Anton and Christoph Frommelt are this year’s winners of the Entrepreneur of the Year Award in Liechtenstein. The two engineers received the prize during an award night for their remarkable entrepreneurial achievements. HTL-qualified architect Christoph Frommelt is a lecturer at the Institute of Architecture and Planning at the University of Liechtenstein.
In 1991, Anton and Christoph Frommelt took over the family carpentry business, Zimmerei Frommelt, from their father. Since then, the company based in Schaan has undergone huge developments: the traditional carpentry with just a few employees has become a leading innovator in timber construction in the region, with over 50 staff. On 14 October 2011, both brothers were awarded the title of Liechtenstein Entrepreneur of the Year for their achievements.
Top service provider in timber construction
“The Frommelt brothers have turned a 135-year-old traditional Liechtenstein carpentry business into a highly innovative supplier of timber housing. By improving parts of the traditional value chain and a captivating interaction of innovations involving man, culture and machine, they have created a modular system for individualized timber construction concepts,” was the assessment of the competition’s jury.
The two trained carpenters, with degrees in Timber Engineering and Business and Engineering, won over the jury with their innovative supply system and a culture based on ecological values and a love of wood. Deputy Prime Minister, Martin Meyer, is also delighted, “With this year’s winner of the Entrepreneur of the Year Award, we have an excellent representative of Liechtenstein as a place of work. An SME – and a family business – which is expanding innovatively and setting new standards in niche markets. These SMEs are exactly what our business sector stands for.”
During a celebratory award night in the SAL in Schaan, the brothers Anton and Christoph Frommelt received the coveted 2011 Entrepreneur of the Year Award.
VIP award night
Around 150 guests took part in the prize-giving ceremony in the SAL in Schaan on 14 October 2011, including numerous VIPs from Liechtenstein, Switzerland and Austria. The competition is sponsored by the Government of the Principality of Liechtenstein, the University of Liechtenstein and Ernst & Young Ltd. This is the second time the competition has taken place, and it can be seen as a great success: 15 candidates made it to the finals for the selection of the best businessperson of the year. All candidates were honoured by Martin Meyer, Deputy Prime Minister, Urs Baldegger from the Institute for Entrepreneurship at the University of Liechtenstein, and Heinrich Christen from Ernst & Young Ltd., for their huge entrepreneurial achievements in previous years.
Frommelts represent Liechtenstein in Monaco
The internationally oriented business prize Entrepreneur of the Year promotes entrepreneurial achievements. Under the sponsorship of Ernst & Young Ltd., the search for the Entrepreneur of the Year takes place annually in over 50 countries, with more than 10,000 candidates participating. As a particular high point, one winner from each country – including the 2011 winner from Liechtenstein – is offered a unique opportunity to take part in the World Entrepreneur of the Year competition in Monte Carlo, in the spring of the following year. The first Liechtenstein Entrepreneur of the Year was Harti Weirather in 2009. He is the owner and Managing Director of the sports marketing agency WWP Weirather-Wenzel & Partner AG with its head office in Gamprin.
Independent jurors
In a selection process lasting several months, an independent jury chose this year’s candidates for the award night and the Entrepreneur of the Year Award in Liechtenstein. The jury comprised the following people: Egbert Appel, Managing Director of the Hilti Foundation, Barbara Artmann, owner of Künzli SwissSchuh AG, Holger Dahmen, CEO of Wolford AG, Peter Gerner, CEO Heating Technology of Hoval AG, Ulrich Dörnhaus, CEO of Doernhaus Consulting GmbH, Reto Gurtner, President of the Weissen Arena Gruppe Management Board, and Magnus Tuor, Managing Director of Messtechnik AG.