SVC releases podcast with Stephan Hirt from Schwob AG

(CONNECT) Stephan Hirt and his company Schwob AG based in Burgdorf in the canton of Bern, Switzerland, are the focus of a new podcast episode of KMUStorys. This series covering successful SMEs in Switzerland is produced by the Swiss Venture Club (SVC), which has awarded third place to Schwob AG in its Prix SVC Espace Mittelland 2025 in March.

Schwob employs around 240 staff at its own jacquard weaving mill, where the long-standing company with a rich tradition develops and manufactures high-quality table and bed linen for hotels, restaurants, hospitals and residential homes. To meet its cleaning needs, Schwob operates five laundries of its own, in addition to working with 30 local partner laundries. “Combining the two business areas of textile industry and laundry services into the new full-service rental linen service was a cultural shift”, Hirt states. “But we have successfully grasped the requirements of our customers”.

In addition to its own weaving mill, where individually finished, high-quality textiles for hotels, restaurants, clinics and residential homes are manufactured, Schwob AG also operates cutting-edge industrial laundries and works with more than 30 partner laundries. “Rather than driving trucks right across Switzerland, we work in the respective regions instead”, Hirt says.

Asked by the host of the podcast, Oliver Steffen, as to whether weaving in Switzerland is still a worthwhile endeavor in light of cheap foreign competition, Hirt replies: “We want to continue the 153-year history of Schwob into the future”. If price were the only consideration, “then perhaps we are not the right partner; but that can’t be our goal. Quality and longevity are our hallmarks. Schwob textiles can be washed 300 or 400 times”.

In addition, the company, of which Hirt is the owner and managing director, has “a heap of good answers” ​​on the topic of sustainability, he says: “Our work is based in Switzerland, we have the expertise that we maintain and that no longer exists in weaving, we have short delivery pathways”. And: “Our aim is also to be first movers in terms of sustainability: this means using less water and less detergent, in addition to lowering energy consumption”. ce/mm