The Swiss Company That Makes Semiconductors Possible (A Conversation with Stephan Haferl)

Founded in 1948 to manufacture medical X-ray tubes, Comet has evolved over 75 years into a technology group operating across two distinct families: industrial X-ray inspection and RF power systems for plasma control in semiconductor fabrication. Its components are embedded in the machines that make the chips that power everything from smartphones to AI accelerators. Comet does not make the chips. It makes the technology without which the chips cannot be made.

The conversation covers the full scope of what that position means today: the geopolitical tensions around Taiwan and why Haferl believes a military conflict is unlikely, the company’s globalization from 400 to 1,800 people since 2007, the paradigm shift that moved vacuum manufacturing from Switzerland to Penang, and what it takes to lead a deep-tech company as an engineer-CEO in an era of polycrisis. Haferl also reflects on why Switzerland produces so many world-class industrial champions, and offers a clear answer: talent, not natural resources, is the country’s true competitive advantage.

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