Strength in unity Swissmen

strength in unity

The industrial organisation Swissmem unites companies from across Switzerland’s mechanical and engineering (MEM) industries, as well as from related technological sectors. Industry Europe interviewed communications manager Jonas Lang to find out how it helps its members achieve their goals and works to boost the industry as a whole.

One of the key objectives of Swissmem is to strengthen Switzerland’s ability to compete at international level as a hub of both manufacturing and research. By remaining a staunchly independent voice over more than a century of activity, it has been able to successfully represent the interests of its members in economic, political and public debates. Furthermore, the Association of Swiss Engineering Employers (ASM) – the most significant collective employment agreement within the industry – also operates under the Swissmem umbrella.

Mr Lang gives a brief overview of how the organisation was born and how it has developed over the years: “It was founded in 1883 as the Swiss Association of Machinery Manufacturers (VSM) with an initial focus on questions relating to customs and trade policy and to safeguard and promote the general interests of the Swiss engineering industry. The beginning of the 20th century marked a time of rising social tensions which resulted in the founding of the Association of Swiss Engineering Employers (ASM) in 1905. Since 1 October 1999, VSM and ASM have been operating under the name of Swissmem.”

Promoting Swiss manufacturing

Swissmem’s key mission has not changed substantially since its establishment over a century ago: to promote the interests of its more than 1000 members from the Swiss engineering industry, ranging from small SMEs to international holding companies.

But how exactly does it go about this? One of its most basic strategies is to identify the concerns of its member companies and provide efficient services and solutions tailored to their needs. These services include advice on export matters, assistance with employment law problems, sector-specific educational and training programmes and energy efficiency, plus custom-made activities for the individual divisions. Essentially, then, whichever area of the mechanical engineering industry a particular member operates in, Swissmem will have the infrastructure in place to provide them with the help they need.

Alongside the above, it also encourages active networking between all its members. This involves, as Mr Lang tells us, “participation and professional dialogue in 27 specialist groups (sub-sectors).”

When it comes to the industry trends currently having the biggest impact on Swissmem’s members, Mr Lang emphasises the growing need to adapt to the digital revolution and the emergence of Industry 4.0. Smart factories are the future and Swiss industry will have to adapt to this if it is to remain competitive. “Along with other partners, Swissmem has launched the ‘Industry 2025’ initiative, the aim of which is to facilitate companies’ access to digitisation and the networking approaches of Industry 4.0.”

Industry Day 2017

In order to reach out to key decision-makers from business, politics, science and government as well as to enable its members to

meet face-to-face, each year Swissmem holds its annual Industry Day. This year’s event took place in Lausanne on 20 June and explored questions such as: what is Switzerland’s recipe for success when it comes to innovation? What conditions favour innovation in the Swiss MEM industries and where is there potential that can still be exploited?

There were presentations from prominent figures in Swiss industry who discussed the process of innovation from product idea to market launch and emphasised the importance of cooperation between companies, universities and research institutions. The speakers included, among others: Federal Councillor Guy Parmelin, Head of the Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport (DDPS); Hans Hess, President of Swissmem; Steve Bolze, President and CEO of GE Power; and Aude Pugin CFO of APCO Technologies.

Award-winning innovation

Owing to the strong Swiss franc, one of the challenges for Swiss producers moving forward is to ensure they focus strongly on innovation and lean production methods. Fortunately, Swissmem’s

members are well up to this challenge. One illustration of this can be seen in Ampegon, a relatively young manufacturer of high power systems for world-class research facilities. In November 2016 this company was presented with the Swiss Technology Award 2016 in the category of ‘Innovation Leaders’ – the most important prize for innovation and technology transfer in Switzerland.

In cooperation with the Institute of High Power Electronics (HPE) of ETH Zurich, Ampegon has developed an innovative short pulse modulator used for research facilities such as SwissFEL (free electron laser) at the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) and for medical applications (cancer treatment) and industrial processes (liquid sterilisation). The jury recognised the company’s high level of technological innovation, which combined both economic and social benefits.

Mr Lang informs us that boosting innovation will continue to be a major focus for Swissmem in the years to come, as will globalisation for its SME members and continued training to improve performance across its entire membership base. n

For more information on the organisation, visit: www.swissmem.ch