Martin Eichler had good news for the Businesspark Laufental & Thierstein: the Laufental region in the canton of Basel-Landschaft is set to experience above average growth in the coming years. The chief economist at BAKBasel made this announcement at the first Economic Forum Laufental-Schwarzbubenland, according to a statement by the event’s organisers.
The region has changed in recent years and now enjoys a stable and balanced industry structure. But is not the time to rest on its laurels, insisted Thomas Kübler, head of Economic Development Baselland. The location’s appeal is still below average.
The region is also interesting for large companies, as Urs Grütter, the CEO of Stöcklin Logistik, pointed out during his presentation. His company plans to begin production in Laufen as of 2020. The reason: employees are still able to afford residential property here.
Existing companies also want to stay in the region but they need to do more to retain their employees. For its part, Ricola is emphasising more flexible working hours, including a home office, human resources manager René Schori told the audience.
Cantonal government councillor Thomas Weber called on companies as well as authorities to be facilitators and not obstacles.
The Economic Forum will be held annually.
