Solothurn entrepreneur prize 2001

SHK. The Solothurn Entrepreneur Prize 2001, jointly awarded by the Solothurn Cantonal Government Council, the Solothurn Cantonal Trade Association and the Solothurn Chamber of Commerce and endowed with CHF 20,000, was shared by two companies. In the eyes of the jury, whose judgement was presented at the award ceremony by Christine Davatz (Messen), Vice Director of the Swiss Trade Association, the assessment of the numerous applications received allowed no other verdict.

Ryf AG Grenchen: for the first time, a commercial enterprise was honoured with the Solothurn Entrepreneur Award. 12 employees are currently responsible for the success of this small, fine company, which has transformed itself in just a few years from a shop into a successful trading, production and service company.

Some people are looking for devices that open their eyes to the wide world. Some are looking for devices with which they can capture moments. And some are looking for an insight into the smallest of worlds. Ryf AG in Grenchen is there to help them all. With help and advice. And with products. It's amazing how successful a company from the economic microcosm of the canton of Solothurn can become nationwide if it specialises - for example in the field of microscopy!

Everything is getting bigger: the companies, the markets, the key figures. But the interest of certain booming sectors of the economy - micromechanics, microelectronics, medical technology - is increasingly focussed on the small and smallest. Company owner Hans Ryf recognised this with a trained eye. And he put all his eggs in this basket with his Grenchen business. His foresight has paid off. Today, the original shop has become a company with production, demonstration and test rooms.

But Ryf AG would have remained a pure trading company in the tough competitive climate typical of the trade if it had not refined and expanded its product range in good time. An example of this agility is the realisation that even the well-known microscope manufacturers did not offer optimal lighting for the objects to be examined. Ryf found a light source in the USA that provided the required illumination with indirect and diffuse, but daylight-like light. And to prevent the lights from flickering, a high-frequency control system was developed - in the canton of Solothurn, no less - to ensure that the amount of light could be regulated. In 2000 alone, around 1000 of these lights, some of them customised, were sold nationally and internationally.

The jury of the Solothurn Entrepreneur Award honours Ryf AG as an example and role model of how it can be possible for a commercially structured company to use economic crises as opportunities. The company, which specialises in trading, maintaining and customising optical devices, did not sit back and watch the recession unfold. Instead, it used the time to make a name for itself in niches. Today, Ryf AG serves customers in the watchmaking, cleanroom technology, medical technology, microtechnology and plastics processing sectors. The jury particularly recognised the flexibility of the company, which has expanded its range to include technologically advanced in-house products as well as services such as training, equipment maintenance and equipment modification.