immo!nvest – Die Plattform für Standorte und Immobilien

Tag: Standortpromotion

  • Change in leadership provides impetus for the business location

    Change in leadership provides impetus for the business location

    According to a statement, the Board of Trustees of Lucerne Economic Developmenthas appointed Patrik Wermelinger as its new director. The 54-year-old Lucerne native succeeds Ivan Buck, who, after eight years in office, will now focus on his own company in the field of relationship management. Wermelinger, who holds a degree in business administration and an Executive MBA, previously worked as Head of Location Promotion and Marketing at Lucerne Economic Development Agency from 2006 to 2016. Since 2016, he has been Chief Investment Promotion Officer and a member of the Executive Board at Switzerland Global Enterprise.

    According to the announcement, his ten years of experience in economic development, his knowledge and network in the Lucerne area, and his expertise in the needs of foreign companies make him the ideal candidate. “Patrik Wermelinger impresses not only with his high level of expertise and extensive international experience, but also with his trustworthy and profitable manner,” said Dr Erwin Steiger, President of the Foundation Board. Ivan Buck will remain employed by Lucerne Economic Development Agency as acting director until the end of February 2026. Andreas Zettel will then take over as acting deputy director until Patrik Wermelinger takes up his post on 1 June 2026.

    Lucerne Economic Development is the central point of contact for companies in Lucerne as a business and residential location. Its service portfolio includes location promotion, business development, start-up support, and the expansion and maintenance of the network with the canton, municipalities and business community.

  • ICT and life sciences dominate company settlements

    ICT and life sciences dominate company settlements

    The Conference of Cantonal Directors of Economic Affairs (VDK) reports that the promotion of Switzerland as a business location by the federal government, the regions and the cantons can look back on another positive year. Once a year, the VDK compiles statistics on the number of new foreign companies settling in Switzerland. According to the VDK’s current survey, a total of 265 foreign companies settled in Switzerland in 2022. They have already created a total of 1199 new jobs in the first year of operation. Over the course of three years, this figure is expected to rise to over 3100 jobs.

    “Even though, with 265 companies, 17 fewer companies were settled compared to the previous year, the development of settlements has remained relatively stable over the last 10 years,” writes the VDK. And as in previous years, most of the new settlements in 2022 are active in the ICT and life sciences sectors. Regionally, around half come from the USA, Germany or France.

    The focus on future technologies set out in the national location promotion strategy 2020-2023 is to be maintained in the years 2024 to 2027, the VDK explains further in the press release. Such companies also contribute “with their innovative know-how in their network to strengthening regional and local value creation as well as the SME landscape”. In addition, the VDK points to the cooperation of the Confederation and the cantons with the official Swiss organisation for export promotion and location promotion, Switzerland Global Enterprise, and its representations abroad managed as Swiss Business Hubs.

  • Basel Area reaches new milestone with settlement of LifeMine

    Basel Area reaches new milestone with settlement of LifeMine

    Basel Area Business & Innovation , the agency for location promotion and innovation promotion, has reached a new milestone. With LifeMine Therapeutics , the 200th company has now been supported in settling in the Basel area. The biotechnology company has its headquarters in Cambridge in the US state of Massachusetts and is now establishing its European headquarters in the Basel Area, which consists of the three cantons of Basel-Stadt, Basel-Landschaft and Jura.

    “Having LifeMine Therapeutics as our 200th customer is very exciting for our team and the region,” said Christof Klöpper, CEO of Basel Area Business & Innovation. “The fact that LifeMine Therapeutics comes from the Boston Area – one of the world’s largest life sciences centers – underscores the opportunities that the Basel Area offers international biotech companies.”

    LifeMine develops drugs based on genetically encoded small molecules and will now also drive this work from Basel. “We are very pleased to be able to expand our activities to Basel and settle in a region full of innovative companies,” says co-founder and Chief Operating Officer (COO) WeiQing Zhou. “Basel Area Business & Innovation gave us fantastic support and made the process as smooth as we could have wished for.”

    Of the 200 companies supported by Basel Area since 2016, 164 are not from Switzerland. A total of 122 work in the life sciences. In the meantime, however, more and more companies from the production and process technology sectors are deciding to settle in the Basel area.