Industry location Schaffhausen counting on application clusters

According to a communication from the State Chancellery of the Canton of Schaffhausen, “advancing deindustrialization” and “dwindling innovation” are hampering the industrial location of Schaffhausen as well. In order to make the canton’s industry sustainable for future, the governing council commissioned the Swiss Academy of Engineering Sciences (SATW) with conducting a corresponding study. This is now available, entitled “Schaffhausen Industry – Today and Tomorrow”.

“With this, the member of the cantonal government has a robust, independent assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of the industrial location of Schaffhausen and possible sustainable areas of approach,” according to a quote by Director of Economics of the canton of Schaffhausen Dino Tamagni in the communication. Specifically, the study suggests linking the strongly represented industrial sectors of plastics, food, chemistry and pharmaceuticals and introducing traditional industries to “the subject of high-tech”. Additionally, initiatives such as the Competence Centre for Intelligent Transport Systems (Swiss Transit Lab) are to be pursued.

According to the study authors, industrial companies in the sectors of food and health as well as modern plastics are of particular importance. For these, it is recommended that two application clusters are established where “startups, SMEs and large companies work on sustainable technologies together with universities”. The focus for the food industry should be on alternative protein sources. In the plastics sector, the authors suggest the development of antimicrobial surfaces in construction, intelligent materials for medical technology, and food packaging as well as bioplastic products for medical use.