Switzerland 4.0 at the KMU Swiss Symposium: Do we have enough energy?

He always has a lucky hand when it comes to the topicality of the topics: When Armin Baumann, founder and CEO of KMU Swiss, decided on the motto for the KMU Swiss Symposium 2022 about nine months ago, he probably had no idea how topical it would be by then. Indeed, we are currently experiencing our limits in many respects - probably most visibly in energy supply, which seems anything but self-evident for the near future. So are we reaching our limits here for a Switzerland 4.0?

Work 4.0 - Company 4.0 - Switzerland 4.0?

For the time being, however, the possibilities with which work is changing seem limitless. "Knowledge work is undergoing the greatest transformation in its history," said futurologist Raphael Gielgen, who is a "trend scout" for furniture manufacturer Vitra AG. So what does the future of work hold? And how can companies anticipate it? To this end, Gielgen recommended that the entrepreneurs present ask themselves "What if..." questions every now and then. Because in the future, we will be working on products that don't even exist today. And the nature of work will also continue to change, for which employees will have to be continuously retrained - and this will probably be easier in the future than always having to recruit new skilled workers. According to Raphael Gielgen, however, one thing will remain and become more important again: Perceiving the world with all our senses. Because digitalization cannot replace this.

Carla Kaufmann's presentation was also about the future, namely those of companies that need to regulate their succession. "Successful company succession means overcoming boundaries" was the title of her input presentation. The succession expert and co-founder of the Swiss umbrella organization for business succession CHDU on the entire life cycle of companies in connection with long-term entrepreneurship, which is only possible by means of successful succession planning. She illustrated this, among other things, with the example of the bell foundry H. Rüetschi AG, which, with 655 years today, is one of the oldest Swiss companies. In a live talk with Natalie Spross, CEO of Spross Holding AG, she delved deeper into the topic and showed how decisive cultural change is in a family-run company. Natalie Spross successfully leads the 130-year-old horticultural company in its fifth generation.

Energy: From leaving the comfort zone

The next block of presentations dealt with the topic of energy. Christian Schaffner showed how rocky the road away from fossil fuels still is. But this is the only way we will manage to achieve the net zero target by 2050. The measures taken and launched so far would go in the right direction, but should be accelerated. In the subsequent panel discussion with National Councilor Beat Flach and Axpo CEO Christoph, the latter first explained what the recently agreed 4-billion rescue package for this energy supplier was all about: not about rescuing the company, but about a "stopgap" to ensure sufficient liquidity so that the collateral required on the electricity exchange can be provided. This process is comparable to providing a rental deposit, Christoph Brand explained, emphasizing that this loan has not yet had to be drawn down. With regard to achieving the climate targets, Christoph Brand also made it clear that some illusions had to be shattered: "You can't have maximum comfort, security of supply, maximum environmental protection and minimum prices at the same time." He - along with fellow panelists - deplored the sometimes lengthy planning and approval processes for wind power plants, for example. National Councilor Beat Flach also accused politicians of having been "asleep for too long." In this context, he showed a prospectus from 2009, which already at that time dealt with the promotion of alternative energy. Christian Schaffner called for the current crisis to be used as an opportunity to finally move forward.

Preserve and revive ideas

In the last block, Guido Honegger from tracker.ch AG spoke about reviving companies. This was not so much about personal succession, but about the preservation of business ideas that are viable in themselves. As an example, he cited PubliBike AG, which he helped acquire from Swiss Post in an MBO at the beginning of 2022 and which is now about to take off again. Guido Honegger is also currently occupying a successful niche with the company Adon Production AG: the vinyl LP, which had been declared dead, is being produced in increasing numbers by this company and is thus also being revived.

At the end, former top diplomat Dr. Thomas Borer drew a picture of Switzerland's future that is rather mixed: Our country should indeed weather the crisis better than other countries thanks to its economic strength and the highest standard of living - now confirmed according to the UN. Nevertheless, Switzerland will no longer be able to stay out of geopolitical crises as easily as it might have been able to in the past.

As a conclusion of the conference, one could take away: A "Switzerland 4.0" is very well possible, but we do not want to reach our limits with it, a return to the good-Swiss ability to compromise is necessary and a turning away from discussions that are currently still too dogmatic. Or as Christian Schaffner demanded in his presentation: "We have to decide now where we want to be in 20 to 30 years.

More information: www.kmuswiss.ch