Turnover of The Swiss Plastics Industry Declined by 1.8% to CHF 15.5bn in 2011

Turnover of the Swiss plastics industry declined by 1.8% to CHF 15.5bn (€12.9bn) in 2011, alongside a 1.6% reduction in the number of employees in the industry to 34,530, it was announced on 28 June by the industry’s trade association Kunststoff Verband Schweiz (KVS). The drop in turnover and staff is due to problems within the Eurozone and the strength of the Swiss franc, according to KVS. KVS said the year started promisingly but an uncertain business climate, which stemmed from the European debt crisis, affected results in the second half of 2011. And strength of the Swiss Franc has had a negative effect on the export-orientated Swiss plastics industry, said KVS managing director Dr Ernesto Engel. Many small and medium-sized suppliers in Switzerland are therefore facing a massive increase in foreign competition. Although the number of companies in the Swiss plastics industry remained constant at 850 in 2011, the industry could face company closures or transfer of production abroad. “Just consider, for example, that wage costs in the Czech Republic are around only 25% of the Swiss level”, Engel observed. KVS president Doris Fiala said “some extremely difficulty raw material supply led to enormous competitive pressure on Swiss companies”. Fiala said that even though the most important Swiss plastics producer, Ems Chemie, has confirmed its commitment to Switzerland as a location by making a large expansion in production, new capacity for standard plastics is coming on-stream in the Middle East and is directed at the Chinese market, from which there is strong demand. Another worry is the flow of labour and the suggestion of restricting the free movement of workers from EU and EFTA states. The Swiss plastics industry needs these workers to fill staff shortages, says KVS. However, despite all the difficulties, the industry’s figures should remain stable this year, said KVS. Source: europeanplasticsnews