Strong growth in industrial projects at CSEM in 2015

Many companies benefitted from CSEM’s services in 2015. The Swiss Research and Technology Organization saw its industrial revenue increase by 9%, reaching a new record.

In such varied domains as the internet of things, wearable technology, solar energy, and the fight against counterfeiting, CSEM has accomplished its mission of transferring technology to companies, thereby contributing to maintaining Switzerland’s competitivity and capacity for innovation.

An ingenious approach to tracing medication; an intelligent watch that counts the number of calories ingested by its owner; and a new method of manufacturing solar cells that enables a drastic reduction in production costs. These are just some examples of innovation that CSEM’s scientists have implemented, with its partners, in 2015. Active at five sites in Switzerland, the Swiss Research and Technology Organization obtained 27 new patents, adding to the existing 186 patent families.

Industrial partnerships on the rise – European projects down

In 2015, CSEM’s revenues from industry grew by 9%, to reach a record CHF 25 million. “This strong increase illustrates the level of confidence that companies have in us, as well as their determination to innovate in a strained worldwide economic context,” enthuses Claude Nicollier, President of CSEM’s Board of Management. The development of industrial partnerships has enabled us to compensate for the big reduction in income generated from European projects. Global turnover was down by 3.5% to CHF 79.6 million, due to not receiving the exceptional cantonal contributions that were paid to CSEM in 2014. A non-profit-making company, CSEM finished the year with a modest profit of 234,000 francs.

2016 marked by participation in the CTI “strong franc” program

For nearly 18 months now, the health of Swiss industry has been seriously affected by the strength of the franc against the euro. “CSEM actively supports exporting SMEs in their efforts to develop new processes and products,” states Mario El-Khoury, CEO of CSEM. On both sides of the linguistic border, it is participating in around 30 projects launched within the framework of the Confederation’s CTI “strong franc” program. “This program’s economic model represents a considerable financial challenge for CSEM, which co-finances the projects,” emphasizes Mario El-Khoury. “However, we decided to make this investment as it’s obvious that Switzerland’s prosperity is linked to the maintenance of a strong industrial base.”

Changes to CSEM’s Board of Management

Messrs Jean-Daniel Pasche (Fondation en faveur d’un Laboratoire de Recherches horlogères), Renato Sturani (BKW Energie SA) and Claude Vuillemez (Richemont International SA) were elected to CSEM’s Board of Management during the General Assembly of the shareholders on Friday 17th June 2016. They replace Messrs Christophe Bossel (BKW Energie SA), Eric Klein (Richemont International SA) and Pierre-Alain Storrer (Fondation en faveur d’un Laboratoire de Recherches horlogères), who have resigned.
Key figures 2015
Total revenues                                          79‘570’229

– Public contributions                                    34’980’401
– Public and industrial projects & services        44’589’828

Total operating expenses                          79’845’239

– Expenses directly related to projects             8’420’773
– Staff costs                                                51’760’797
– Operating costs                                         19’663’669
Operating result –                                         275’010
Non-core activities                                       509’983
Result for the period                                     234’973

Source: www.csem.ch