Industrial sector is a new hub for Swiss engineers

Two people analyzing server data with a laptop.

The Industrial Products & Services sector in Switzerland includes mechanical engineering, electrical engineering and manufacturing and is a key industrial plank in the make-up of the Swiss economy.

For companies in this industry, their positioning compared to global competition, the development of new markets, optimising growth in established markets, and innovations in terms of new products and services are a high priority. In this fast changing eco system Switzerland has managed to maintain a positive outlook for industrial products and services, especially as regards manufacturing.

In 2016 Switzerland ranked 13th worldwide in the Global Manufacturing Competitiveness Index with a score of 63.6. Switzerland developed six main strategies to implement and assist Swiss intellectual property based companies to grow: customer integration, globalisation, development of new products and services, inorganic growth, and leveraging operational excellence.

These trends are forecasted to bring greater successes to the industry. Revenue expectations from CFOs in Q2 2017 increased to 72% from the previous quarter (47%), and will most likely continue to grow over the next year. The top three investment priorities for CFOs are information technology, R&D and innovation, and acquisition of digitally skilled employees. “We have arrived in industry 4.0 and Swiss companies have high potential on the global market to present themselves as leaders in innovation.” Nicolai Mikkelsen from Michael Page Switzerland explains. “A strong part of this success will be indicated by the presence of well-trained engineers with digital and technological know-how who are ready to take on the journey to groundbreaking advancements, especially in the industrial sector such as manufacturing.”