbara Aeschlimann, Managing Director of ZGP Zurich Society for Human Resources Management, was also elected as a new member of the Board.

Cyril Meier, the new Perikom President, has been working at the HWZ Hochschule für Wirtschaft Zürich since 2003, today as Head of Special Projects, and before that as a member of the Executive Board until 2017. During this time, he built up the Center for Communications with its more than 700 students, including the Bachelor's degree program in Communications as well as the Master of Advanced Studies in Business Communications, and also initiated the university's first digital continuing education courses, among other things. Before moving into education, Meier was, among other things, Chief Communications Officer (CCO) of the Sulzer Group as well as a consultant and team leader at Farner Consulting. Thus, he knows from practice and teaching the challenges of goal-oriented collaboration across functional boundaries.

"Any organization cannot survive the digital transformation without strategies and technologies," says Meier. But it certainly can't happen without a coherent culture, and certainly not without employees. To this end, Perikom intends to continue making valuable interdisciplinary and practice-oriented contributions." The Perikom association regularly organizes events for communication and HR experts. Other areas of activity include the development of continuing education programs, the initiation and support of research and studies on the topic of internal communications, and an annual Swiss HR/Internal Communications Conference. The next time on May 23, 2019, on the topic of "Leadership and communication: difficult new world".

More information

Communication is omnipresent. Thousands of messages reach us every day. Companies and people vie for our attention and purchasing power. But how can you shape your messages so that they come across effectively and pointedly and are remembered by your target audience? This requires stories, because people love stories! Stories convey emotions, which you can't do with numbers, data and facts. The personal story is suitable to present values, abilities and strengths of your own person without having to sell yourself or your product. They touch, create trust and trigger inner images in people that stick better in the memory.

Workshop leader Ancilla Schmidhauser - economist specializing in marketing and communication, specialist in business storytelling (www.business-storytelling.ch) and author of several articles in our magazine - guides participants step-by-step through the most important processes to develop their trustworthy story. Participants learn how to use this for their own communication in marketing and business. They learn how to win people over through their story and how to get to the heart of their own content. The seminar is explicitly aimed at female entrepreneurs and managers who want to get their messages across with impact. Organizer is Female Business Seminars.

The most important in a nutshell:

Topic: Business Storytelling

Date: Friday, April 12 2019

Time: 08:30 to 17:00

Location: EKZ Zurich, Training Center, Überlandstrasse 2, 8953 Dietikon

Costs: CHF 640.- non-members, incl. business lunch, break catering and seminar documents; CHF 590.- for members, network partners, subscribers, media partners; CHF 550.- for members, FB Club-, corporate- and collective members

Registration: www.femalebusinessseminars.ch

In many cases, industrial plants are easy targets for hackers. Vulnerability management has been largely unknown in this environment, but above all, security awareness is also lacking. Companies therefore put themselves at the greatest risk of falling victim to cyber attacks, to which they are defenseless. Attackers specifically exploit this lack of awareness, as NTT Security's Global Threat Intelligence Report 2018 revealed: In Germany, the manufacturing industry accounted for 36 percent of all cyber attacks. That is, by comparison, significantly more attacks than on other industries - a strong indication that a large proportion targeted production facilities. In Switzerland, too, according to Reports from security experts the IT security of production facilities can be greatly improved.

By following five coordinated steps, manufacturing plant operators can significantly improve security, as recommended by NTT Security, a leading cyber security service provider.

1. Conduct a tool-based inventory of components. A company's production environment often contains thousands of OT (Operational Technology) components such as actuators, engineering workstations, HMIs (Human Machine Interfaces), PLCs (Programmable Logic Controllers), sensors or server-based SCADA systems. The inventory provides transparency and creates the prerequisite for efficient safety measures. It provides answers to the questions: Which OT components are actually present in the production environment? Who communicates with whom via which protocol? Which communication connections to the outside world, for example to the manufacturer, exist? Which of these are not required or not authorized? Are there uncontrolled maintenance channels?
2. Locate the security vulnerabilities of the OT components. The next step following the documentation of the existing OT infrastructure is to detect the existing vulnerabilities of the components - and to do so without disrupting the processes in the production network. Corresponding tools use real-time monitoring and analysis methods, detect deviations from expected behavior and point out security and process problems. This gives companies a good overview of the risk posed by the OT components in use.
3. Improve security with Smart Vulnerability Management. The starting point for vulnerability management is an inventory of the existing OT components. This is supplemented by a risk assessment, since each plant and the entire production environment have an individual risk profile. Companies must determine the existing risk - ideally supported by an external OT security specialist - based on a classification and evaluation of the data and processes that require protection. All further measures within the framework of a comprehensive vulnerability management strategy are then based on this, as is structured planning of the next steps to increase OT security. In doing so, it is important not to be under the illusion that all components can now be patched. Compensatory measures are often the only solution for reducing risks.
4. Deploy endpoint protection software. The use of endpoint protection software on engineering workstations and SCADA servers is recommended as a quick and efficient measure. This allows the systems to be effectively protected against malware of all kinds and cyber attacks. The software monitors all actions running on the computers and prevents potentially dangerous situations. In addition, for example, it can also determine whether there are any abnormal events in the network traffic. Here too, of course, there is a dependency on the manufacturer of the SCADA solution. Often, only approved products can be used.
5. Integrate OT security into an enterprise-wide IT security strategy. Companies need to bridge the security gap between the production world and the traditional IT world, which has extensive experience in implementing IT security. Management is responsible for overall security in the company and can delegate implementation to a Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), for example. Although the technical responsibility for the classic IT and the production systems should continue to lie with the departments, the responsibility for implementing and complying with the holistic security strategy in the company must be centralized.

"Companies are challenged to implement organizational and technical measures to significantly increase the IT security of production facilities. This includes implementing and adhering to a holistic security strategy that encompasses the traditional IT and OT worlds," says Christian Koch, Senior Manager GRC & IoT/OT at NTT Security. "Beyond that, however, manufacturers of components, sensors and machines must also take action. They need to progressively penetration test products already in use to detect vulnerabilities and proactively support customers in eliminating them. When developing new products, manufacturers must follow the security-by-design principle and involve security specialists and computer scientists in the project teams in addition to electrical engineers and engineers. This is the only way to sustainably increase the IT security of OT components in the long term."

More information: www.nttsecurity.com/ch

According to the IV-Stellen-Konferenz (IVSK), the consistently high number of reintegrations is a confirmation of the sustainable work of the IV offices - and also means responsibility and continuous further development. Behind every successful integration there are various players: employers who show openness and offer prospects; people with health restrictions who seize the opportunity offered - and finally integration consultants who mediate between employer and employee. "Our integration specialists play an essential role in the high number of jobs retained and new placements for people with health impairments," emphasizes Monika Dudle-Ammann, President of the IV Conference.

Employment agencies: Integration provides prospects

An interest in people, professional competence, excellent placement skills and a good "connection" with employers - the integration consultants need all these prerequisites for successful work. The number of job placements is collected annually from the 26 cantonal IV offices and published by the IV Office Conference. The 21,156 people who were integrated by the IV offices in 2018 include 11,925 people who were able to keep their jobs, 1,710 people who moved to a new job in the same company, and 6,887 people who found a job in a new company. In addition, 634 people with a current IV pension succeeded in gaining a foothold in the world of work thanks to IV support. This year's motto of the conference of the IV offices is also very much in the spirit of integration work: Integration provides perspectives.

Preserving as many jobs as possible through early intervention

The earlier employees' health problems are identified and the IV office is involved, the better and more quickly it can take the appropriate measures - either to maintain the existing job or to integrate the employee into a new job. The IV's early intervention measures were created for this purpose. The fact that they can often prevent job loss is also shown by the high proportion of people who are able to keep their jobs each year thanks to early intervention.

Source and further information: www.ivsk.ch

The import and export of goods is a complex subject. The Hamburg Chamber of Commerce has therefore made it its business to compile up-to-date information on the import regulations of other countries. The "K und M" is the reference work from practice for practice, which has been used for decades by the export industry, export trade and forwarding agents. It is now available in its 43rd edition. For the new edition, all information has been reviewed, supplemented in many places and changed.

Users will find a separate section for each country. This explains which accompanying documents are generally required for import into the respective country. The special features that need to be taken into account when drafting the documents are also explained. The authors have carefully researched this information, which is not always easy. Therefore, even the reference work cannot always guarantee that the information is complete. Nevertheless, "K und M" remains as up-to-date as possible: The reference work is updated by at least five regular supplements during its two-year run. In addition, the editorial team of "K und M" publishes daily updated information on the Internet. After all, only up-to-date information ensures export security.

For the new edition, the association Swiss Export has a Introductory offer:

• Book edition "K and M", 43rd edition, CHF 130.00 instead of CHF 155.00, including 5 supplements
• CD-ROM "K and M", 43rd edition, CHF 150.00 instead of 175.00, including 5 updates

Global M&A activity developed positively in 2018 with a year-on-year increase in value of 20%, while the number of transactions declined by 10% over the same period. Indecision characterized the macroeconomic and geopolitical environment in the second half of 2018, with multilateralism increasingly questioned, U.S. protectionism intensifying, and uncertainties around Brexit increasing. This macroeconomic uncertainty continues to prevail in 2019. Even though the economic situation in Switzerland remains positive, the tide can turn quickly here as well.

Increasing hesitation and procrastination in Switzerland as well

According to Deloitte's latest survey of Swiss CFOs, the Swiss economic outlook is less optimistic for the first time in over three years. This trend is confirmed in Deloitte's latest survey of Swiss boards of directors: Since summer 2018, the number of positive assessments of the economy has fallen by practically half.
M&A activity among Swiss SMEs remained stable overall in 2018 (see chart). In the second half of the year, however, the aforementioned uncertainties at both international and national level - Switzerland's relations with the EU or a possible renewed appreciation of the Swiss franc - led to a noticeable decline in transactions.

Swiss SMEs are coveted takeover targets for PE funds

This optimism is due not least to the growing interest of private equity funds in Swiss SMEs. In 2018, domestic and foreign private equity funds acquired 32 Swiss SMEs. This compares with 28 in the previous year and only 18 in 2015. After years of stability, the growing activity of Swiss funds is striking: while they were only responsible for around one-third of acquisitions of Swiss SMEs in 2017, their share already reached 44% last year. "Thanks to low interest rates and growing investment capital, private equity funds bought more small and medium-sized companies in 2018. With interest rates expected to remain low and financing conditions still favorable for funds, we expect this trend to continue in 2019," said Stephan Brücher, Partner Financial Advisory and Private Equity Leader at Deloitte Switzerland.

Preferred destinations thanks to good reputation

Swiss SMEs also stand for trust, know-how and reliability on an international level. Switzerland remains a pioneer in the development of many new technologies and Swiss SMEs are internationally recognized for their expertise in micro and medical technology, watchmaking or robotics. As in the previous year, buyers in 2018 again favored Swiss SMEs operating in the industrial sector (27 transactions), closely followed by companies in the technology, media and telecom sectors (25 transactions).

"The outlook for M&A activities of Swiss SMEs is positive overall for 2019. However, the number of transactions could decline slightly due to geopolitical tensions worldwide as well as in Europe. Swiss SMEs are valued not only for their niche expertise, but also for their great adaptability to the specifics of their home market. Despite a possible decline in M&A activity this year, SMEs, for their part, should continue to make acquisitions abroad in order to diversify their activities or strengthen their geographical presence. European companies, especially in neighboring countries and in the industrial sector, have been attractive targets for years," says Jean-François Lagassé, Partner Financial Advisory.

Source: www.deloitte.ch

One would like to assume that the term "digitalization" has actually already passed the zenith of hype. However, the 10th Unternehmensspiegel Ostschweiz, held on March 13, 2019 at the Pfalzkeller in St.Gallen, showed that digitalization will not be a change process that is ever completed. Digitization can also be understood as an umbrella term for new tools or to put it as a comparison: Digitization is the machine, and while it used to be powered by steam, innovations have led to fuel or electric drives that generate energy from diesel or the sun. Even if the machines have changed, they are still present and the process of change of the machines will probably never really be over.

Networked mousetraps

The new tools that are available, which in turn mean new ways of working or new business and customer benefits, were demonstrated by Prof. Dr. Rigo Tietz, Head of the Competence Center Strategy & Management at the Institute for Corporate Management at the University of Applied Sciences St.Gallen (IFU-FHS), using a variety of local examples: Among them were Parametric's mousetraps: companies in the food industry have strict hygiene regulations. At the same time, animal welfare regulations specify how mice must be caught and how long they may remain in the trap. Parametric's mousetraps are an Internet of Things product that detects when a mouse has been caught and only requests processing for those traps with confirmed catches. This eliminates a potentially significant number of labor hours: Even with only 3 minutes of work per mouse trap, an annual effort of several hundred hours of work time and several thousand francs of costs is incurred for 10 traps.

Something additional to something existing

In the 2017 SME Mirror of the IFU-FHS, 43% of the respondents identified digitization as an opportunity in the development and implementation of new business concepts. This is often something additional to something existing: There is a product (car) that is networked (the car can be rented via an Internet solution). The data generated through use enables optimization (the car transmits travel routes, which can be used to anticipate how many cars are needed where), and finally a business concept is enabled that is integrated into a smart, connected ecosystem (the card used to unlock the cars can also store tickets or ski tickets). This cascade shows the opportunities inherent in a digital business concept (data evaluation, mediation of supply and demand), although Rigo Tietz listed others, such as the fact that digital technologies can reduce activities and routine tasks and thus save effort and costs.

Advertising space "customized

While data security is probably not yet an issue with the aforementioned mousetraps, the monitoring of travel routes or the example of Advertima showed that there is also something unpleasant about digitization: Using visual sensors, the product looks at people in a shopping mall, for example, recognizes the person's gender and age by means of an algorithm, and displays suitable offers for this person on the advertising spaces the person walks past. The software can then "track" the person, e.g. to check whether the person subsequently asks for a displayed offer in the advertised store. For reassurance, the very strict Swiss data protection law can be mentioned here, which ensures that the individual data is deleted again immediately and only summarized "metadata" is kept and shared with the customers.

Blockchain in the real estate business

The strict Swiss regulations were also a topic in the panel discussion led by Prof. Dr. Roland Waibel, Head of IFU-FHS, between Dr. Michael Steiner, Chairman of the Executive Board of Acrevis Bank AG, St.Gallen and Domenic Kurt, CEO of Crowdli and Crowdlitoken AG, Frauenfeld, the latter company enabling investments in real estate using blockchain technology. Acrevis is investing 20 million in digitalization and automation, prioritizing the "customer interface" rather than processes: It wants to provide customers with as much freedom as possible in managing their banking transactions. As Michael Steiner explains, while it is to be expected that the longer these options are available, the more customers will demand them, what is generally the case with digitization projects is that you don't know when the time is right; when a technology will catch on. And if you are too early or too late, it hurts the company. The second issue that triggers uncertainty is that you don't know which technological solutions will prevail and survive in the long term.

Another Unternehmensspiegel Ostschweiz will take place on March 26 in Teufen, Appenzell. Source: www.fhsg.ch

People, markets and society will change fundamentally. New technologies are forcing companies to radically rethink their business models and offer enormous growth opportunities. But companies must also be able to take advantage of these opportunities. As a direct consequence, mastering the digital transformation means a huge effort, especially for existing companies. Old thought patterns and structures must be broken, and new approaches and business models must be developed. The pressure to innovate and change is becoming a continuous challenge - also for Swiss SMEs.

DigiBarometer: The most important results and findings

Against this backdrop, the Chief Digital Community (CDC), in collaboration with the Lucerne School of Information Technology, conducted the DigiBarometer for the first time in 2018 to survey the situation of Swiss SMEs with regard to digital transformation. By means of this survey, important insights into the situation of Swiss SMEs in the increasingly digitalized world could be gained, with the aim of raising awareness.

• 97 percent see digital transformation as an opportunity.
• 20 percent are successfully underway with digital transformation, 68 percent partially successful.
• 70 percent have anchored digital transformation in their corporate strategy, and 13 percent are planning to do the same.
• 49 percent have sufficient know-how internally, while 29 percent do not yet.
• Fifty-six percent gave no answer regarding the location of experts for digital transformation within the corporate structure. 24 percent mention the company management.
• 49 percent state that they have too few resources internally for digital transformation.
• 46 percent name products and services as the reaction area of digital transformation.
• 28 percent say their board of directors has a high level of knowledge, while a further 8 percent rate this as very high. This contrasts with 38 percent who rate their board of directors as having a low or very low level of knowledge.

SME boards of directors with sufficient know-how?

"Anchoring digital transformation in corporate strategy a driver of implementation success," the DigiBarometer study says of these results. And it goes on to say: "Overall, the proportion of very large companies with a strategic anchoring of digital transformation is higher than among smaller and very small companies, where there are almost no differences compared with the overall sample. Accordingly, one measure for SMEs is to take up and anchor the topic strategically, according to the study's recommendation for action.

In 58 percent of the cases, the respondents believe that their board of directors has a high or very high level of expertise in digital transformation if digital transformation is part of the corporate strategy. According to the study, this figure falls to 49 percent when the overall sample is considered. The explanation for this is that a board of directors with a high level of digital expertise will recognize digital transformation as a strategic imperative and anchor it in the strategy accordingly.

Source: www.chiefdigital.ch

Every two years, the Swiss Venture Club, a non-profit association for the promotion and support of SMEs in Switzerland, awards the Prix SVC entrepreneurship prize in various regions. On March 13, 2019, it was that time again in the Espace Mittelland region: six companies were in the final for the award and were able to present themselves to 1400 guests. Beforehand, they had prevailed in a multi-stage nomination process against 200 companies in the region. The award ceremony in the Kursaal Bern was hosted by Patrick Rohr.

Asic Robotics makes the running

First place went to the Burgdorf-based company Asic Robotics AG, led by CEO Milo Gasser. The company convinced the 16-member jury of experts in every respect. Thanks to its consistent focus on the exact needs of its customers, the company is now a leader in the field of automation solutions for all industries. From the idea, through conceptual design, to execution and commissioning, everything is carried out at the Burgdorf site. In his laudatory speech, jury president Walter Steinlin praised: "Asic Robotics has an exceptionally structured value proposition: the high-tech robots are supported from the initial contact to delivery and commissioning by the same project manager, who can rely on a consistently customer-oriented and operational workforce. This may sound simple, but it is a masterpiece of holistic management. Asic is thus sustainably and above-averagely successful." Asic Robotics employs 90 people. Milo Gasser is convinced that robotics in particular can contribute a great deal to maintaining Switzerland as a center of industry. Thanks to a high level of automation, industrial companies can continue to produce at competitive conditions in the future - and preserve jobs that would otherwise be lost due to production relocations.

Second and third place for Romantik Hotel Hornberg and Polydec SA

Second place goes to the Romantik Hotel Hornberg in Saanenmöser-Gstaad. Jury president Walter Steinlin emphasized in his laudation: "The managing couple Brigitte and Christian Hoefliger-von Siebenthal has created a strong brand with professional competence, focus on customer satisfaction, professional, prudent analysis of the market, continuous investment in infrastructure and personal enthusiasm and can thus hold its ground very successfully in a highly competitive market." Romantik Hotel Hornberg was founded in 1936 as a family business and employs 53 people.
Third place was awarded to the Biel-based company Polydec SA. Polydec SA is one of the world's leading suppliers of micro-turned parts. The company produces around half a billion high-precision parts per year for customers in the automotive, watchmaking, electrical and medical technology industries. Polydec was founded in 1985 by Claude and Jean-François Konrad. Since January 2019, Polydec SA has been led by CEO Pascal Barbezat and employs 70 people.

Other exemplary award winners

Other award winners of the evening are Domicil Bern AG, a leader in long-term care for senior citizens in the canton of Bern, the spirits producer Matter-Luginbühl AG, and Schneeberger AG Lineartechnik, a specialist in the field of linear technology. Roland Schaller, SVC Regional Manager Espace Mittelland, emphasizes: "We honor companies that belong to Switzerland's SME elite. Our focus is on exemplary companies that create jobs and help shape the Swiss economy. With the Prix SVC, we offer these companies a platform to showcase their success to the outside world. Last but not least, the attention that our award winners receive through the Prix SVC should also be an incentive for other companies."

www.swiss-venture-club.ch

Blockchain for practice: Thanks to clear structuring, numerous illustrations, practical examples and associated website access, "Blockchain" for practice provides a sound insight into the functionality and application fields of blockchain technology. In an accessible manner, a wide range of insights are conveyed for beginners as well as for advanced users.

The textbook, written by Pascal Egloff and Ernesto Turnes, is aimed at investors in cryptocurrencies and tokens, students in higher education and training, and anyone interested in learning more about the potential and functionality of blockchain technology.

"Blockchain for Practice" is available now via the website www.verlagskv.ch or available on all major retail platforms and in bookstores.