Gehri Rivestimenti: "Young people are our winning card."

Andrea Gehri, cHow do you assess the health of the Ticino economy today, and what signs, positive or critical, do you see as most evident at this stage?

«The Ticino economy is characterised by both signs positive which from elements critical These indicate a slowdown in various sectors. The CC-Ti 2025/2026 business survey shows that, despite a challenging environment, many companies have achieved at least decent results, with a growing share of companies assessing the annual performance positively.

In summary we can state that:

• The services sector is holding up well, with good performance and a substantially positive sentiment.
• The manufacturing and export sectors remain the weak point, penalized by the international economic situation, the strength of the franc, US tariffs, and geopolitical tensions.
• Consumption and investment are declining, signaling a widespread climate of caution.
• The labor market and tourism are showing mixed signals.

The key word to describe the moment is “uncertainty,” with an economy that remains overall resilient, but exposed to many external variables that can influence its performance.

In your experience, what are the main challenges Ticino entrepreneurs are facing these days, including costs, the labor market, and the international context?

The prevailing climate of general uncertainty requires prudence and constant adjustments from entrepreneurs, as well as from our companies.

Ticino entrepreneurs today operate in an environment characterised by:

• high costs and eroding margins in all economic sectors;
• complex labor market, between tensions and cross-border phenomena, declining birth rates and an aging workforce;
• bureaucracy and regulations perceived as increasingly onerous and divert important resources and energy;
• international uncertainty which weighs on exports and investments;
• weak domestic consumption, determined by a general contraction in purchasing power
• sectoral difficulties, especially in the manufacturing sector which suffers from international tensions.

Nonetheless, the service sector, tourism, and some components of the cantonal economy are showing resilience, even though many businesses now find themselves having to navigate a complex and ever-changing environment.

Looking at your sector, what trend are you seeing: more resilience, slowdowns, or new opportunities?

«The trend is not unequivocal in its image, there are some signs of resilience and improvement, but the overall picture remains uncertain, with structural elements that continue to weigh.

The construction sector is suffering from the general decline in domestic demand and cautious business investment, which is expected to decline in 2026 (only 34% of companies intend to invest).

Craftsmanship follows similar dynamics to the main construction sector, being closely linked to it in terms of evolution and characteristics.

Artisans, like SMEs in their various sectors, are suffering from rising raw material prices, rising energy costs, and the lengthy bureaucratic process of managing permits and construction sites, further squeezing their margins, which have already been steadily declining in recent years.

In conclusion, we can say that the construction and craft sectors in Ticino currently present a good, but not uniform, overall picture.

The sector is emerging from a difficult period and is seeing some positive signs, but remains vulnerable to economic uncertainty, declining investment, high bureaucracy and excessive regulation, as well as high costs.

Are there any recent news, projects, or developments at Gehri Rivestimenti worth mentioning and that reflect your vision for the future?

«In the short term Gehri Coatings aims to improve processes and workflows through technology and staff training, while maintaining a high focus on the quality of the services offered.

Artificial intelligence is gradually becoming part of everyday business management and will represent a new opportunity for analysis, insights, and statistics that will help us position our company in a constantly evolving market.

In the medium term, we are also working to project ourselves beyond 2030 and therefore lay the foundations for addressing generational change through planned management.

We hope to further consolidate ongoing projects, with the hope that the general economic situation will facilitate an easing of tensions, the repercussions of which we are also feeling in our own small way."

Your company invests heavily in training: what policies are you pursuing to attract, motivate, and support young people on their career paths?

Training is a crucial pillar of our business, which for decades has focused particularly on nurturing the younger generations to ensure the necessary turnover and replacement of those reaching well-deserved retirement. Times are more complex, and recruiting young people is becoming more difficult due to the declining birth rate affecting Western countries, as well as the habits and priorities that young people today place in terms of expectations and work-life balance.

For our part, we constantly invest in developing our training programs and, for several years, have been relying on the professional support of our young apprentices, provided by an external coach. Young people are a resource for the future, and since they are scarce and the market competes for them, it is essential for us to focus on aspects such as identification, nurturing relationships with trainers, and monitoring and mentoring their studies.

What concrete results are you already seeing thanks to the inclusion of young and dynamic new talent within the company, both human and professional?

«Our company has always invested, and continues to invest, in training young people, and we can certainly say that many of our tilers, once they've earned their federal diploma of competence, have stayed with the company, forming the current pillars of their various specializations.

We have young people whose parents, uncles, and relatives preceded us, following in their footsteps, following in the family tradition. In the company, we have the privilege of employing both parents and their children, and this tradition has continued for decades.

Being able to rely on staff who have grown and developed within our company, on the one hand, creates a strong sense of identity for the company externally, and on the other, we observe a high level of loyalty among the trained professionals, who reach significant milestones of 10, 20, 30, and even 40 years of company loyalty. The human aspect, therefore, proves to be crucial in fostering both personal and corporate professional growth.