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Biberach is celebrating: Hairdresser Claus receives the medium-sized company award for commitment!
Claus Niedermaier from Biberach is awarded the Lea SME Prize for social responsibility. He promotes CSR through the Barber Angels Brotherhood.
Biberach is celebrating: Hairdresser Claus receives the medium-sized company award for commitment!
In Biberach, people are happy about a special award: Claus Niedermaier, the hairdresser and initiator of the Barber Angels Brotherhood, achieved first place in his category at the Lea SME Prize 2025. This prize, which has been awarded annually since 2007 for social responsibility in medium-sized companies, honors companies that have distinguished themselves through special corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities. The competition not only stands for performance, but also for commitment and recognition - with the motto “Performance – Commitment – Recognition” on the banner. As Schwäbische.de reports, this year a total of 221 companies from Baden-Württemberg were in the running for the coveted prize, and the standard of projects submitted was higher than ever.
Niedermaier, who founded the Barber Angels Brotherhood in 2016, has since been offering free haircuts to homeless and needy people. This initiative has now created over 1,000 members in eleven countries and has hairdressed more than 100,000 people. The Barber Angels Brotherhood not only provides hairstyles, but also takes care of hygiene products and small donations in kind. The commitment of such small and medium-sized companies to society is particularly appreciated by the laudator and state economics minister Nicole Hoffmeister-Kraut, who emphasizes the responsibility that companies bear in this regard.
Prize winners and their social responsibility
In addition to Claus Niedermaier, Weinimport Peter Riegel GmbH from Orsingen-Nenzingen and Kur- und Bäder GmbH Bad Dürrheim also received first place in their category. The award shows how diverse the projects are that companies initiate to address social challenges and how important collaboration with organizations from the third sector is. In this way, civic responsibility is not only honored but also promoted. This is also the aim of the prize, which places greater emphasis on cooperation between business and social institutions.
With over 3,500 award-winning projects since the award was introduced, the Lea SME Prize has made a significant contribution to social commitment in recent years. It is all the more evident that companies that work with social institutions, schools and clubs are very popular. The initiatives have a significant impact on civil society both locally and regionally.
Application and conditions of participation
The Lea SME Prize is open to companies with up to 500 employees. The application deadline for the next competition ends on March 31, 2025. As announced by the organizers, which include the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Labor and Tourism as well as Caritas and Diakonie in Baden-Württemberg, numerous exemplary projects will once again be presented. Such insights into social engagement are important for the public and strengthen a sense of community.
If you would like to find out more about the Lea Mittelstandspreis, take a look at the award website. You can find everything there, from the conditions of participation to further information about the award-winning projects in our beautiful Baden-Württemberg.
For Claus Niedermaier and the other award winners it is now time to continue with fresh enthusiasm and spread the idea of social commitment in the economy even further!