Frewitt is awarded the 2016/17 Innovation Prize
Yesterday evening at the Forum Fribourg, Frewitt Manufacturer of Machines Ltd. of Granges-
GRANGES-PACCOT Every two years, the Economic Affairs Directorate honours
the most innovative Fribourg companies with a special innovation prize. The prize is endowed with 10,000 Swiss francs
and has been awarded throughout the past 25 years. A total of 33 Fribourg companies
competed for the 2016/17 Innovation Prize. An expert jury headed up by the
Director of Economic Affairs, Beat Vonlanthen, then selected the three finalists for the
company prize: Frewitt Manufacturer of Machines Ltd. of Granges-Paccot, Phonak Communications AG of Gurwolf, and Samvaz AG of Châtel-St-Denis. Yesterday evening,
the winners were announced in front of around 400 guests at the Forum Fribourg.
Edgar Jeitziner, president of the General Directorate of the Fribourg Cantonal Bank, presented
first-place honours to Antoine Virdis, CEO of
Frewitt Manufacturer of Machines Ltd. Frewitt developed the “FreDrive-Lab” crushing system,
which can be employed in research labs in the pharmaceutical, fine chemicals and food
industries. It features a platform that contains six different
milling technologies: Each milling head attachment can be
replaced in just a few seconds. Thanks to this technology, the FreDrive-Lab enables particle sizes to be reduced
from 20 millimetres down to 50 nanometres with grinding capacities ranging from a few grams up to
50 kilograms per hour for pilot-scale quantities. With its workforce of 80 employees, the company exports
its innovations to over 80 countries.
