Spielhofer cheeses, in St-Imier, winner of the SVC French-speaking Switzerland Prize

(Keystone-ATS) The ceremony for the 11th edition of the SVC Suisse Romande Prize took place Tuesday evening at the SwissTech Convention Center at EPFL, in front of an audience of 1,000 people. The 2024 winner was selected from a panel of 80 SMEs submitted for examination by the jury, then selected for the final which brought together five nominated companies.

Flagship product

Fromages Spielhofer processes more than 45,000 liters of milk daily, purchased from more than 60 local farmers. Its assortment includes 20 types of hard and semi-hard cheeses, made with raw milk produced with non-siled fodder, as well as mountain butter.

Tête-de-Moine is its flagship product. Spielhofer Cheeses markets 45% of the global tonnage of this AOP cheese and exports 80% of its production to 65 countries. The cheese factory also produces a Gruyère AOP on its Sonvilier (BE) site, which is carbon neutral.

The cheese factory employs between 80 and 120 employees in the region depending on the season and 230 for the entire group, notes the organizers’ press release. The latter includes five subsidiaries, including one in Kyrgyzstan, created as part of a development project.

Podium completed

Founded in 1966, the Codec company, active in precision micro-turning, took second place on the podium. As for third place, it goes to Jean Singer & Cie, an independent family manufacturer since 1919 which industrially manufactures high-end dials for major Swiss watch brands.

The graduate places were allocated to the companies Gotec, in St-Léonard (VS), and Medistri, in Domdidier (FR), ex aequo. The first develops and manufactures electromagnetic pumps for professional devices, while the second is specialized and certified in the sterilization of medical devices.

The determining examination criteria retained by the jury, made up of 17 independent experts, are the products and services offered, the quality of management, commercial success and future potential, the capacity for innovation, the corporate culture and commitments to the economic and social fabric of their region.

Responsible for and creator of the SVC Prize, the SVC (for Swiss Venture Club) is an independent non-profit association, “designed by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs”. Its particular objective is to support and promote the engine of the Swiss economy, SMEs.