SABC Winter Newsletter 2018
Platinum Members

Gold Member 
Silver Members              
SABC's Annual Fundraiser and Christmas Dinner 2017


On December 6, 2017, the SABC hosted its annual SABC Christmas Dinner and Fundraiser at the elegant Peninsula Hotel Chicago. As always, this event was a wonderful way to network with leading Swiss business persons and companies located in the Chicagoland and Midwest region. We would like to once again thank the event sponsors and donors of items for the silent auction. The sponsors’ and donors’ support were invaluable to the success of the event. For more pictures of the event, please visit SABC gallery.
You are cordially invited to the SABC Annual Meeting 2018
You are cordially invited to the SABC Annual Meeting 2018 which will be held on Thursday, March 22nd, and graciously hosted by William Blair at their offices at 150 North Riverside Plaza, Chicago, Illinois 60606.
The event will begin at 6:15pm with a reception followed by a light dinner and will conclude at 8:30pm.

Our host, Marc Lacher, Private Client Advisor at William Blair, will speak to the attendees. During the evening, members in attendance will be asked to vote on the 2018 Board of Directors. A list of the proposed members of the Board of Directors for 2018-2019 can be found at http://sabcnow.com/about/. Please RSVP by March 15th to events@sabcnow.com.  
The SABC is pleased to announce its new Resource Guide “Welcome to the Midwest”!

You can access the SABC Resource Guide on the Apple App Store or through your web browser.
 
The Resource Guide provides useful contacts and information for Swiss executives and other professionals new to the area as well as those already here. The SABC membership consists of a strong network of professionals and other service providers and the Resource Guide provides convenient access to them. Contacts for such services as legal advisory, real estate experts, banking, executive recruiting, location services, insurance, and schools are organized in a very user-friendly format.
HEULE Launches New Website

HEULE Tool Corporation has launched a new website at www.heuletool.com, designed to provide a better user experience with improved mobile-responsive navigation and functionality throughout. The new site allows users to access more information to enable better product education and purchasing decisions.

HEULE’s new site includes technical data, videos, testimonials, and case studies which provide a more detailed overview of tool capabilities. The new case studies section of the website includes navigation to allow users to view case studies categorized by industry, application, material, and tool. For example, a user who is looking for a tool for chamfering Inconel in the production of aircraft parts would be able to find similar case studies to determine tool possibilities that may work to solve his or her manufacturing challenge. Users can also browse these case studies for information about the benefits of using automated tools for high-volume manufacturing—such as reduced cycle times and higher quality parts—in real customer situations.

“Our goal is to continue to provide more ways for our customers and partners to learn about our tools and the ways they can be used to solve manufacturing challenges. We know that manufacturing engineers, machinists, and others in our industry are interested in researching products and finding the best solutions. We’re excited to provide that opportunity through our website, to continue getting information out there that helps our customers stay at the forefront of manufacturing technology,” said HEULE Tool Corporation President Gary Brown about the website launch.  
    
Organizational Announcement
For a family company it always is a big step, to hand over the responsibility for the business to a new generation. It is not enough just to have children, they must be capable, qualified, well educated and finally also willing to take over responsibility. So we are very happy and proud to announce that effective January 1st, 2017, Dr. sc. tech. ETH Matthias Wandfluh, will assume the position of CEO of Wandfluh AG, Switzerland. After his sister Anita Wandfluh, having made the education as HR Manager and today being responsible for Human Resources at Wandfluh AG, he is the second member of the third generation that is joining the company. 
Matthias has made a master degree in Mechanical Engineering at the Technical University in Zürich (Federal Institute of Technology, ETH), followed by a PHD degree at the Institute for Management and Technology at the ETH. He has worked in different projects in Europe and Asia and after that he has spent half a year with the company Hydraquip in Houston, Texas, a Wandfluh distributor in the USA. May 1st 2016 Matthias Wandfluh joined Wandfluh AG Frutigen as an assistant to the Manage-ment. There he got an introduction in the Wandfluh Business and he was a great asset to myself in my function as managing director of the company. 
Me personally, for the time to come, I will stay president of the board of directors and will stay responsible for the Wandfluh Holding AG and its daughter companies. I will assist Matthias whenever he has questions and will give him my full support where this is wished. 
Please join us in welcoming Matthias to the Wandfluh Company and organization and lending your support 

Wandfluh AG 


 Hansruedi Wandfluh President 
    
Organizational Announcement
We would like to announce that effective December 11th, 2017, Mike Iwanski will assume the position of Northeast Regional Sales Manager for Wandfluh of America, Inc. 
Mike has a strong technical background and Twenty- five (25) years in the hydraulics industry in various capacities of applications, sales and sales management. Mike holds a degree in Business Administration from Manatee Community College of Venice, Florida and an Associate’s Degree in Engineering from ITT Technical College in Tampa, Florida. 
Mike previously worked with Dana Corporation, Eaton Vickers, Oil Control, Bucher Hydraulics, and most recently Airline Hydraulics. Mike lives in Frederick, Maryland with his wife Lisa and their five children (Matt, Katy, Liz, Ben, and Nick). Mike enjoys an occasional game of golf, his children’s sporting events, some antique shopping, and family activities. 
Please join us in welcoming Mike to the Wandfluh family and organization and lending your support to him for his continued success. 
Best regards,

Mike Lindamood 

Mike Lindamood
President/CEO
Wandfluh of America, Inc.
“SABC Members from the law firm of Cremer Spina in Chicago recently obtained a significant victory in a product liability suit filed in U.S. federal court in the State of Washington on behalf of their Swiss client.  The case involved catastrophic hand and chest injuries suffered by a 40-year old packaging plant worker in July of 2014 while repairing a die cutting machine.  In March of 2017, the plaintiff sued nine defendants, including Cremer Spina’s Swiss client and its U.S. subsidiary, alleging that the Swiss defendant had designed, manufactured and sold the die cutting machine in question.  Responding to the lawsuit, attorneys from Cremer Spina filed a motion to dismiss their client based on the argument that the court in Washington could not exercise personal jurisdiction over the Swiss defendant.  The plaintiff opposed the motion and even forced the deposition of a corporate representative in Zurich.  However, in November of 2017, the Washington court ruled in favor of the Swiss defendant and granted their dismissal from the case.  In so doing, the court found that the Swiss company lacked the minimum contacts with the State of Washington necessary to support the court’s imposition of personal jurisdiction.  Please contact Bill Cremer (wcremer@cremerspina.com) or Tom Pender of Cremer Spina (tpender@cremerspina.com) for further details on the defense of foreign companies in U.S. litigation.”
 
Are Your Electronic Devices and Data Safe When Crossing U.S. Borders?
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) recently issued guidance governing Border Searches of Electronic Devices. CBP and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have recently increased inspections of data stored on electronic devices at borders when arriving to or departing from the United States—a 60% plus increase in 2017 over 2016. The purpose of the new directive is to assure that the “authority for border search of electronic devices is exercised judiciously, responsibly and consistent with public trust.” Under the guidance, officers may request to review data locally stored on electronic devices, may only perform an advanced search if there is reasonable suspicion or for national security reasons and must follow specific procedures when handling privileged or business-sensitive information. More information on how companies might handle information on employee devices while traveling can be found at:

http://www.btcurrentsemployment.com/are-your-personal-and-corporate-electronic-devices-and-data-safe-when-traveling/?platform=hootsuite

Barnes & Thornburg’s Global Services Group counsels Swiss and other European entities engaged in business in the United States on corporate, immigration, regulatory, intellectual property and other legal matters. Our clients gain access to more than 600 legal professionals across the country from one of the 100 largest U.S. firms.

SABC board member Will Turner has more than 20 years advising domestic and international companies in a wide range of industries on U.S. commercial and transactional matters. If you have questions about electronic device safety, please contact Will Turner.
Alp & Dell Cheese is a favorite cheese store, located in the Emmi – Roth creamery in Monroe, WI, the “Home of the World Champion Cheese, Grand Cru Surchoix ”.
We are a leader in quality, selection and price and future over 150  Wisconsin made and imported cheeses.
We ship cheese anywhere in the USA.
Monday through Friday you can take a tour at 10AM and watch cheese being made.
In addition to all the cheese, we have a nice selection of wines from many European Countries and the famous local Beers.

For information call: 608-328-3355 or visit our website at www.alpanddellcheese.com.
Owners, Tony & Esther Zgraggen.
Top events 2018 in Switzerland. Switzerland hosts many great festivals, world-class exhibitions and traditional customs events this year. Enjoy Switzerland!
Customs and traditions: Discover customs and traditions, from A for alphorn to Z for Zäuerle yodeling https://goo.gl/WjYHGy
Sport: Be a part of the action as the best of the best show their skills. https://goo.gl/StH92u
Exhibitions: Visit prestigious special exhibitions such as Baselitz, Giacometti, Hodler, Kokoschka and Klee. https://goo.gl/7vhLmN
Festivals: Switzerland is the country with the greatest concentration of festivals in the world. https://goo.gl/zmZUEQ
Hotels of Switzerland – Providing an ideal setting to make your company's next incentive / meeting unforgettable.  With over thirty five years of experience in the MICE industry, our team together with hotels located in the most sought after locations in Switzerland stand at the ready to ensure every detail of your program is seamlessly executed.  Like a fine Swiss timepiece, our hotels take pride is precision and grandeur and the quality of service is never forgotten.  Our close cooperation with Swiss International Airlines and local destination management companies allow us to provide you with complete tour elements including ground transportation and excursions. We work with a variety of budgets and can tailor a program for you. For more information contact info@hotelsofswitzerland.com, p. 312.919.1500. And to see list of all our member properties and partners please visit our website: www.hotelsofswitzerland.com.
PRODUCT HIGHLIGHTS
Reishauer products have been exported for decades to all industrialized countries around the world and can be found in small & medium size companies as well as in large corporations.
In each case, we attempt to offer not just machines but problem solutions. This means that customer’s requirements are collectively reviewed, evaluated and if possible implemented. Our machine and tool manufacturing distinguishes itself by economically meeting the highest demands of accuracy.
Reishauer gear grinding machines, custom clamping fixtures, grinding wheels and diamond & cBN tools are in use where high quality products need to be produced economically to satisfy particular demands focused on accuracy, durability and reliability. Our company maintains an active worldwide representation network. We know that close proximity to our customers allows us to stay at the forefront of current engineering and technology trends assuring lowest manufacturing cost per piece.

Representatives of this initiative are in place at our subsidiaries in China, England, France, Germany, Japan, Mexico, Russia and the United States

Photo:
The machine which is based on the RZ 150 (first two-spindle machine in the industry) was designed for gears and shafts up to diameters of 260 mm. Established Reishauer quality and highest efficiency now for a considerably enlarged workpiece spectrum.

COMPANY PROFILE
Reishauer‘s history begins with Hans Jakob Däniker, a citizen of Zurich, Toolsmith by trade, who in 1788 laid the foundation of today’s company, Reishauer AG
As an integrated professional services firm, Rödl & Partner is active at 108 wholly owned locations in 50 countries. We owe our dynamic success in audit, legal, management and IT consulting, tax consulting as well as tax declaration and BPO to our 4,500 entrepreneurial minded colleagues. Rödl & Partner USA has specifically tailored our accounting, auditing, tax and business consulting services to the unique needs of your foreign owned business. For more than 40 years our core practice has been serving the accounting and tax needs of primarily German speaking and foreign owned “Mittelstand” companies operating in the U.S. from our offices in Atlanta (GA), Birmingham (AL), Charlotte (NC), Chicago (IL), Greenville (SC), Houston (TX) and Manhattan (NY).
                         
About LNS America, Inc.
LNS is your “One-Stop-Shop” for an incredible assortment of proven solutions for Swiss style CNC machines. As one of the world’s leading machine tool accessory providers and with proven experience and performance, LNS is your single source supplier for engineered solutions.
More manufacturers turn to LNS for:
  • Manual and automatic bar feeds for bar stock diameters from .039” to 4-3/4” with changeovers in as little as 1 minute
  • Turbo chip conveyors and coolant management systems that eliminate bottlenecks and reduce coolant costs.
  • Workholding devices from precision chucks to complete automatic steady rest systems for better stability, speed and product quality.
  • Fox mist collectors that improve worker safety and job performance while reducing facility maintenance and utilities costs.
In addition, LNS provides unmatched applications assistance, customer support and technical service worldwide from more than 800 dedicated employees. LNS is truly your one-stop-shop for machine tool peripherals.

To learn more visit: www.LNS-america.com
P: 513-528-5674
E: sales@LNSamerica.com
     
EROWA Technology, based in Arlington Heights, IL., is a full service supplier of palletization and automation systems for the North American manufacturing market. Our goal is to provide complete turnkey solutions for precision parts handling through most any group of manufacturing processes (from one type of machine to the next). We are capable of providing a simple manual palletization system or a fully integrated, custom designed workholding and automation system to meet the current needs and expectations of our customers.

In the market segments of precision mechanics, tool- and mold-making, as well as chip-cutting production, we offer concepts and products that provide customers with considerable optimization possibilities throughout the whole range of machining processes. Primarily, we achieve this through comprehensive knowledge of the application of our products, through individual and customized consultation, and through the use of our Flexible Manufacturing Concept (FMC), which cover the following four areas:

- Standardization (tooling system, tooling technology)
- Organization (setting-up, presetting and measuring technologies)
- Automation (loading/unloading technologies)
- Integration (process sequence, process control and planning technologies)

EROWA Technology, Inc.
2535 S. Clearbrook Dr.
Arlington Heights, IL 60005
www.erowa.com
info.usa@erowa.com

SABC Upcoming Events

March, 22, 2018: SABC Annual Meeting
August  1, 2018: Swiss National Day Reception
December 6, 2018: Annual Christmas Dinner and Fundraiser