Swiss made – the zai 2019 recipe

A strong brand identity helps enterprises to position themselves clearly in the market. It allows consumers to find their ways in an infinitely large world of products. Ideally, once won customers should be able to follow the brand promise without thinking twice.  With Swiss made, that is already the case for years. Reason for us to have a close look behind the scenes of Swissness, and to reveal our zai recipe for 2019.

The legislator defines Swiss made

As per January 1, 2017, a trademark act came into force, specifying the criteria for Swiss made products. For our manufacturing ski and textile industry, for example, 60% of manufacturing costs must arise in Switzerland (research and development included). Everyone can adhere to this regulation. What goes beyond the law, that’s what makes our work at zai special:

Innovation and Openness

Switzerland is considered worldwide as a place of innovation. zai develops and manufactures together with partners from universities, local craftsmen, suppliers from German industries, and international manufacturers.  At the zai the lab, people from Germany, Italy and Switzerland work together. And they have something in common –  innovation capability, the willingness to take risks and the openness to try new things. Here, everybody pulls in the same direction. That is not always easy: When we host a meeting, bringing together craftsmen with university graduates, craftsmen may wink at each other as soon as one of the “brain workers” takes the floor. This area of conflict needs to be tackled in a constructive manner, because: the willingness to innovate unites, and openness helps everybody to advance.

Craftsmanship and Commitment

With last year’s Swiss Skills World Championships in Berne, we saw many Swiss manufacturers in the top places. No miracle, since craftsmanship has a long tradition in Switzerland. People from all over the world can rely on our reliable work. For us, that has to do with commitment. A valuable virtue, especially in our fast-moving society. In Switzerland, this is even, just like reliability, contractually governed.

Family Focus

Family focus is for zai a trusting relationship, not only within the company but also with the customers. Contrary to the community management, family focus is more binding: family members can rely at all times on one another. This requires responsibility as a consequence. Only those who manage to live this basic idea also as a company can position themselves as a reliable brand in public.

Switzerland has its price

“Quality has its price” – that may sound stereotyped, hits in our case, however, the nail directly on the head: in Switzerland, we are lucky to profit from an excellent infrastructure – a symbol of our developed national economy. This entails a high price level.

We are confident though since we recognise sufficient demand for our offers: a drop below standard is not an alternative – not for zai either.

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