VIDEOS OF THE WINNERS & THE WINNERS' SUBCONTRACTORS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE
Dentsply Sirona was the winner in the Foreign Company category. It operates in Vaud through Maillefer, a firm founded in Ballaigues in 1889 and today part of the Dentsply group. Dentsply Sirona is a leading global supplier of professional dental products, with offices in over 140 countries. Its comprehensive range of dental-health technology and other medical devices – all engineered and manufactured in-house – is designed to address the needs of dental professionals and their patients. The firm’s endodontic instruments for root canal treatments have been produced in Vaud for over 130 years. Dentsply Sirona employs around 18,000 people worldwide, including more than 700 in Vaud.
The Best Swiss Company winner was SICPA, a security provider that’s been family-owned since 1927. Based in Lausanne, SICPA currently has production sites and R&D centres on five continents. Its engineers develop cutting-edge technology for both physical and digital security. For instance, the company’s security ink is used to protect identity papers and other valuable documents, as well as banknotes. Most banknotes circulating in the world today – including in euros, US dollars and Swiss francs – incorporate SICPA technology. SICPA is also a leading provider of marking systems for secure product authentication, identification and tracing. It employs over 3,000 people worldwide, including nearly 1,000 in Chavornay and Prilly.
The Special Jury Award went to Paudex-based Flyability. Founded in 2014, Flyability is the market-leading supplier of drones for inspecting structures and equipment in confined spaces. With Flyability’s drones, operators can run critical inspections without having to shut down production sites. Not only is this cost-effective, but it prevents having to send workers into hazardous areas. The firm currently has around 100 customers in more than 50 countries and a variety of industries. Flyability is a pioneer in its field, sitting at the forefront of collision-resistant indoor drones capable of navigating complex spaces. It has over 120 employees, including 80 in Vaud.
The awards were handed out on 22 November 2022 by members of the selection panel and the three sponsor organisations. The ceremony was attended by Vaud State Councillor Isabelle Moret. The selection panel was chaired by former Vaud State Councillor Philippe Leuba and included Aude Pugin, Chairman of the Vaud Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CVCI); Rémi Walbaum, Chairman of Innovaud; Benoît Leleux, the Stephan Schmidheiny Professor of Entrepreneurship and Finance at IMD in Lausanne; and Marianne Schmid Mast, Dean of HEC Lausanne. It also included representatives from last year’s winners: Michael Morrissey, Executive Vice President & Head of Global Technical Operations at Incyte; Yassine Zaied, Chief Marketing & Strategy Officer at Nexthink; and Frederick Fenter, Chief Executive Editor at Frontiers.
Awarding local businesses in three categories
The Vaud International Business Awards were introduced in 2014 to recognise companies that have had their headquarters in Vaud for at least three years and have successfully expanded internationally. The companies must also play a role in boosting Vaud’s image abroad and creating jobs at home. Additional selection criteria for the Best Foreign Company award are whether the company’s goods and services are produced locally, how much it helps diversify the Vaud economy, how many of its suppliers are local, and how well it is integrated into the canton. Additional selection criteria for the Best Swiss Company award are how much the company helps train local workers, whether it has any joint R&D programs, and how much of its revenue is generated internationally. And finally, the additional selection criteria for the Special Jury award are how innovative the company is, how big of a role it plays in the local community, and to what extent it works with other local businesses.