Zug Innovation Prize awarded to start-up software company Pickwings

The 2018 Zug Innovation Prize has been won by the start-up Pickwings AG company of Baar for the software it developed to cut down on the number of lorries and vans travelling with no cargo. In winning this prestigious prize Pickwings saw off competition from 21 other entries.

Marc Bolliger, the CEO and founder of Pickwings (on the right in the photograph), was presented with the prize, worth CHF 20,000, by Matthias Michel, the head of the Cantonal Department of Economic Development (on the left). It was mentioned how the development of this app had meant 11 new jobs being created, with a further 15 more expected by the end of 2019.

“These days you can do so much on demand,” said Bolliger, mentioning holidays, SBB tickets and health insurance as examples. “So far, lorries have not been included, but now with this Uber-style app, they have.”

The CEO went onto explain how every fourth lorry in the country today is travelling empty, something that can be greatly reduced with this app. As with Uber taxis, any lorry travelling empty in the near vicinity can be called up to transport something, which can also be tracked in real time, too. In fact, the service has been up and running for the past two years, with no fewer than 300 transport operators with 3,000 lorries already on board, allowing three quarters of a million kilometres of otherwise wasted journeys to be saved. What is more, emissions of CO2 are reduced at the same time, of course.

Indeed, Bolliger was very pleased to be able to cite Roche, V-Zug and Bossard among his customers. He mentioned how he hit on the idea after working in the transport business himself. “It struck me that there was no channel through which hauliers could get orders electronically,” he said.

As to what Bolliger would do with the CHF 20,000 prize, he said he would invest some in the product, but also organise a team outing with a good bottle of schnapps.