Investment projects create sustainable added value for Switzerland

Together with its cantonal and municipal partners, Greater Zurich Area Ltd (GZA) helped 100 foreign companies settle in the eight cantons of the Greater Zurich Area in 2017. In 2016, it supported 105 companies, so the location marketing company can look back on two successful years.

According to a press release, the newly established companies have already created around 830 jobs in 2017 and plan to generate a further 1,461 new jobs over the next five years. The majority of companies come from the ICT sector (27 companies), followed by life sciences (15), the mechanical engineering industry (14) and financial services (9).

Of companies settling in the Greater Zurich Area, by far the most come from the USA (28), with Germany accounting for 16, China for 12 and South Korea and Italy both for 7. The GZA actively cultivates all these markets.

“The result confirms GZA’s strategy with its strong focus on attractive metropolitan regions and on companies with high-value-added technologies and functions such as research and development,” said Sonja Wollkopf Walt, Managing Director of GZA.

The settlements also reveal that the Zurich area has become a centre for drone technologies in recent years. This has benefited drone manufacturers such as YUNEEC from Hong Kong, which set up a branch in Schlieren ZH at the end of 2016 with nine employees. The company plans to expand to 15 employees at the site by the end of the year. “The innovative environment in Greater Zurich is unique for a technology company like YUNEEC. We can work with leading universities such as the ETH Zurich and recruit excellent engineers,” said company founder Jiang Wenyan in the GZA press conference. She also praised the very good infrastructure, accessibility and high reliability of the new location.

“Ecosystems such as the one for drone technology are essential for successful investment promotion,” added Sonja Wollkopf Walt.