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SWISS BUSINESS NEWS

 

 

SPRING 2009

 

 

Top of the News

 

Switzerland, Sweden, Finland, Germany, Denmark and the UK are the innovation leaders of Europe according to the European Innovation Scoreboard 2008 (EIS). The data collected was measured via aspects such as Human Resources - the availability of high-skilled and educated people, Finance and support – the availability of finance for innovation projects and the support of governments for innovation activities and economic effects – captures the economic success of innovation in employment, exports and sales due to innovation activities.

 

 

Wins and Updates

 

Ft. Worth, Texas-based Alcon Inc., a $6.8 billion eye-care company with operations in more than 75 countries, has established its EMEA headquarters in Geneva with an initial staff of 30 recruited locally and from other Alcon operations.  Activities include marketing and management as well as international R&D coordination. The company’s global administrative activities are in Fribourg.   

 

NERA Economic Consulting, a leading global provider of economic advice and analysis in business, legal, and regulatory matters, has established an office in Geneva. It is NERA's seventh in Europe, and gives the firm a physical presence in Switzerland for the first time.

 

Maryland-headquartered financial assets manager T Rowe Price Group Inc has opened an office in Zurich.

Toronto-based financial services provider, RBC Capital Markets, a subsidiary of Ontario-headquartered Royal Bank of Canada, has announced the opening of its new representative office in Lugano. With other offices already located in Geneva and Lausanne, the newest office brings the total RBC headcount in Switzerland to over 100 persons.

 

North Carolina-based Lord Corporation, a provider of adhesive, coating and motion management technologies to the aerospace and automotive industries, has established its new European headquarters in Geneva following several acquisitions on the continent. Reported criteria that influenced the decision included the pragmatism of the Swiss labor law, the availability of a qualified multilingual workforce, Geneva’s spirit of international open-mindedness and Switzerland’s well known neutrality. The company currently employs 13 people in Geneva with plans to eventually expand to a level of 30 persons.

 

New York-based Endicott Interconnect Technologies Inc has created a European office in Port, located near Berne, to serve customers in the EU and Scandinavia, as well as Eastern Europe, Russia and Israel. The company supplies advanced electronic packaging solutions including PCBs, semiconductor packaging and assembly services.

 

Viterra Inc, Canada's leading agribusiness, has opened a new office in Geneva to develop and implement the company's growth platform and international arbitrage logistics in the region.

 

This includes expansion of Viterra's grain marketing and origination capabilities in major grain-exporting countries in Europe and the pursuit of new value added businesses.

 

California-based Stemedica Cell Technologies, a provider of adult stem cell research and manufacturing, has established Stemedica International in Epalinges, near Lausanne.

 

Pennsylvania based software and IT company SunGard Data Systems, Inc. acquired Zurich based Genix Systems AG.  The Swiss company provides customer information systems to the private banking sector.

 

Clarity Systems, a Canadian specialist in corporate performance management and external reporting solutions has established an office in Geneva. The office will be headed by Mr. Jerome Lefebvre and Miss Li Ming.

 

 

Reverse Investments

 

Genentech and Roche have reached agreement to combine the two organizations and create a leader in healthcare innovation.  Roche will acquire the outstanding publicly held shares for a reported total payment of US $46.8 billion. As a result of the mega deal, Roche will reportedly close its manufacturing operations in Nutley during 2010 and reposition the long established New Jersey site to focus on cancer treatment and R&D.

 

Vevey, Switzerland based Nestle SA has opened a new factory and beverage distribution center in Anderson, Indiana.

 

Pharmaceutical giant Novartis has acquired the exclusive option to the lead product focusing on treatments for kidney and vascular diseases of Waltham, MA based Proteon Therapeutics, Inc. The ultimate deal could be worth in excess of $500 million.

 

Rapperswil-based Weidmann Electrical, a global leader in insulation materials and technology for the energy and manufacturing industries, has entered into an agreement to buy oil testing labs in Denver, Burlington, Ontario and Montreal from GE Energy.

 

EMD Serono, the Swiss-German based drug firm, has opened a new research facility in Cambridge, MA.  The Cambridge lab, which will cover 18,000 square feet, will eventually house nearly 50 scientists across disciplines including neurobiology, pharmacology and chemistry.

 

Zurich Financial Services will purchase the car insurance unit, 21st Century, from American International Group for a reported $1.9 billion.  21st Century, based in Wilmington, DE, operates in 49 states and Washington, D.C.

 

From The Foreign Desk

 

Drees & Sommer AG, a German service provider in the real estate industry, has entered the Swiss market with the establishment of a branch office in Zurich.

 

Finland-based Neste Oil Corporation, a refining and marketing company specializing in cleaner traffic fuels, has opened a trading office in Geneva. Neste Oil (Suisse) SA currently employs 32 people and plans to create further positions by 2010. According to Heikki Saarinen, director of the Swiss operation, the company selected Geneva as a place to set up their new office because the city has become the most important commodity trading hub in Europe.

 

UK company M&C Saatchi PLC, which is engaged in advertising and marketing services, has announced the opening of its new office in Geneva to further enhance its European network.

 

Also from the UK Diligence LLC, a business intelligence consulting firm, has announced that it is to open a new office in Geneva.

 

Lidl, the German supermarket firm, entered Switzerland in April with the opening of 13 stores. The outlets will be located in seven cantons throughout the country, including Lucerne and Zurich.

 

China-based Tralin Pak, the world’s leading alternative supplier of aseptic packaging materials to Tetra PakTM filling machines has established its European headquarters in Winterthur.

 

Bermuda-based asset management company Lazard plans to set foot in Geneva by the end of 2009 to serve the French customers in the country.

 

German IT company K-iS Systemhaus has opened a branch office in Ziegelbrücke in the Linth Technology Center in the Greater Zürich Area.

 

Also from Germany, IT consulting company and service provider itemis AG has opened a branch office in Windisch in the Canton of Aargau. Based in Lünen, Germany, the firm is a leader in the field of model-driven software development and has about 130 employees overall.

 

 

Other News

 

Switzerland ranks third in Europe behind Denmark and Sweden in the 2008-2009 Global Information Technology Report issued by the World Economic Forum in cooperation with INSEAD and sponsored by Cisco Systems.  The report covers 134 economies worldwide and underlines the point that good education fundamentals and high levels of technological readiness and innovation are essential engines of growth needed to overcome the current economic crisis.

 

Switzerland, Austria and Germany have the most attractive environments for developing the travel and tourism industry, according to the 2009 Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report, published by the World Economic Forum. Among the top 10 countries, France (4), Canada (5), Sweden (8) and Singapore (10) have also registered improvements.

 

The Cushman & Wakefield “Office Space around the World” survey for 2009 ranks Zurich 12th in a list of the most expensive cities in 57countries. In the country compilation Zurich and Geneva are listed with annual rents at $87.96 and $77.62 per square foot respectively per year.

 

The Heterogeneous Technology Alliance (HTA), an organization bringing coherence and synergies between teams and research infrastructures in the field of miniaturisation and system integration, has established 4-Labs in Geneva with the main mission of commercializing HTA technologies across Europe. With a staff of more than 5000 scientists and a portfolio of more than 3000 patents, HTA is de facto the largest European institute in the field. www.hta-online.eu

 

Ernst & Young, SWX, SECO and KTI/CTI have released the Swiss Biotech Report for 2009 noting that the sector continued growing in 2008. Although risk capital proved harder to come by than in the record year of 2007, the sector nonetheless managed to expand by achieving higher sales, licensing new products and starting up new companies.

 

The announcement also noted that the latest figures suggest that the biotech sector remains a growth industry. For example, in 2008 Swiss biotech companies generated combined sales of more than CHF 8.7 billion, roughly 7% up on the previous year. Investments in research and development (R&D) by both private and listed companies also rose, totaling CHF 2,070 million (up from CHF 1,755 million in 2007), an increase of 18%.

 

The trend towards more start-ups of new Swiss biotech companies continued in 2008. There are now 229 biotech companies based in Switzerland (as against 220 in 2007), including 159 biotech development companies and 70 biotech suppliers. The main focus of Swiss biotech business is still on so-called red‟ biotechnology, i.e. human and veterinary medicine.  The report is located at http://www.swissbiotechassociation.ch/swiss_biotech_report_2009

 

 

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