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SWISS BUSINESS NEWS

 

 

WINTER 2006 - 2007

 

 

Top of the News

 

 

On September 14 during the annual Embassy Garden Party in Washington, Ambassador Urs Ziswiler presented the second annual Tell Awards recognizing significant investments made by North American firms during 2005.

 

The most significant headquarters project award went to Amgen, Inc., the largest publicly traded biotech company, for establishing its new international headquarters in Zug to oversee all business aspects outside of Japan and North America.

 

The award for the most significant expansion by an established investor was presented to IBM recognizing its new operating hub in Zurich for Northeast Europe. In 1927, IBM established its first presence in Switzerland, and in 1956 the company opened its first R&D center outside the US in Ruschlikon.

 

Stryker Corporation, a leading medical technology company, received the award for the most significant manufacturing investment for inaugurating an 80,000 square foot production plant in Canton Vaud for the production and distribution of spinal implants.

 

The award for the most disruptive technology investment went to intelligent infrastructure services provider VeriSign, Inc., which has its European headquarters in Geneva and expanded operational presence in Canton Fribourg.

The awards are gaining increased recognition from both the Fortune 500 community as well as economic development circles. Two of this year’s award recipients separately issued their own in-house releases in Europe and the Canton of Uri (home of mythical hero William Tell) wrote about the awards as well.

 

 

Wins and Updates

 

To reduce spending, Kraft Foods Inc. will move its European Union headquarters in London and Vienna to Zurich. Involving several hundred employees, the relocations will start in the spring of 2007, with the move completed by the end of August 2008, the company said.

 

Marakon Associates, a New York-based international management consulting firm that works with Global 1000 companies, has opened a Zurich office staffed by London transfers and local hires. The company picked Switzerland and Zurich because of it’s location in the heart of Europe, its proximity to other big consulting markets and Zurich's large concentration of multinational companies.

 

California-based Biosite Inc, a company providing diagnostic products, has announced the launch of its European headquarters in Morges, near Lausanne. The new facility is responsible for the company's sales, marketing and customer support activities in Europe.

 

Koch Supply & Trading, LP, of Houston, has established in Geneva its European base for trading all physical energy products. About 30 employees are expected to be on board by early 2007. The company is an indirect subsidiary of Koch Industries, Inc., owner of a diverse group of companies with a presence in about 60 countries.

 

Medical device company NovaShunt, with offices in Saratoga, California, has incorporated in Zurich as NovaShunt AG. The company is an innovator of technologies and products designed to remove chronic fluid build-up in the body.

 

California-based video game publisher Electronic Arts (EA), which a year ago announced plans to relocate to Geneva, has officially opened its new international headquarters. Employing 90 people at the new office, which replaces the company's former headquarters in Chertsey, UK, EA's operations will cover marketing across Europe, Asia, Latin America and Africa.

 

SES Solar Inc., a Vancouver, BC based energy company entered into a share exchange agreement on August 31 with Switzerland based Société d’Energie Solaire

 

 

S.A. The newly formed, larger company is one of the few European manufacturers that can produce solar photovoltaic modules larger than three square meters.

 

 

Reverse Investments

 

Swiss Chemicals group Lonza has agreed to buy two units from US drug maker, Cambrex Corp for a reported $460 million. Acquisition of the New Jersey-based units is expected to strengthen Lonza’s biopharmaceutical businesses.

 

Switzerland’s Roche will work together with California-based biotech Plexxikon to create a new early stage cancer therapy. The collaboration will result in a milestone payment of $700 million by the Swiss company.

 

Swiss Re and Overland Park, Kansas based London American Risk specialists launched a program for small and medium sized utilities. The program, which includes gas, electrical, water and sewer utilities, is active in seventeen Southern and Midwestern States.

 

 

 

From The Foreign Desk

 

London-based investment specialist F&C Asset Management plc is expanding its activities in Europe by opening a branch in Geneva. The Swiss branch will also be responsible for the company's business in Austria.

 

The Abu Dhabi Investment House PJSC, an investment and real estate institution based in the UAE, has established a new European subsidiary in Geneva to provide services in asset and wealth management and financial advisory services.

 

Luxembourg-based life insurer Lombard International Assurance SA opened a branch office in Zurich in September and plans to open one in Geneva by the end of the year.

 

IXEurope plc, a UK data center services company, launched an additional data center in Zurich to accommodate strong growth from the Internet and enterprise markets and to provide expansion for its TIX Internet exchange, Switzerland’s largest hub for ISP traffic.

The new site is IXEurope’s fourth facility in Switzerland and 13th across Europe.

 

The emirates of Dubai and Abu Dhabi are taking over Zurich-based SR Technics, the world’s leading independent provider of aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul services, in a deal worth $1.3 billion.

 

German IT company Visionapp has opened its first Swiss office in Regensdorf near Zurich. The company specializes in the design, implementation and operation of server-based infrastructure and portal solutions based on Microsoft and Citrix technologies.

 

Also from neighboring Germany, Ratarus, a leader in solutions for electronic corporate communications, opened an office in Zurich. The German parent company is based in Munich and employs about 100 persons throughout Europe.

 

Danish pharmaceutical company Nycomed has announced it will establish its head office in Zurich. The city was chosen as headquarters due to its proximity to its main market Germany, Zurich international airport, and to Nycomed’s research center in Konstanz.

 

 

Other News

 

The World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report for 2006-2007, for the first time ever, ranks Switzerland Number 1, up from Number 4 in the previous report. The rankings are drawn from a combination of publicly available hard data and the results of the Executive Opinion Survey. This is a comprehensive annual survey conducted by the World Economic Forum, together with its network of partner institutes of leading research institutes and business organizations in the countries covered by the Report. This year, more than 11,000 business leaders were polled in a record 125 economies worldwide.

 

 

Switzerland came in second to Denmark in a recent study from Britain's University of Leicester examining a range of statistical data to devise a ranking of the world's happiest nations. http://www.pinpointtravel.com/h/buzz/view?new=true&t=5916&p=AOLPROMO1017

 

 

 

Publicity and Promotion

 

Our 14th Media Tour, which focused on Life Sciences in Switzerland, was held the week of September 24 and drew 25 journalists from 12 countries – by far the largest in terms of participation and geographic regions. Stops included Geneva, Lausanne (EPFL), Basel Area and the Greater Zurich Area. This and future Newsletters report on articles generated from the trip.

 

 

 

News from Location Promotion Switzerland