Seven-Air Gebr. Meyer AG wins the Prix SVC Central Switzerland 2018
The winner of the Prix SVC Central Switzerland 2018 is Seven-Air Gebr. Meyer AG from Lucerne and Hitzkirch. The family-owned company produces and distributes innovative and energy-saving ventilation and air-conditioning units for the comfort and process sectors.
On June 12, the Swiss Venture Club (SVC) honored exemplary small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the region for the seventh time with the Prix SVC Central Switzerland 2018. The event offered the more than 1,300 invited guests from business, science, politics and the media insights into the impressive and diverse entrepreneurship of Central Switzerland. The award ceremony in the KKL Luzern was hosted by Nik Hartmann. The sponsor and initiator of the Prix SVC is the Swiss Venture Club, an independent, non-profit association for the promotion and support of SMEs in Switzerland. Christoph Baggenstos, SVC Regional Manager Central Switzerland, emphasizes: "We award companies that belong to the SME elite in Switzerland. 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."
First place for Seven-Air Gebr. Meyer AG from Lucerne
Founded in 1971 and managed in the second generation by the brothers Christoph and Tobias Meyer, Seven-Air Gebr. Meyer AG specializes in the manufacture and sale of air conditioners and air conditioning systems worldwide. The company focuses on high quality and optimized energy use with heat recovery and high insulation values in its products and solutions. The units are robust, easy to maintain and simple to operate. Jury President Urban Camenzind, Director of Economic Affairs for the Canton of Uri, praised the winner in his laudation: "Seven-Air convinces with high quality and environmental awareness, combined with competence, continuity and reliability. The jury is impressed by the high depth of consolidation as well as the countless innovations in the production process." He also praised the exemplary corporate culture: "The many years of service of many employees is no coincidence. Seven-Air's company music and its own soccer team manifest this exemplary corporate culture." Seven-Air, with its headquarters in Lucerne and production site in Hitzkirch, is today the market leader in Switzerland with its approximately 400 employees. Numerous reference projects - from the Gotthard Base Tunnel and the Monte Rosa Hut to office buildings in the USA, Japan, Russia and Indonesia - attest to Seven-Air's leading position. According to its own figures, Seven-Air Gebr. Meyer AG has a market share of 60 percent in Switzerland.
Veriset AG and Rigitrac Traktorenbau AG in second and third place, respectively
Second place goes to the market leader in Swiss kitchen construction, Veriset AG. Founded in 1999, the company now employs 270 people and, thanks to new production facilities, has state-of-the-art production technology, high flexibility in production and cost leadership in Swiss kitchen construction. With its "Design to Cost" model, the company, led by owner Ueli Jost, manages to develop cost-optimized kitchens according to a predefined target price and, with its "Digital Kitchen", networks all kitchen appliances on a single platform, thus opening up new cooking experiences with great added value for its customers. Bronze is awarded to Rigitrac Traktorenbau AG, whose company foundation began with the vision of building its own tractor. Since then, the family business founded by Marlis and Sepp Knüsel has been setting new standards in slope mechanization and in the tractor market in general with ongoing innovations, including the center pivot joint. Quality and perfection are the top priorities in development and production. In addition to all four Knüsel daughters, the company now employs 40 people.
Awards for Bergkäserei Aschwanden, Bruno's Best AG and Stanserhorn-Bahn AG
Also honored were the Aschwanden mountain cheese dairy from Seelisberg, with its mountain cheese made from hay milk, Bruno's Best AG from Sarnen, known for its popular Bruno's Best salad sauces, and Stanserhorn-Bahn AG from Stans, which created a tourism attraction and world first with its CabriO-Bahn. Overall, the awarding of the Prix SVC Central Switzerland 2018 - like the award ceremonies in the other regions, by the way - once again demonstrated the undisputed innovative strength of Swiss companies, some of which are hardly known to the general public.
