Swiss SME on the Move to Eurozone
The sharp drop of the Euro-Franc parity is causing unrest among Swiss manufacturers. More and more SMEs are considering moving their production lines to the Euro-zone, according to a study for the Zurich Tages-Anzeiger. Even for the smaller manufacturers, the gains in cost competitivity outweigh the costs of delocalisation.
Compared to the Swiss Franc, the Euro is cheaper than ever since its inception in 1998. « The weakness of the Euro is of concern to thousands of SMEs whose managers are reluctant to talk openly about their search for alternative production sites », writes Tages-Anzeiger. « We know quite a number of companies actively looking around », adds Swissmem, the manufacturer’s association.
Swiss SMEs are generally too small to consider a move to low-cost-sites in Asia. Companies like Feinstanz (62 employees in Jona, Switzerland) or Oertli (200 employees in Bülach) have no choice but to delocalise to neighbouring countries, where they also sell the bulk of their produce (90 per cent). « We are currently looking to the eastern parts of Germany, or the Czech Republic », says the owner of Feinstanz, Urs Steinmann. He had bought the facility only eight years ago from the German Schaeffler group and never before even thought of leaving his country.
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