Airex AG is an innovative Aargau company aiming at being faster, qualitatively better and more customer-oriented than the competition. For this purpose, Airex in Sins is molding a corporate culture characterised by transparency, creativity, safety and the willingness to continuously improve.
Airex AG is a leading company in the field of specialty foams and is a subsidiary of the Canadian Alcan Group. Most of its customers are active in the visual communication industry (Forex light foam panels for outside advertising). Airex AG as a company is not well known to the public. "We hardly have a single customer in Switzerland," Hansruedi Tschan, CEO of Airex, emphasizes. But things are different in Sins. Here, Airex AG is the largest employer. Airex is a traditional export firm - 98% of its produced goods are for export.
Location Aargau - a whim in the company's history
"Aargau", according to Hansruedi Tschan, "was a whim of history. For energy policy reasons (electricity supply via Lonza), Lonza wanted its subsidiary to settle in Aargau instead of Central Switzerland at the time. For us, the Canton of Aargau is important as an interlocutor that helps us find professional and prompt solutions. The impact of taxes in business development is, of course, massively overemphasized. The best business development support consists in the state and the communities efficiently helping the entrepreneur in a quick and cost-efficient manner. This is especially true when it comes to permits and construction projects."
Good connections
"The Zurich Airport and the highway connections were key in our decision," says Tschan. "Transport links are very good here, especially following the opening of the A4. Sins as company headquarters is also advantageous thanks to the availability of sufficient workforce. In addition, accommodation in the upper Freiamt is very affordable. For our ca. 200 employees (including 10 apprentices), most of whom live within a radius of 20 kilometres, that is a decisive advantage."
Developing inside a team
Product development is what makes Airex special. "Everyone in the company is invited to submit ideas", Tschan emphasizes. Similarly, the diverse input by customers also directly informs development. The actual development team encompasses 12 persons. "Development is always also teamwork", says Tschan and he stresses, the vision for a new product is nothing but the beginning. Airex wants to be a good, interesting employer. "In 2007, the Magazine 'Cash' ranked us as the sixth-best employer in Switzerland. At Airex, we need people with good training and plenty of curiosity. We offer interesting work and freedom."
