List of the 3 largest companies in the canton of Lucerne

More than 40 percent of the gross domestic product in Central Switzerland is generated in the canton of Lucerne. Company locations are concentrated in the area around the cantonal capital of Lucerne:

1) ALSO Holding AG (Emmen)

ALSO is a Swiss technology group in the field of information and communication technology. The company was founded in Hergiswil in 1984 and merged with the German ICT provider Actebis in 2011. Initially, it operated under the name ALSO-Actebis-Holding, since 2013 only as ALSO Holding. The business is divided into Supply (hardware and software offerings), Solutions (support for customers in IT solutions), and Service (subscription-based cloud offerings, platforms for Ceyberscurity, AI, and Virtuality). In 2022, ALSO generated revenues of 12.6 billion euros with over 4,000 employees. The majority shareholder (51.3 percent) of ALSO Holding AG is Special Distribution Holding, which in turn belongs to the Düsseldorf-based Droege Group.

2) Schindler Aufzüge AG (Ebikon)

Schindler was founded in Lucerne as early as 1874 and initially manufactured machinery for the agricultural sector. In 1892, the company changed its business model and shifted its focus to elevators. Thanks to the hotel boom at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, the business grew rapidly. Today, Schindler is the world’s No. 2 supplier of elevators, escalators, and moving walks. Schindler Aufzüge AG is the legal shell for the operating business. The Group’s investments and subsidiaries are brought together under the umbrella of Schindler Holding AG in Hergiswil. The Group employs around 70,000 people. Sales in 2022 amounted to CHF 11.3 billion.

3) Emmi AG (Lucerne)

“Emmi” is a Swiss dairy brand and also stands for the largest milk processing company in Switzerland. At the beginning of Emmi’s history was the foundation of the “Zentralschweizerischer Milchverband Luzern” (MVL). In 1947, soft cheese and yogurt production began in Emmen. The name “Emmi” is derived from this. Emmi has long since outgrown its regional boundaries and produces dairy products on an international scale. Less than half of its sales are still generated in Switzerland, with the larger remainder generated abroad. The Emmi Group employed around 9,000 people in 2022, with sales reaching CHF 4.2 billion.

Picture source: Tom Bradley via Unsplash (29.04.2023)