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SWISS BUSINESS NEWS

 

 

WINTER 2008-2009

 

 

Top of the News

 

2009 marks the 40th anniversary of the landing on the moon. From the legendary Omega Speedmaster watch, worn on the wrists of many astronauts, to atomic clocks for satellites; from capsule launchers for rockets, to motors for NASA’s Mars Rover, Switzerland has been a provider of advanced technology since the start of the space race. Building on this tradition, Switzerland has now developed a national space policy that strengthens its commitment to space exploration and research and promotes the Swiss space industry. Swiss expertise crosses the ocean to NASA, as well. Swiss astrophysicist Claude Nicollier was the first foreigner ever to be granted mission specialist status and has flown four missions with NASA. Switzerland’s contribution to American and European space policies will be celebrated at a March 26 event in Washington, D.C.

 

 

Wins and Updates

 

Microsoft has announced a significant expansion of the Microsoft Development Center in Zurich where staffing is expected to grow to 200 in the coming three years from 45 today. The company cited excellent infrastructure, proximity to world-class universities, political and economic stability, as well as access to a multi-lingual and well-educated talent pool of IT professionals and developers as among the decisive factors to increase the stake in Zurich as its location of choice for the Development Center expansion.

 

Toronto-based Patheon Inc., a global provider of drug development and manufacturing services to the international pharmaceutical industry, has opened its new European headquarters in Zug. A staff of approximately 25 will manage Patheon’s commercial and pharmaceutical development services sales, marketing and customer support activities in Europe.

 

Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ HLIT) has opened its new international operations center in Fribourg to manage all of the company’s commercial operations outside of the US. Based in Sunnyvale, CA, Harmonic provides video solutions enabling the delivery of broadcast and on-demand services.

 

Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ: PEGA), a leader in Business Process Management (BPM) software, has opened its seventh European office, Pegasystems AG, in the heart of the financial district of Zürich.  

 

Jet Professionals, a division of the Jet Aviation Group of Companies, is expanding its services to the EMEA region by opening an office in Zurich, Switzerland. Initially, the Zurich office will offer crew services including full-time placement and contract pilots, flight attendants and other flight department personnel. Looking ahead, Jet Professionals plans to expand its capabilities in the EMEA region to eventually offer staffing for maintenance and completions positions.

 

The Board of Tyco Electronics Ltd. unanimously approved a proposed change of the company’s place of incorporation from Bermuda to Switzerland pending shareholder approval.  Tyco’s presence in Switzerland dates from 1985 and includes corporate administrative operations, four manufacturing facilities and approximately 1,000 Swiss employees.

 

3M of St. Paul, Minnesota acquired Ligacon AG, a Switzerland based manufacturer and supplier of filtration systems and filter elements for the pharmaceutical, biotech and industrial markets.  Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

 

 

Reverse Investments

 

The roundtable on sustainable biofuels, based in Lausanne, has established an office for the Americas in Chatham county, North Carolina.  The Swiss organization intends to bring together hundreds of growers, producers, and users of biofuels in an attempt to create a seal of approval for biofuels using ecologically sound methods.

 

Nestle S.A., the world’s biggest food company in terms of sales and based in Vevey has announced plans to invest an additional $75 million in its Fremont campus in Michigan.  The company’s subsidiary Gerber Products is based in Fremont and the expansion will create an additional 200 jobs on top of the 1,100 persons already based there.

 

Swiss giant, Novartis, will reportedly receive an additional $487 million form the US Department of Health and Human Services for its cell-culture flu vaccine plant in Holly Springs, North Carolina.  The facility, which will boost US vaccine production twenty-five percent when fully operational in 2012, has been under construction since 2007 when the company was awarded its original contract.

 

The Helsinn Group, a privately owned pharmaceutical company based in Lugano, announced the acquisition of Sapphire Therapeutics Inc, a US biotech company based in Bridgewater, New Jersey. The acquisition is intended to allow the Swiss company to expand its product pipeline, particularly in cancer supportive care.

 

Switzerland based Lonza is reportedly investing $26 million to expand its cell therapies facility in Walkersville, Maryland.  The firm will install three 10,000 cell production suites as well as additional clean room and processing space. The Walkersville site, which currently employs 450 persons, is projected to add another 80 new jobs due to the expansion.

 

Montvale, New Jersey based Memory Pharmaceuticals, a biotech firm specializing in treatments of Alzheimer’s disease and ailments is being acquired by Switzerland’s Roche based in Basle.

 

 

 

From The Foreign Desk

 

Bermuda-based law firm Appleby Hunter Bailhache established a presence in Switzerland when it opened an office in Zurich in December 2008.

 

Also from Bermuda, financial services provider ACE Ltd has launched a new Swiss insurance company after the re-domestication of its holding company to Zurich in July 2008. ACE Insurance (Switzerland) Limited, the new company, will be a subsidiary of ACE Limited and manage the insurance and reinsurance business of the Zurich branch, strengthening the company's position in the Swiss market.

 

Making a similar move from the sun to the snow are two other giants, Foster Wheeler and Weatherford International.  Both will be establishing their presence in Canton Zug. Foster Wheeler is a major engineering and construction company with 14,000 employees worldwide. Houston based Weatherford International, one of the world’s largest providers of equipment and services for offshore oil and gas production, announced that it will re-domesticate its company to Switzerland, after shareholder approval and other regulatory approvals are received during the first half of this year.

 

The Bank of China, the second largest Chinese bank, has opened two subsidiaries in Geneva, becoming the first Chinese banking group to establish a presence in Switzerland.

 

Deutsche Bank has opened a new representative office in St Moritz to enhance its private wealth management activities in Switzerland for high-net-worth individuals. Currently, the bank has offices in Zurich, Geneva and Lugano.

 

Also from Germany, Hamburg based internet marketing and advertising specialist Davies Meyer has opened a new Swiss office in the Greater Zürich area.

 

United Kingdom based independent merchant bank Close Brothers has opened an office, also in Zürich.  Mr. Jürg Clesti, formerly with KPMG and BNP Paribas will head the Swiss operations.

 

Hong Kong based Chow Tai Fook has reportedly acquired Milus International from Peace Mark for 90 million Swiss Francs.  The Swiss watch manufacturer is based in Biel-Bienne, Switzerland.

 

Emailvision, a European market and technology leader in “on-demand” software for e-mail marketing automation has established a Swiss subsidiary in Geneva. Emailvision has a staff of over 150 in offices throughout Europe and the US.

 

The Swiss Private Equity & Corporate Finance Association reports that Germany’s Sartorius Stedim Biotech Gmbh has signed an agreement to acquire Wave Biotech AG.  The Swiss company is based in Tegelswangen, Canton Zürich.

 

Noble Corporation, a leading offshore drilling contractor for the oil and gas industry, with 63 off-shore drilling units worldwide, has announced that pending share holder approval it will change the place of incorporation of its business from the Cayman Islands to Switzerland.

 

Other News

 

In a report by the Conference Board of Canada ranking the quality of healthcare among 16 peer countries on 10 indicators, Switzerland and Japan tied for first place, achieving the only an “A” grades on the report card.  The U.S. ranked 15th achieving a “D.” Canada got a “B”.

 

According to The Global Innovation 1000, an annual study recently published by the consulting firm Booz & Company, Switzerland continues its leading position in R&D. The study ranks twenty-four Swiss companies among the top 1000 investors in research and development of new products and services. These twenty-four companies spent 4.3% of worldwide R&D expenditures in 2007.

 

The 2008 Country Brand Index provided by FutureBrand and Weber Shandwick ranks Switzerland in 5th place globally and 2nd in Europe after Italy. Switzerland’s positive economic indicators, sound infrastructure, and excellent governance, create a country brand that is so widely and positively accepted. The study also highlights Switzerland’s profile clarity and its consistent brand promise and delivery.

 

 For the 5th consecutive time Zurich Airport was awarded the World Travel Award for Europe’s Leading Airport according to a global Internet vote of 150,000 tourism industry experts. To earn the title Leading Airport, candidates have to excel in categories such as user-friendliness, general quality standards of products and services offered, as well as its scope of distribution in the tourism industry. In 2007, 20.7 million people arrived, departed, or transferred in Zurich Airport, which is operated by Unique (Flughafen Zürich AG). Approximately 270 companies employ a workforce of roughly 21,000 in the aviation hub.

 

Merck Serono has begun work on the expansion of its Swiss biotech facility in Corsier-sur-Vevey, Switzerland.  When completed in 2010, the facility will reportedly have two new dedicated production suites with 120,000 liters of bioreactor capacity and additional logistic and wastewater treatment space.  Erbitux production is scheduled to commence there in 2012.

 

Geneva University has inaugurated a neuroscience laboratory specializing in brain and human behavior studies.  From March 2009 on, about 200 scientists will work at the laboratory, which is likely to become part of a future regional neuroscience center in the Greater Lake Geneva area.

 

2008 was a record year for the number of spin-off companies created by the ETHZ and then spun-off as separate companies.  According to a statement issued by the Institute, 23 companies, including six in computer science and communication technologies, four in biotechnology and pharmaceuticals, four in electrical and electronic engineering and two in medical devices were created. Over a ten year period, the ETH in Zürich has nurtured 130 spin-offs, thereby creating an estimated 900 direct jobs and generating 18 million of tax revenue.

 

The Swiss Center for applied ecotoxicology has officially opened.  The facility, established by a parliamentary mandate, is dedicated to providing independent information and research involving chemical risks to the environment.  The facility will receive two million Swiss Francs each year, supplemented by monies generated from contract research.

 

Several institutional and industrial players in the Greater Geneva area have joined forces to create an investment fund called Polytech Ventures SCPC. The EPFL, the Canton of Vaud, the regional Science Park, the Foundation for Technological Innovation and the Sandoz Family Foundation have pooled their efforts and resources to raise the 20 million Swiss Franc fund. The objective is to support ten projects over ten years that have the potential for high added value.

 

News from Location Promotion Switzerland