Muller Martini. Hunkeler. Zund. Bobst. Ferag. Wifag. Luscher. What do the aforementioned manufacturers have in common? They are all Swiss.

This week's news that the Swiss Franc is being pegged at a minimum rate to the euro must have come as something of a relief to these companies and other exporters like them.

Global economic uncertainty and the eurozone crisis has resulted in a financial rush to safe havens, gold being one and the Swiss franc another. Since 2008 the franc has gained 40% against the euro.

The rapid appreciation of the currency in recent months has caused enormous problems for the country's exporters. Some are switching manufacturing to plants elsewhere in the world in order to remain competitive. Some simply aren't selling anything. The boss at watch giant Swatch called for action.

Such was the risk to the Swiss economy that this week its central bank make a drastic and potentionally enormously costly intervention, setting a minimum exchange rate value against the euro of 1.20 in order to combat a looming domestic economic crisis.  

Exchange rate fluctuations make life tricky for all sorts of businesses, talking to someone who sells Swiss kit earlier today he was reminiscing about a time when prices for Japanese kit effectively trebled for similar reasons.

The Swiss situation accelerated over the summer, leaving some companies with little time to react. One equipment supplier described the situation as "horrendous".

Being reassuringly expensive is one thing, being unaffordable is quite another.