Swiss industry continuously brings high-quality jobs and the ‘Swiss spirit’ to even the most remote regions
Although the USA is one of the most powerful countries globally, it still has its share of unemployed, impoverished citizens, and is keen on attracting foreign investment to boost local economies.
The past decade’s economic growth bypassed many rural areas, including Barnwell County in South Carolina, where the poverty rate reaches an above-average 17 percent and unemployment surpasses 14 percent. Swiss Krono Group, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of wood based materials, invested heavily in Barnwell, and its footprint has directly tackled local joblessness and poverty.
Swiss Krono began distributing its products in the USA in 2000 and opened its current manufacturing facility in Bardwell in 2005. In 2019, Swiss Krono completed a major expansion of its Barnwell manufacturing facility.The plant can now supply laminate flooring, medium-density fiberboard (MDF), high-density fiberboard (HDF), laminated panels for the furniture industry, and treated paper for use in laminate applications. The expansion also included the construction of an energy plant and waste treatment facilities.
Critically for the area, the new investment created 105 permanent jobs and 500 construction jobs. The permanent jobs pay an average salary of USD 56,000 per year, with health insurance, and 401(k) matching funds. In addition, while Swiss Krono previously sourced fiberboard from outside the state, the company then chose to locally manufacture this base material for its laminate flooring production, bolstering the local timber industry through this backward integration.
According to Dakotas America, a national rural Community Development Entity (CDE), the move reduced Swiss Krono USA’s carbon dioxide emission by 2,500 tons annually. Moreover, The Innovate Fund, another CDE involved in the transaction, estimates the expansion will create 375 indirect and induced permanent jobs with an aim to benefit the low-income population in the region. Swiss Krono USA also runs an apprenticeship program in partnership with he “Apprenticeship Carolina” division of the South Carolina Technical College System and local high schools.
According to The Innovate Fund, Swiss Krono has a college co-op program, where it collaborates with local and surrounding technical schools to provide programs that align with the skills and trades utilized in their operations. Such workforce development programs are critical to enhancing the quality and accessibility of jobs to local community residents.
But who exactly is Swiss Krono, the company bringing jobs and hope to rural South Carolina? Founded in 1966 by an Austrian entrepreneur, with its head office in Lucerne, Switzerland, Swiss Krono is the world’s largest laminate flooring manufacturer with a global market share of around 15 percent. It supplies an extensive range of wood-based products in the interiors, flooring, and building materials sectors. Despite the difficult conditions due to COVID-19, Swiss Krono generated sales of USD 2 billion in its latest business year and employs around 5,000 employees at ten production sites across the globe: in Switzerland, France, Germany, Poland, Hungary, Ukraine, Russia, and the USA. Swiss Krono distributes products in 120 countries.
Switzerland’s constant focus on competitiveness
As an international manufacturer of highly efficient wood-based materials, Swiss Krono has successfully expanded its global operations while increasing efficiency. Manufacturing products locally helps Swiss Krono remain competitive, offsetting the strong Swiss franc and high production costs in Switzerland. But like many other Swiss companies, Swiss Krono’s constant focus on day to-day improvements in efficiency and productivity, and investment in research and development, helps the company’s Swiss operation remain competitive. As Martin Brettenthaler, CEO of Swiss Krono Group, explained, “Swiss businesses focus on incremental gains that work, rather than spectacular, headline-grabbing breakthroughs that often promise more than they can deliver.”
Brettenthaler added that Swiss Krono’s strong position in the Chinese market highlights the ability of the company to remain competitive, “Domestically produced goods account for around 90 percent of the Chinese market. Laminate flooring produced by our Swiss-based plant accounts for much of the remaining 10 percent of the market. Even though Swiss goods are transported from the European Alps down to the sea and travel as ocean freight halfway across the world, they remain competitive in China. It helps that we can charge a premium due to the high-quality reputation of Swiss-designed goods.”
This competitive edge also helps Swiss Krono in the North American market. The company’s ambition is to increase its market share in the USA, and become the primary partner for its customers, including nationwide chains like Lowe’s and Home Depot. Brettenthaler argues that the USA is somewhat lagging behind Europe in terms of design, variety, and quality. He added, “Swiss Krono can bring European-style laminate flooring to the USA. Our partners should know that our floors are American-made products with a ‘Swiss spirit,’ in terms of attention to detail, price efficiency and excellence of design.”
“Our partners should know that our floors are American-made products with a Swiss spirit”
Martin Brettenhaler, CEO, Swiss Krono
Innovative products
Swiss Krono knows that it must innovate and respond to changing consumer demand to stay ahead of the market. Against the background of COVID-19, the company recently developed a product that is anti-bacterial and anti-viral, and is currently bringing it to the market.
Moreover, it is taking on the Chinese suppliers who dominate the market for Design Floors or Luxury Vinyl Tiles (LVT), by developing a water-resistant laminate flooring, a product that Brettenthaler believes could prove a “game-changer.” The new flooring will overcome one of the main advantages of plastic-based LVT floorings, which carry a price premium over laminate flooring, namely their ability to withstand water damage. Yet the new product will still offer the environmentally friendly qualities of a flooring made from sustainable, potentially-recyclable wood resources.
Environmentally-friendly competitive edge
With the world’s eye on climate change and CO2-reduction, Swiss Krono’s dedication to environmental issues should prove an added attraction. Due to its leading role in the engineered wood industry, Swiss Krono believes it has a special responsibility to protect the environment. It is committed to preventing environmental burdens and continuing to improve the environmental compatibility of its manufacturing activities.
Eco-efficiency is defined as one of Swiss Krono’s corporate goals, and all employees are thoroughly informed, trained and educated about environmental matters.
Every product that leaves one of its plants not only has an excellent price-performance ratio, but also exhibits a high level of environmental friendliness. Swiss Krono only uses legal, certified raw materials from sustainably managed forests. The manufactured products are rigorously monitored during their lifetime to ensure they are long-lasting and are disposed of in an eco-friendly manner.
Swiss Krono endeavors to minimize the consumption of raw materials, water and energy. The company takes advantage of wastewater, energy and thermal cycles, and burns production waste to minimize its dependency on fossil fuels. Swiss investments within the USA generate a considerable economic benefit for the regions they operate within. Environmental efforts by Swiss Krono and other companies safeguard future generations’ resources. For a nation with 8.5 million people, Switzerland has an oversized footprint in the USA, contributing to rural communities and employing half a million people across the states.