Following the opening of branches in Munich, Hamburg and Frankfurt, the Zurich-based asset manager Vontobel is seeking to establish another branch in Germany. The Dusseldorf branch will serve high-net-worth private clients and family offices in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia.

The Bühler Group and Icos Capital addressed the challenge of scaling up for startups in the food and biotech industries at the 17th Collaborative Summit. The focus was on financing, partnerships and changes in consumer behavior.

Georg Fischer AG (GF) has secured a major contract to modernize water networks in Brazil. The agreement with Sabesp builds on a long-standing partnership and is valued at 100 million Swiss francs, making it one of the largest contracts in the history of GF.

Endress+Hauser from the canton of Basel-Landschaft has opened a TECH Center in Singapore. The center serves as a platform for application development and solution validation. It also strengthens the company’s customer support and technical partnership in Southeast Asia.

Nestlé and Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) have entered into a partnership. Together, they intend to research the role played by nutrition in supporting healthy longevity and women’s health, in addition to developing solutions to counter age-related problems.

Lufthansa and Austrian have been putting on additional flights in March 2026.

PILATUS has delivered its first PC-12 PRO in ambulance configuration to the Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia. The PC-12 PRO is the first of five aircraft overall that will provide medical care to remote regions of Australia.

VALE PETER MEURY 1935 - 2026

A lifetime of service to the Swiss Community

Geistlich has announced it is expanding its partnership with the American company StimLabs. From the second quarter of 2026, StimLabs will distribute Geistlich’s wound care product DermaForm in the USA. The Geistlich Group is also celebrating its 175th anniversary this year.

The increasing regionalization of global trade and the fragmentation of supply chains are putting Switzerland under pressure. It must now work on diversifying its economic relations and securing them with bilateral and multilateral agreements. This is according to the Foreign Trade Report 2025.

ABB is to supply propulsion technology for four new double-ended ferries operated by Canada’s BC Ferries. The new hybrid vessels will contribute to delivering environmentally friendly operations in the Strait of Georgia. For the future, the goal is to shift to fully electric service.

Syngenta and SAP have agreed a multiyear partnership. The Basel-based agricultural chemicals firm and the German software supplier intend to develop tools powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI) that can be used across entire supply chains, from production through to the field.

ABB has been awarded a contract by the Canadian Space Agency to develop an infrared imager. This is part of a space mission aiming to quantify the extent to which thin ice clouds contribute to uncertainty in climate modelling.

Bystronic is taking over the Tools for Materials Processing business unit and its Rofin laser brand of the North American business group Coherent. With this takeover deal, the Swiss mechanical engineering firm expands also into the areas of medical devices, semiconductors and general manufacturing.

Switzerland ranks in first place globally in the World Digital Competitiveness Ranking compiled by the World Competitiveness Center of the IMD. The USA follows in second place, with Singapore in third. The fragmentation of global trade is making regulatory clarity a key factor in digital competitiveness.

ABB has been commissioned by Hanwha Ocean to supply a complete electric power and propulsion system for Singapore's first floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal. With this contract, ABB is further strengthening its collaboration with Hanwha Ocean.

Swiss pharmaceutical products will be subject to US tariffs of 100 per cent from 1 October. However, companies that set up production facilities in the US are exempt. Swiss pharmaceutical companies have therefore pledged 73 billion US dollars in investments in America, according to credit insurer Allianz Trade.

Ebikon LU/Issy-les-Moulineaux/ Hongkong - Die weltweit aktive Hotelgruppe Accor hat Schindler mit der Lieferung und Wartung von Aufzügen und Fahrtreppen in neun asiatischen Märkten beauftragt. Schindler wird die Aufzüge und Fahrtreppen auf die spezifischen Anforderungen von Accor zuschneiden.