The Jura Arc is not limited to its watchmaking industry, as evidenced by the 11th SVC Suisse Romande Prize, of which Time is a partner. This year he crowned the Fromages Spielhofer company, located in Saint-Imier in the French-speaking part of the canton of Bern.
The company succeeds Mecaplast (FR) in the winners of a competition which aims to reward an SME that is particularly exemplary in its management, its business model or its commitment to training the next generation. Under the leadership of its president, Isabelle Harsch, the jury composed of 17 independent experts considered that the winning company responded particularly well to these different criteria. He ended a suspense of several months by revealing his name on Tuesday, during a ceremony held at the SwissTech Convention Center on the EPFL campus.
Between tradition and modernity
Founded in 1982 by the father of its current managers, the winning SME owes its growth to the manufacture of Tête de Moine. Also a producer of Gruyère, it produces and refines with artisanal traditions, while using state-of-the-art industrial means. It processes more than 45,000 liters of milk daily, purchased from around sixty farmers in the surrounding area. The company, which employs around a hundred employees in Switzerland, exports each year to Europe but also to the United States three quarters of its annual production of around 3,000 tonnes. Over time, it has also developed new specialties, for example having just launched a new cheese called L’Horloger.
“We particularly appreciated the ability of this company to innovate in a very traditional sector by making significant investments to diversify its activities and continue its development,” notes Isabelle Harsch in the press release published on the sidelines of the ceremony. A determining element was also the contribution of this company to its region, through the international influence it offers local products.” Since 2016, the company Fromages Spielhofer has also operated a joint venture in Kyrgyzstan, a former republic of the Soviet Union which had specialized in milk-based products.
The winner is ahead of the Neuchâtel SMEs Codec and Jean Singer. The first of the two is active in bar turning but has always kept its distance from the watchmaking industry which represents the only market for the second, known for its watch dials. The companies Gotec (VS) and Medistri (VD) complete the list.
