Translated by an automated translation plugin.
Technologies with widespread impact: A follow-up analysis of SATW’s Technology Outlook 2025 reveals which technologies will realise their potential in the manufacturing industry in future. Technologies from the digital world, such as the Internet of Things, as well as cross-cutting technologies such as fibre-optic sensors, are having an impact across all the sectors examined.
Three factors determine the success of innovation: According to Adam Gontarz of the Swissmem association, the first is a convincing business case; the second is the ability to integrate the technology into existing processes – including the availability of skilled workers; and the third is a financially manageable risk with reliable economic conditions.
Incremental innovations dominate: in production and manufacturing technology, the focus is on step-by-step improvements – such as a machine tool that becomes a double-digit percentage more accurate through software compensation alone. As a rule of thumb, a strong, innovative SME invests 4 to 8 per cent of its turnover in research and development.
Knowledge and technology transfer as the key: Innovations arise from the exchange between research and practice – in technology transfer centres, innovation parks and start-up incubators. Innosuisse’s Innovation Voucher supports SMEs in the early stages with 15,000 Swiss francs; almost three-quarters of the ideas assessed are taken forward.
The triangle works – but not by itself: universities conduct research, Innosuisse provides funding, and industry implements the results. To ensure that this potential is not left untapped, SMEs need reliable framework conditions, strong research partners and the courage to invest strategically.
The inspiration for company founder Lukas Schertel was a snow-white beetle from South-East Asia. The physicist realised that the pristine white colour, which serves as camouflage for the beetle, is based on a very specific microstructure of its surface molecules – a structure he could just as easily replicate using cellulose. Today, Schertel’s start-up Seprify produces a completely bio-based white pigment from this sustainable raw material. It replaces titanium dioxide (TiO₂), which is classified as a health hazard, for example in toothpaste. Seprify’s product pipeline includes a whole range of other applications that are on the verge of entering the market: in the cosmetics sector, for furniture coatings, for pill coating and even in electronic applications. It is an example of how the concept of bio-inspiration enables innovation across various product segments.
Technologies are not an end in themselves. They form the backbone of innovations that give companies a technological edge or a comparative competitive advantage. Yet the engine of innovation is faltering. This is demonstrated by the SATW’s 2024 Innovation Capacity Analysis: according to this, the share of turnover generated by new products in Swiss industry is declining, particularly amongst SMEs. The results of the innovation survey conducted by the KOF Institute at ETH Zurich are also a cause for concern: whilst total private-sector expenditure on research and development has risen slightly, the proportion of companies with R&D expenditure has fallen since 2000. Investment in research and development is therefore becoming concentrated in an ever-smaller number of firms.
This raises the question of whether and how promising technologies identified in the SATW’s Technology Outlook 2025 , can reignite innovation. In a follow-up analysis, SATW experts have estimated the number of sectors within the manufacturing industry in which the identified technologies are likely to realise their potential in the future (see chart). It emerged that technologies from the ‘Digital World’ research area – such as the Internet of Things – will have an impact across all sectors. Cross-cutting technologies such as fibre-optic sensors (from the ‘Manufacturing Processes and Materials’ research area) in the field of sensor technology are also having a significant impact, as they are revolutionising measurement technology and data transmission.
Jede Zeile entspricht einer Industrieklasse. Die darin abgebildeten Rechtecke stehen für einzelne Technologien, die für diese Industrieklasse. Rechtecke gleicher Farbe gehören zum selben Forschungsfeld.
Klicken Sie auf einen farbigen Block, um die zugehörigen Technologien kennenzulernen.
Quelle: Eigene Darstellung. Zur Methodik vgl. hier.
The success of a technology stands or falls on the workbenches and in the offices of the innovative companies that have to hold their own in national and international markets. It is these companies that turn a brilliant idea into a new product, a better service, more efficient or cost-effective manufacturing, or more sustainable processes, thereby gaining a competitive advantage and boosting their productivity.
However, the innovation process is a major challenge, particularly for SMEs, say Adam Gontarz and Marvin Schuster from the Swissmem association in an interview. Gontarz heads the Digitalisation, Innovation and Technology division. Marvin Schuster advises start-ups and SMEs on their innovation processes within the Innovation department. Swissmem represents around 1,500 companies in the Swiss engineering industry. The majority of these are SMEs with fewer than 250 employees. These companies are typically heavily dependent on the export market, tend to have low profit margins and have a considerable amount of capital tied up in plant and infrastructure. Their financial scope for taking major risks is limited; just a few wrong decisions can have a devastating impact.
According to Adam Gontarz, successful innovation within a company depends on three factors:
Firstly, the company must be able to develop a compelling business case based on a new technology. What problem is the new technology intended to solve? What are the customers’ needs, and how much are they willing to pay? What competitive advantage does this create in the market? When will the investment pay off? These questions must be considered right from the start.
Secondly, the technology must be integrable into existing processes – into machinery, supply chains and marketing channels. However, the human factor is also important. Skilled workers are often in short supply, particularly in less established technologies, and must first be recruited. The ability to recruit skilled workers and talent is therefore crucial.
Thirdly, the risk must be financially manageable for the company. New technologies are expensive because their development and integration into a company’s own machinery or, more generally, into its processes require significant investment. However, scaling up new products and entering new markets also entail high costs. Investment security is therefore crucial, as are economic conditions such as energy prices, tax and investment frameworks, and currency stability.
The declining share of turnover accounted for by new products is a sign of a weakening innovation performance within an economic region. This is because only new products give companies a technological edge and open up new markets. However, this does not mean that companies in the manufacturing sector are not innovating. ‘In production and manufacturing technology, incremental innovations are of primary importance,’ says Adam Gontarz. Incremental innovations are step-by-step improvements or productivity gains achieved through new technologies – for example, a product that is better tailored to customer requirements; the optimisation of a process; energy- or cost-saving production lines; or adaptation to new regulations. They are often based on advances in digital research, for example thanks to the increasing convergence of software and hardware. Marvin Schuster gives an example: “A machine tool can become a double-digit percentage more accurate through software compensation alone.”
“Every franc saved through innovation has an impact on competitiveness,” says Adam Gontarz. How much an SME invests in new products and innovations depends on many factors: the market environment, financial resources, the competitive landscape and, not least, the technology itself on which it relies. There is no magic formula for this, but there is a rule of thumb: “A strong and innovative SME invests between 4 and 8 per cent of its turnover in research and development,” says Adam Gontarz.
Crucial to the innovation process are not only the technologies themselves, but above all the transfer of knowledge from universities, engineering service providers and technology transfer centres to businesses. Innovations rarely emerge from the quiet confines of a development department. It is only through a dynamic exchange between researchers and practitioners that successful innovations are born. “Today, partnerships are the be-all and end-all for companies’ innovation activities,” says Adam Gontarz. Technology transfer centres, innovation parks and start-up incubators are ideally suited to this, as they all create a kind of innovation ecosystem where researchers and entrepreneurs can progress, step by step, from the latest findings to a market-ready product.
Innosuisse also provides targeted support for joint innovation projects between companies and research partners. The Innovation Voucher is specifically tailored to SMEs; it supports companies during the delicate early stages of an innovation and provides funding of 15,000 Swiss francs for an initial concept or feasibility study. According to an analysis by Innosuisse, almost three-quarters of the ideas assessed under the Innovation Voucher scheme are taken forward, and around 30 per cent of companies have been able to turn the project into a full-scale innovation project.
According to Adam Gontarz, the university-Innosuisse-industry triangle works very well in Switzerland: “The universities conduct research, Innosuisse provides funding, and industry implements the solutions.” However, this engine of innovation does not run of its own accord. SMEs in particular also need reliable framework conditions, strong research partners and the courage to invest strategically. Otherwise, technological potential remains untapped – and Switzerland loses its competitive edge.
| Role | Title + Name |
|---|---|
| Text by | Matthias Meili |
| Expertise | Adam Gontarz, Marvin Schuster |
