Switzerland’s plastics industry was set back by the strong Swiss franc and the European debt crisis in 2011, as revenues dropped by 1.8% to CHF 15.5 bn, according to the industry grouping Swiss Plastics Association (KVS, Aarau / Switzerland; www.kvs.ch). While the number of companies active in the sector remained relatively stable at 850 (2010: 854), the number of sector employees dropped by 1.6% to 34,530. Sector productivity held on to last year’s level of CHF 450,000 (EUR 365,000) per employee. All in all, Switzerland’s plastics industry processed some 917,000 t of plastics and rubber in 2011, an increase of 0.8% over 2010. KVS expects this year’s developments in the industry to largely resemble those of 2011.

The tense feedstock situation and the competitive environment greatly pressured Swiss plastics processors, said KVS president Doris Fiala. Although the country’s most important domestic producer, Ems Chemie (Domat / Switzerland; www.ems-group.com) raised specialty and engineering capacities (see Plasteurope.com of 27.09.2011), this pales in comparison to the massive new standard thermoplastics capacities going on stream in the Middle East – and geared mostly at the Chinese market.

KVS said the sector’s performance was also impaired by rising energy costs, emphasizing that access to reliable and cheap electricity is becoming increasingly important as plastics companies choose their future operation sites. Companies are also burdened by the country’s social security network, taxes and the need to cut down on bureaucracy. The association highlighted that faced with a lack of trained personnel, the sector’s survival was dependent on free movement, adding that any restrictions on personal mobility constituted an existential threat.