In a TecTalk with Swissmem, Philipp von Michaelis speaks candidly about a business closely linked to logistics that saves lives every day: mechanical mine clearance. The co-founder of the Swiss company GCS explains how technology is effective in places where war has occurred, but the danger remains.
Photo: GCS 
His flagship is the GCS 200: a remotely controlled, armored vehicle that can be equipped with various attachments, thus serving as a platform: milling machines, flail mowers, detection systems. Michaelis explains the crucial difference to traditional mine clearance using a video.
No one in the minefield
No one enters the minefield. Instead, every square centimeter of soil is mechanically tilled to a depth of 30 centimeters. If the machine encounters a mine, it detonates. The open basket design of the tiller allows the pressure wave to escape, minimizing damage.
In conversation with M. Perricone. Photo: Swissmem
134,000 square kilometers – that's roughly four times the size of Switzerland. That's the size of the area in Ukraine that is suspected of being mined. For Philipp von Michaelis, this number isn't abstract. It's his daily reality: The co-founder of the Swiss company Global Clearance Solutions (GCS) has been working in mine clearance for twenty years. He came to it, as he puts it, "a bit by chance.".
Built with local staff
No military background, no family entrepreneurial tradition. And yet: when the opportunity arose two decades ago to acquire a technology and build a company, he seized it. Today, GCS employs around 200 people and generates annual revenue of 60 to 70 million Swiss francs.
Photo: GCS
GCS is not just an equipment manufacturer. The company provides the complete package: technology, training, maintenance, and local infrastructure. In Ukraine, GCS has built a largely autonomous structure with local personnel in recent years.
The company is also active in Syria – shortly after the change of power that is reorganizing the country. Von Michaelis assesses this soberly: "One can be positively surprised by what the new leadership has already achieved in such a short time." He describes himself and GCS as "apolitical," although "the business is, of course, very political." Clients include governments, the UN, NGOs, and also commercial companies that want to rebuild infrastructure.
“We are entrepreneurs”
What drives him? Von Michaelis gives an honest answer: "We are entrepreneurs." He calls the purpose – saving human lives – a bonus that makes the work easier. He wishes for a world without wars, but doesn't expect it. Until then, he says in TecTalk, he won't run out of work.
