Liechtenstein Industry

Up until the second world war, Liechtenstein was a poor agriculture country, impacted by the conflicts around it, despite remaining neutral along with it's neighbour, Switzerland.

Like Switzerland, Liechtenstein adopted a secretive banking system, which helped raised the country's standing as a safe haven for finances. This, coupled with some enlightened entrepreneurs, has led to a rapid and sustained growth in industry and profitability over the last 60 years.

Since then, world famous companies have developed, including Hilti - the professional construction equipment company; Hoval - the heating boiler manufacturer; Hilcona - food processing; Balzers-Unaxis - vacuum technology; Ivoclar-Vivident - dentistry equipment and false teeth, etc. We have links to many of the companies from this page. This is not an extensive list, but we have tried to list the most famous and important global or regional companies.

Agriculture is still important for the country, but now employs very few people. Tourism is, as in most alpine countries, an important source of income, and has its own section on this site. Many people know about Liechtenstein from their colourful and varied postage stamps. This is an important source of national income, and these stamps have graced many a collectors' albums over the years.