swisspor Management AG

A five minute drive from Zug will bring you to the town/village of Steinhausen and a quick five minute walk (one minute via bicycle) from Steinhausen's town center will bring one to the head office of swisspor Management (yep the "s" in swisspor is not capitalized). Founded in 1947, swisspor manufactures foam--as in the kind used in the construction industry. In 2002 the company went private and changed its name from Acopor Group to swisspor. An annual report from the year 2000 showed revenues of 411 million Swiss Francs ($321 million) and over 1,500 employees.

Built in 2000, the four-story head office stands in front of a swisspor factory. Walking into the building I find there's no receptionist or reception area. However, in a few minutes I'm meeting with the friendly and accommodating Sabina Gmuer, assistant to CEO Bernhard Alpstaeg. It's July and that means vacation time so, a skeleton crew mans the office.

Ten people work here. There's plenty of parking in an underground lot, smoking isn't allowed in the workplace, there's no cafeteria but a break room and no formal dress code. It's a two-minute drive to the nearest freeway and 45 minutes to Zurich's airport.

CEO Alpstaeg occupies a corner office on the third floor. Nothing hangs on the white walls and count one plant (real) and note the computer.

Company website–though it's only in German and French: www.swisspor.com