It was 10 years ago, on January 15, 2015, the Swiss National Bank decided to abandon the floor rate of the franc against the euro. This measure, announced by surprise, caused a shock wave for businesses in the country and in Jura. As a reminder, the floor rate – established in 2011 – aimed to maintain stability between the two currencies, namely that one euro was worth 1.20 francs.
The economy had to take it. “This abandonment of the floor rate was experienced as a shock, a cataclysm. Production costs increased suddenly. Although businesses were generally able to get through it, there was still some damage,” recalls Pierre-Alain Berret, director of the Jura Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Companies therefore had to adapt to this situation. “The first steps taken were to work on operational excellence, continuous improvement and process review. It is through this that we were able to gain in efficiency, in effectiveness, to recover margins that the strength of the franc had caused us to lose,” explains Olivier Haegeli, the boss of Willemin-Macodel, in Delémont. “In terms of production and development, we no longer work at all today as we did ten or fifteen years ago,” he adds.
Because the SNB’s decision taken in 2015 is still having effects today. “The strong franc remains a real problem. For exporting companies, it is a weight, a ball and chain that is dragged around. The franc is very strong, too strong. It prevents us from achieving certain sales objectives. Our products are extremely expensive abroad,” explains Olivier Haegeli, whose firm has to deal with strong competition. “Ten years later, the problem of the Swiss franc remains, especially since the currency is a safe haven. Every time there is a geopolitical crisis in the world, a war or other tensions, the franc increases in value mechanically. This is a constant concern for businesses,” says the director of the CCIJ, Pierre-Alain Berret.
Swiss
