WAS IV Lucerne's Award goes to Sonnmatt and B. Braun Medical
Lucerne/Sempach – WAS IV Lucerne has awarded this year’s IV Prize to Sonnmatt Lucerne and B. Braun Medical. The award recognizes one SME and one large company for their strong commitment to the vocational integration of people with disabilities.
Sonnmatt Luzern AG and B. Braun Medical are the two winning companies of the IV Award Lucerne 2026. This honor has been presented annually since 2017 by Wirtschaft Arbeit Soziales (WAS) IV Lucerne, which is part of the Department of Health and Social Affairs of the Canton of Lucerne.
The prize is given to one small-to-medium-sized enterprise as well as one large company that have made outstanding contributions to the vocational integration and reintegration of people with disabilities. Each award comes with prize money of 10,000 Swiss francs. This year’s two winners demonstrate «how we can work together to provide security and create opportunities,» Esther Wüest, Deputy Director of WAS IV Lucerne, is quoted as saying in a statement.
Thanks to its close collaboration with WAS IV, Sonnmatt Lucerne can provide targeted support to employees with health issues, said its deputy director, Ruth Betschart. «When our employees face health challenges, we support and guide them. Thanks to WAS IV Lucerne, we regularly see good examples that demonstrate how such structures can be created through collaboration.»
For B. Braun Medical, the award is «a recognition of the excellent collaboration we have with WAS IV Lucerne and confirmation that our commitment is putting us on the right track», according to Claudia Tschopp, Head of Human Resources. The global medical technology company has its Swiss headquarters in Sempach in the canton of Lucerne as well as two additional locations in the canton: Escholzmatt and Lucerne.
«Companies that fulfill their social responsibilities, build a reliable network, and give people a chance deserve our deepest recognition and appreciation,» commented State Councilor Michaela Tschuor. Benno Muff, Head of Integration and Employers at WAS, said he hopes that «these examples will motivate other companies to give people with health impairments a chance, and that we will continue to be spoiled for choice when it comes to awarding the IV Award in the future.»
