Helvetic processing

Revenues in the Swiss conversion industry - comprising some 850 companies with a total of 34,500 employees - shrank by 1.8% in 2011 with respect to the previous year, recording 15.5 billion francs (just under 13 billion euros).
The KVS (Kunststoff Verband Schweiz) association reports that after a positive first half of the year, the year-end result for 2011 was conditioned by negative factors that became more acute in the second half of the year: the general economic crisis; growing raw materials costs; and the over-valuation of the franc, which further inhibited exports that were already compromised by competition from other countries with lower production costs.
Forecasts for the current year point to a stable trend.