Interviewed in the 7:30 p.m. of the RTS, Gilbert Ghostine, director of Firmenich, returns to the inauguration Tuesday in Geneva of the new campus of 225,000 square meters of the company, world champion of flavors and perfumes, as well as its merger with Dutch DSM.
“We have created an ecosystem that works very well for 127 years. This week, for the inauguration of our campus, there was the President of the Geneva State Council Mauro Poggia, the President of EPFL and the Rector of the ‘UNIGE. It’s an ecosystem that we have built which is very effective,’ explains Gilbert Ghostine.
The campus has a largely automated production capacity of 61,000 tons per year. The multi-year investment amounts to nearly 200 million francs. Established in the municipalities of Satigny and Dardagny, this new site is the largest of the group’s global operations and one of the most technologically advanced.
Composed of three production plants, laboratories, a logistics platform, a warehouse and a biotechnology research and development plant, it confirms the long-term importance of Geneva in the company’s global activities. . “We have 200 professions at Firmenich, engineers, laboratory workers, creators. This ecosystem works”, specifies the director in the 7:30 p.m.
Acquisition by DSM
The announcement of the acquisition of Firmenich by DSM (Dutch State Mines) raised some questions and fears on which the general manager bounced back. “We have a greater ambition, the ambition to be a world leader,” he noted at the microphone of RTS.
“Through the merger with DSM, we are creating a Swiss world leader in beauty, nutrition and well-being. Geneva is the world capital of perfumery, the Silicon Valley of perfumery and flavors.”
The director reassures
Founded in 1895, Firmenich has 1,450 employees in Geneva and more than 11,000 worldwide. Despite the merger with DSM and the fact that the head office is moved to Aargau, Gilbert Ghostine specifies that “the shareholders of the Firmenich family will have 34.5% of the new group”. Thus, “they will be the reference shareholders for the long term”, “shareholders who are very attached to Geneva”.
“We have just inaugurated the largest and most sophisticated campus in the industry”, adds the director of the firm, an “unbeatable ecosystem”. “The global perfumery and beauty departments will be managed from Geneva, as will the management of research for ingredients – beauty, perfumery and food”, then specifies Gilbert Ghostine.
“The Firmenich family is rooted in Geneva. Firmenich is Genevan men and women. It’s a story that began in Geneva in Charles Firmenich’s garage in 1895, 127 years ago. And the company there remains anchored in a long-lasting and sustainable way”, further reassures Gilbert Ghostine.
>> See also the 7:30 p.m. topic:
Interview by Philippe Revaz
Julien Furrer with ats
