"Swiss Made": universally acclaimed expertise

Industry in Vaud can rely on expertise dating back over centuries which has created leading manufacturers of renowned "Swiss Made" goods.

The reputation for the high standard of Swiss products has seen "Swiss Made" become a quality that businesses can rely on to develop their activities and high added-value products. Plenty of foreign companies choose Switzerland and the canton of Vaud to develop new ranges of products with high added value. This is the case in industry and medical technologies in particular, and also in the cosmetics sector.

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The "Swissness" label was created to guarantee the Swiss quality of a product. To achieve certification, the following are required:

  • For processed natural products (food etc.), at least 80% of the weight of the constituent primary materials has to come from Switzerland.
  • For industrial products, at least 60% of the cost price of the product needs to come from Switzerland; costs related to research and development can be taken into account in the calculation.
  • For all products: the activity which gives the product its essential characteristics should take place in Switzerland (e.g. the transformation of milk into cheese).

Regarding services, a company can offer "Swiss" services provided that their headquarters are in Switzerland and that the company is genuinely administered there.

Leading industrial expertise in precision work

With a watch manufacturing tradition that stretches back over more than a century, the canton of Vaud has leading industrial expertise in precision work and miniaturization. While prestigious watch brands such as Audemars Piguet and Jaeger-LeCoultre are shining examples of the excellence of Vaud’s industry all around the world, the microtechnology skills of the canton are now being used throughout the entire spectrum of precision technologies, including micro-mechanics, micro-electronics, and micro-systems.

Microtechnologies are widely used nowadays in the following fields:

  • Medical technologies
  • Robotics
  • Aeronautics and aerospace
  • Automotive industry
  • IT
  • Robotics

Vaud’s heritage shines in innovative business

New industries based on Switzerland’s traditional expertise are emerging. For instance, Vaud is home to one of the best drone ecosystems worldwide, and this industry has been responsible for the creation of several hundred jobs in the region over the past five years.

Industries such as Valentine Fabrique (innovative, professional kitchen appliances), Boschung (world leader in surface clearing), LEMO and Fisher Connectors (connectors solutions) are four examples of businesses with goods that characterize this Swiss quality and products with high added value.

The Joux Valley Technical School (ETVJ), where watchmaking first began in Vaud, trains future designers, builders, manufacturers and micro-mechanics. Several other technical schools around the canton also pass on to apprentices the industrial skills that have made the country’s reputation what it is today.

Industrial trades are very popular among apprentices. Every year, the Swiss system trains as many as:

12000

mechanical engineers and metalworkers

5500

in electronics and automation

11500

youngsters in electrical and energy-related trades

2000

in chemical and process engineering

8000

in IT