Tag: Präsenz

  • International expansion with a focus on emerging markets

    International expansion with a focus on emerging markets

    As part of its local-for-local strategy, Sika is expanding its presence in China, Brazil and Morocco. In China, the globally active speciality chemicals company for construction and industry has expanded its existing site in the Suzhou metropolitan region, Sika announced in a press release. The site produces polyurethane bonding and sealing solutions for the automotive, construction and industrial sectors.

    In Brazil, Sika has expanded its site near Belo Horizonte. In this strategically important industrial region of the country, Sika manufactures admixtures for ready-mix concrete, cement and mining. The company has built a new plant for mortar and admixtures near Agadir. From here, Sika intends to supply the south of Morocco and neighbouring markets.

    “These site investments reflect our customers’ trust in us and our long-term commitment to our markets,” said Sika CEO Thomas Hasler in the press release. “By expanding our local production capacities, we are not only improving flexibility, but also creating a resilient, sustainable foundation for our continued growth alongside our long-standing customers and partners.” Sika expects the construction industry in the three countries to grow by more than 4 per cent annually until 2028.

  • ZKB modernises network of locations

    ZKB modernises network of locations

    ZKB plans to invest a three-digit million amount in the modernisation of its network of locations over the next few years. “The physical presence on site and the proximity to our clientele is part of our DNA,” Steve Zurschmitten, Project Manager Sales and Market Area Manager Winterthur in Private Banking at ZKB, is quoted as saying in a statement from the bank. “That’s why we are also relying on the densest location network in the canton in the long term and are redesigning all of our 51 branches along a newly developed location concept.”

    At the centre of the new concept is personal advice for private individuals and companies on important events. For everyday business, the branches offer digital self-service support. At some locations, the establishment of a so-called event zone is planned for events on topics such as owning a home or starting a business. Seminars on how to use the Twint payment solution, eBanking or mobile banking are intended to make it easier to get started with the digital implementation of banking transactions. Starting next year, all branches are to be converted by 2030.

    The ZKB informs that the findings from the two pilot branches in Stettbach and Winterthur have been incorporated into the development of the location concept. Here, the cantonal bank evaluated which services will continue to be in demand in branches in the future and which will be shifted to the digital world. “By creating a new, contemporary offering with inviting meeting and advisory opportunities on site, we want to remain locally anchored and close to our customers and the population,” explains Zurschmitten.

  • Spherical spheres at Expo 2025 in the Swiss pavilion

    Spherical spheres at Expo 2025 in the Swiss pavilion

    From April 13 to October 13, 2025, the next World Expo will take place in Osaka, Japan. Under the motto “Designing Future Society for Our Lives”, Switzerland will present itself as an efficient and leading innovation hub and will show concrete examples from business, science and research. Nüssli, together with Manuel Herz Architekten and Bellprat Partner, won the tender for the design, construction and dismantling of the Swiss presence and is implementing the pavilion in lightweight construction and with a touch of magic. The team is completed by Robin Winogrond Landscape Architects, Studio AA-Morf, and Kyoto Design Lab.

    Swiss ideas, experience and know-how in Japan
    “We are very proud to continue our long tradition as implementation partner of the Swiss Pavilion at Expo 2025 in Osaka. Despite this long Expo experience, however, the Swiss Pavilion with its pneumatic, spherical construction will also provide us with some sticking points,” says Andy Böckli. Stefan Sekiguchi adds: “To successfully realize the architectural design together with Japanese service providers and according to the applicable guidelines in Japan requires getting to know the country and its people. That’s why we work with our local partner and can benefit from valuable knowledge.” Arnau Bellprat is looking forward to the challenges in the global environment. “In our Spheres, visitors should be able to immerse themselves in an immersive, narrative and fantastic world. They should have a sensory and emotional experience that they will remember for a long time – we call it a biographical note.” Architect Manuel Herz is particularly interested in pneumatic construction, which allows for a building of minimal weight and has a long tradition for pavilions at World’s Fairs. “We are taking an architecture that has been used before for iconic Expo buildings and reinterpreting it.”

    Pavilion embedded in nature
    The concept for the Swiss pavilion focuses on sustainability. Spheres and modular structures made of recycled recyclable materials, as well as plants that overgrow, enclose and sequesterCO2 from the building, make up the single-story barrier-free architecture and contribute to a minimal ecological footprint. The scenography takes up the light exterior appearance of the building and stages the contents in the exhibition with light and color. In the five spheres of the pavilion, visitors experience how Swiss innovation is created from the nutrients of nature as well as with Switzerland’s humanistic tradition and a little magic. They can help shape, explore and ultimately take Swiss innovation out into the world in the form of plant seeds. In the pavilion, they will also meet the mythical figure of Heidi, who acts as a link to the host country, Japan. The care and preservation of nature are also important common concerns that link Japan and Switzerland.

    Cooperation and local support
    The topic of sustainability is taken seriously in the Swiss Pavilion and carefully implemented with academic support. With researchers, lecturers and students from the Kyoto Institute of Technology – in particular with the KIT Design Lab of the Faculty of Architecture – the social, economic and ecological footprint of the appearance is to be analyzed and improved over its entire lifespan.

  • Real estate: maximize sales proceeds with the right broker

    Real estate: maximize sales proceeds with the right broker

    The home ownership platform Liiva supports homeowners in a simple and transparent way in recognizing risks and making the right decisions – from the acquisition to the maintenance to the sale of the apartment or house. When maintaining a property, you can use the modernization assistant (MoA), for example, to find out what measures you need to take to maintain the value of your property – and what needs to be done to increase it.

    The innovative MoA determines the current market value of a property and creates an object analysis as well as a concrete renovation plan. In addition, Liiva indicates the energy consumption of the property, provides general information on energy-related renovation and determines the specific potential of the property for energy improvement.

    Selling price is more important than brokerage fee
    The sale of a property also has far-reaching financial consequences and must therefore be well prepared. For the sale of residential property, Liiva complements its digital services with physical presence and the know-how of experienced brokers. Agents normally charge 2 to 3 percent of the sales price achieved, which is around 30,000 to 45,000 francs for a property with a market value of 1.5 million francs. Agents not only help to find a buyer through their network, optimize the sale price, draft contracts and complete the sale, but also offer other valuable local know-how.

    But what criteria do I use to select a suitable broker? The brokerage fee should only have a secondary influence on the decision. When selling a property, the aim is usually to maximize the sales proceeds – and because the sales price can vary by 100,000 to 200,000 francs and more, optimizing the proceeds is more important than the brokerage fee, which is 10,000 to 20,000 francs lower or can be higher. The involvement of an experienced broker is therefore of the utmost importance.

    Choose the best broker
    A professional broker selection is independent and based on transparent criteria. That means, for example, are there currently numerous similar properties in the brokerage firm's sales portfolio, were such properties recently sold, how quickly were they sold, and at what price? In addition, the selection should be made from a sufficiently broad pool of brokers.

    Thanks to Liiva's partnership with the independent real estate platform Bestag, which specializes in finding the most suitable brokers, several competent local brokers can be suggested to customers throughout Switzerland; the final choice is made by the sellers. There is no exclusivity and no special placements for selected brokers – and the quality of the broker's sales work is constantly checked. Liiva personally accompanies the seller through all steps of the sales process.

    Transparent incentive system
    Specifically, three local brokers are suggested to the customers, from whom they each receive a market value estimate of their property. In addition, Liiva provides two neutral hedonic estimates that give customers a good idea of where the current fair price is. The remuneration of the selected brokers is based on a bonus-malus system that ensures that the broker makes the best possible effort with the sale: If the broker exceeds the target price, he or she earns a higher percentage.

    For the sellers there are no additional costs for this brokerage, since the expenses incurred by Liiva are covered by a small part of the brokerage commission. These commissions vary depending on the location, but are always shown transparently. The customer can thus decide for himself in advance whether he agrees with the broker's suggestions and the corresponding conditions, and there are no unpleasant surprises.

    The mix of digital and physical services when selling real estate enables the best result to be achieved.