Swiss chemical industry installations in China

The Swiss chemical industry is investing heavily in China. The projects in China are being designed and built by in-house engineering departments so the Swiss influence is evident and known techniques are being employed. In Switzerland, 95% of the areas with explosion risks are assigned to Zone 2; while Zone 1 is prevalent in the rest of Europe. The Swiss chemical companies started designing their processes totally enclosed. From the Swiss industry\´s viewpoint, this greatly simplifies installation. The companies do everything possible to transfer their zoning philosophy to the plants they build overseas. For installations in Zone 2, costs are kept low thanks to the ability to use individually installed components and devices in protection type nonsparking "restricted breathing enclosure" and "n-pressurized enclosure". Using cables instead of conduits can reduce costs even more. Even though cables are sometimes called upon to withstand harsh physical treatment, experience with them has not produced any drawbacks such its increased damage or more malfunctions.