Stryker

«Precision and quality are a given in this region,» notes Stryker, a US global firm specializing in orthopedic products.

The US company produces and sells orthopedic and other medical technology products for the endoscopy sector. Based on its turnover of USD 14.9 billion (in 2019), Stryker occupies 10th place among the world's medical technology manufacturers.

Stryker has a presence in not just one but several locations in Switzerland. Its headquarters are in Selzach in the Greater Zurich Area, where the US company took over Osteo AG in 1996 to expand in the trauma market. Additional factors for the firm's positive development in the Greater Zurich Area include the Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology in Lausanne and Zurich as well as several university clinics, which Stryker collaborates with closely.

"The location is attractive for us because we are in the center of a high-tech cluster here," Thomas Wahl, General Manager of Stryker Selzach, comments. The watchmaking city of Grenchen is just a few miles away: "Precision and quality are a given in this region." Wahl emphasizes that the dual educational system in Switzerland, i.e. the combination of practical experience and theory, is unique and a further key business location advantage.

The administration of the canton of Solothurn, and the cantonal business promotion association in particular, actively supported Stryker in all areas and throughout each different phase. The association still remains in constant contact with the company today, as the public authorities feel that dialog is a vital way to ensure fruitful cooperation.