NEWSFLASH DECEMBER 2014

CORPORATE PARTNERS

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Behind the scenes FROM THE GM’S DESK

Dear members, supporters & readers,

I would like to use this time of the year to share some of my thoughts about the past, present and future.

I am pleased to announce that we expect SwissCham to finish the year 2014 with a small surplus. This may not sound very exciting for some of you, but the long-time members and supporters will remember a time when SwissCham was bleeding financially. To change this, was also one of the top priorities for me when I took on this role seven years ago; because it does not matter how good a product or service is, if the bottom line is not right. You are not going to do it for too long… On average, SwissCham’s finances were “in the black” over the last five years, despite a very challenging environment. Great contributors to this result were our past Presidents Edith Pfister and Philip Hocking who both spent many hours of their free time supporting me in and assisting me with implementing many changes. They have both been a source of inspiration for me and it has been a privilege for me to work with both.

As from 1st January 2015, Philip Hocking will step down as SwissCham’s president (but will remain on the board) and will be succeeded by Peter Pluess, Managing Director of Fracht Australia. I am sure he is a very familiar face to many of you and I am very much looking forward to working with him and the rest of our board members. Although we have overcome many challenges in the past, plenty of challenges still lie ahead of us.

As I am writing these lines, we are about to sign a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) of cooperation with the Swiss Embassy in Canberra for the year 2015, which underlines the mutually beneficial relationship between both for almost 20 years. This MoU will give SwissCham the opportunity to work out a strategy for the following years. Currently, there are certain question marks around the level of commitment by “official Switzerland” regarding the Australian market. There is the likelihood that pragmatic synergies and cost saving measures that were implemented over the last five years may fall apart (again…). One example is our office that we share with Switzerland Tourism and Rail Europe (50% Swiss owned). This office was set-up as a first step with the vision of combining “Swiss interests” in Australia. The office lease expires mid 2016 and there is the possibility that all three organisations will branch out to

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different premises thereafter. This would be regrettable, but this is a scenario we want to be prepared for should this time come.

On a more positive note, we were very honoured to receive a Swiss science and business delegation last week. Led by Swiss State Secretary Ineichen-Fleisch (Economy) and Ambassador Moruzzi (Science, Innovation), the delegation was offered insight into opportunities in business and science/research by numerous experts in Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne. All experts agreed that the mid to long term outlook for Australia is positive, but first Australia needed to resolve some, mainly political, challenges. It is our hope that the delegation will return to Switzerland with a realistic and positive view of Australia and support any initiatives for a stronger and structured Swiss presence in Australia. As was rightly pointed out by former SwissCham president, Mr Beat Knoblauch, during one meeting with the delegation (paraphrased): “Firstly, we all must realise that most Swiss companies in Australia are run by foreigners (=non-Swiss). We and Switzerland should be thankful to them for “waiving the Swiss flag” down under. They are

doing an excellent job. Secondly, bringing business and science together is the right approach by Switzerland as shown with this delegation. As for Swiss presence in Australia, the future is in bundling forces and resources of all bodies and organisations representing Swiss interests.” I could not agree more.

I am looking ahead to a very exiting year. Among the highlights will be two anniversaries: Firstly, we will celebrate SwissCham’s 30th anniversary (to take place in conjunction with our Swiss Award in Sydney in May) and secondly, we will celebrate our 10th anniversary of the Swiss Ambassador Cup in Melbourne (23rd November). So, should your company want to get involved in one way or the other, please let me know. I am sure we will find a solution.

Wishing you all a happy Festive Season with your family and friends, and a successful and healthy 2015.

Thank you for your continuous support and until next time! Marcel Svatos

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NOMINATIONS FOR THE SWISS AWARD ARE NOW OPEN!

Follow the footsteps of last year’s winner Hilti Australia and win the Swiss Award 2015. Nominate your company/organisation with a few simple steps online. Click on the following link or copy paste it to your browser to start: http://SwissCham.formstack.com/forms/SwissAwardNominationForm

MEMBERS SURVEY PART TWO

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MEMBERS SURVEY PART TWO - CONT.

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Boring Once in a while Love it

What is your preferred event format?

MEMBERS SURVEY PART TWO - CONT.

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Boring Once in a while Love it

How often do you use the following social media channels? (in %)

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SWISS investments IN AUSTRALIA

NESTLE CREATES 100 JOBS & INVESTS $65M IN NSW CENTREAL WEST  

Nestlé  Australia  has  unveiled  a  $65  million  upgrade  to  its  site  in  the  NSW  central  west  town  of  Blayney,  extending  the  capabiliBes  of  the  plant  and  creaBng  around  100  addiBonal  full  Bme  jobs.  

The  latest  upgrade  brings  the  total  investment  to  nearly  $100  million  since  2011,  making  it  a  state-­‐of-­‐the-­‐art  pet  food  facility.  

The  new  facility  will  produce  ‘wet’  pet  food  to  be  sold  in  pouches  in  Australia  and  exported  to  countries  such  as  Japan,  China  and  ASEAN  markets.    

It’s  expected  the  new  plant  will  boost  the  factory’s  annual  producBon  to  over  100,000  tonnes.  

More  than  80  per  cent  of  raw  materials  used  at  the  factory  are  sourced  domesBcally,  including  meat,  grains  and  packaging,  with  a  strong  focus  on  buying  ingredients  from  within  the  local  region.    

The  latest  upgrade,  which  has  taken  almost  two  years  to  complete,  includes  the  installaBon  of  world-­‐class  producBon  equipment,  a  5,400  square  metre  warehouse,  and  an  upgrade  to  the  Research  and  Development  facility,  puTng  the  Nestlé  Purina  PetCare  Blayney  factory  at  the  forefront  of  innovaBon.    

Nestlé  Purina  PetCare  Vice  President  OperaBons  Suleman  Khan  said  that  bringing  the  best  in  technology  to  the  facility,  combined  with  the  passion  and  technical  know-­‐how  of  the  Blayney  team,  was  key  to  ensuring  future  success.  “It’s  important  that  manufacturing  faciliBes  remain  compeBBve  to  ensure  future  investment  within  the  region,”  Mr  Khan  said.  “That  means  bringing  together  the  right  factory,  in  the  right  locaBon,  making  the  right  products,  at  the  best  cost,”  Mr  Khan  said.  

Between  2011  and  2015  more  than  100  new  full  Bme  jobs  have  been  added  to  the  exisBng  200  employees  of  the  Nestlé  Purina  PetCare  factory.  As  well,  an  addiBonal  80  contract  posiBons  were  required  during  construcBon.  

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NEWS & UPDATES FROM THE NETWORK

PTRONIC PTY LTD Australian company, founded by a Swiss, was included in the Global Top 30 for the Global Cleantech Cluster Association 2014 later Stage Awards. The prestigious Top 30 consist of mid-to late-stage companies that originate from a variety of cleantech industries and have a proven track record in their home market, with the goal to expand internationally. Using the Keystone Compact Method, each company was evaluated based on their position for value capture in their industry, and investment grade. The Global Top 10 winners and one Grand Prize winner will be determined by a panel of investors and announced at the 5th annual CleanTech Investing Seminar in Lausanne, Switzerland in December 2014.

Situated in Richmond, Western Sydney, PTronik has developed Intelligent Control systems that significantly improve efficiencies at Industrial and Manufacturing facilities. Control of Air Pollution from Dust and reducing energy and maintenance costs are high priorities for today’s manufacturers. In 2013 PTronik was nominated in the top 30 for the Australian Technologies Competition and has been awarded Commonwealth Government Grants to assist with development and commercialisation of its technology for the Australian and International market. More information on PTronik at http://www.ptronik.com

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WELCOME NEW MEMBERS

Vista Group Australia is a boutique IT strategy consulting firm. We provide business solutions in spend analysis by using data science and converting the data into meaningful business insights for large and medium sized organisations.

Rather than looking at the spend management platform in isolation, we take a very unique approach where we analyse the spend data between the IT, Sourcing and Finance platforms. We collect total IT spend data and with the help of proprietary algorithms, probability models and uncertainty modelling, we predict different outcomes for the company’s future state.

Our specialty is in Data Analytics, Business Intelligence, Scenario Planning and Optimisation.

We conduct a brief analysis and advise which areas we believe we can reduce cost and improve operational efficiency within your existing IT spend framework. We are platform independent and product agnostic.

Level 17, Coca-Cola Place 40 Mount StreetNorth Sydney NSW 2060 T: +61 (0) 2 8415 9786 F: +61 (0) 2 8415 9701 Email: info@vista-grp.com www.vista-grp.com

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WELCOME NEW MEMBERS

Hall & Wilcox is a leading Australian independent business law firm that was established in Melbourne nearly 100 years ago. Since establishment, we have remained independent and today we have 42 partners and more than 260 staff with offices in Melbourne and Sydney, offering depth and breadth of expertise and experience across all areas of commercial legal advice.

We have a long established and close connection with German speaking clients. Having native speakers and fully qualified German lawyers in our team ensures that we know and understand the special requirements and needs of our clients’ business and bridge legal, linguistic and cultural differences in a manner beneficial to them.

We have extensive experience in advising Swiss, Austrian and German clients on all areas of doing business in Australia. We know the similarities, differences and challenges that Swiss based enterprises face when entering or operating in the Australian market. We advise and assist our clients in every step along the way. Our advice covers all possible questions including legal advice on establishing a business in Australia, acquiring a business in Australia and entering into agreements with Australian companies to assist our clients’ entry into the Australian market. At the same time we take care of all other matters that may arise in the same context, for example employment, visa or taxation queries. Furthermore, we facilitate our clients' access to all relevant local expert competence, through our wide ranging network of contacts. Hall & Wilcox was named Law Firm of the Year in 2012 by the Law Institute of Victoria, and is a finalist in the 2014 BRW Client Choice Awards for Law Firm of the Year (revenue under $50m).

Please contact Oliver Jankowsky on oliver.jankowsky@hallandwilcox.com.au with any queries.

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®

EVENTS REVIEW

SWISS AMBASSADOR CUP 2014 13 OCTOBER @ ROYAL MELBOURNE

EVENT SPONSORS

IN-KIND SPONSORS

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Winner Gallus Australia

2nd Place Lufthansa Group

3rd Place Lindt

NAGA Team Philip Hocking (not for the first time recipient of the NAGA prize…)

Longest Flight Competition Winner from Schindler Price: Return Flight to Switzerland on Swiss

Lucky Door Prize winner Price: Victorinox I.N.O.X watch

EVENTS REVIEW

CRUISE WITH THE EUROPEANS 5TH NOVEMBER 2014, SYDNEY

Despite a thunderstorm just one hour before the cruise, most of the 650 registered guests turned up and had a wonderful time while enjoying a stunning Sydney harbour sunset.

EVENT SPONSOR

SWISS SCIENCE & BUSINESS DELEGATION DINNER 25 NOVEMBER 2014, SYDNEY

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EVENT PARTNERS

From left: Ambassador Mauro Moruzzi (Science & Innovation), Philip Hocking (SwissCham President) and State Secretary Marie-Gabrielle Ineichen-Fleisch (Economy)

�13 ZU22454 - V1 09/14

This is a general description of insurance services and does not represent or alter any insurance policy. Such services are provided to qualified customers by affiliated companies of the Zurich Insurance Group Ltd, as in the US, Zurich American Insurance Company, 1400 American Lane, Schaumburg, IL 60196, in Canada, Zurich Insurance Company Ltd, 400 University Ave., Toronto, ON M5G 1S9, and outside the US and Canada, Zurich Insurance plc, Ballsbridge Park, Dublin 4, Ireland (and its EU branches), Zurich Insurance Company Ltd, Mythenquai 2, 8002 Zurich, Zurich Australian Insurance Limited, ABN 13 000 296 640, AFS Licence No232507, 5 Blue St., North Sydney, NSW 2060.

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