75 Jahre Sonceboz 75 years Sonceboz

75 Jahre Sonceboz
The need for “motion” in the automobile
industry has made breathtaking
progress since the 1980s. We are currently
seeing similar rapid development
in the trucks and off-highway sector.
Sonceboz is one of the world’s leading
experts when it comes to mechatronic
drive systems. We see the wealth of
technological, economic tasks and
challenges that customers and markets
confront us with as a huge opportunity.
They not only drive progress in the
automobile industry but enable us to be
an integral member of shaping that
progress.
Technological head start
Mechatronic drive systems development
has never been more exciting. Electronics,
information technology and new
materials open up new technical possibilities
and highlight new perspectives
and solutions. Sonceboz is taking advantage
of this time of change to meet
the challenges of tomorrow, today. Success
is being able to use this technological
head start to your advantage: to
be faster than the others, to support
customers with innovation and use
technological progress as added value.
Decode the future. Which technologies
will win the race in the medium to
long term? What solutions are relevant
for the future? In short, what does the
customer want and, first and foremost,
when does he want it? It is all about
recognizing future needs and implementing
the technology early on.
But with innovation comes risk. To
promote innovation from its conception
until it’s ready for production requires
a lot of time and commitment from the
company. As a rule, five to ten years go
by from the first idea to a product ready
for production ❷. Not all good ideas are
good for innovation. The idea is to get
many ideas and products going in order
to guarantee the company’s innovative
ability and ensure the successful further
development of products, processes
and thus the entire company.
75 years of Sonceboz
of the first factory building in which
movement-blanks for watches were
manufactured. In 1905, Fritz-Edouard
Pfister was appointed director of the
Sonceboz factory. Following the stock
market crash in October 1929, the management
of the Group the company belonged
to made the decision to close
the Sonceboz location. Fritz-Edouard
Pfister resisted. He wanted to take over
the business. His plan found favor. In
1936 he and his son Pierre, who was 28
at the time, bought the “counters” department
from the Sonceboz factory. It
was a classic management buy-out even
at that time. Production of the movement-blanks
was moved to other plants
in the group of companies.
Three years later, the Second World
War broke out and the borders were
closed. Hard times for the young company.
However, the tides turned quickly
again in the post-war years. The reconstruction
of the economy in Europe
brought new business and growth to
medium-sized companies like Sonceboz.
Pierre Pfister was a visionary pioneer.
He implemented new ideas and
stubbornly pursued his goals.
The chart ❸ gives an overview of
the historical development of Sonceboz
as a company. It is characterized on the
one hand by free market and political
influences and on the other by technological
developments whose significance
was recognized early on by corporate
management who knew how to
take strategic advantage of it.
The path to the goal
40 years ago, Prof. Dr. Cuno Pümpin,
who was a professor of management
studies at the University of St. Gallen
at the time, taught the “dynamic principle”
with the following central idea:
corporate dynamics are created by tapping
into attractive benefit potential.
These activities must be systematically
multiplied. A corporate personality
must drive the process forwards. When
it comes to implementation this primarily
means: clearly defining strategic
positions, setting concrete goals and
consistently pursuing them.
This is the management principle
we have followed at Sonceboz for 25
years. Every four years the corporate
strategy is scrutinized and undergoes
extensive revision. We are currently
working on our long-term strategy “Motion
2020”, which will be adopted by
the end of 2011. In “Motion 2020” we
define our strategic focus on mechatronic
drive systems. We focus on
the expansion of our technological expertise,
our product portfolio and on
the future in management.
Attractive employer
Fruit only ripens when it grows on a
tree with healthy roots in fertile soil. If
you want to reap the benefits you must
invest in the care of the tree, its roots
and the soil. Sonceboz is a tree with
deep cultural roots in the Bern region
where the company is located. As a
family business, making a contribution
to positive economic development in
the region is something close to our
hearts. To this end, we continue to pursue
the vision of Fritz-Edouard Pfister
who, 75 years ago, successfully fought
to keep the jobs at Sonceboz.
Sonceboz continues to offer attractive
and secure jobs and we intend to
do so on into the future as well.
Our corporate culture is founded on
Christian beliefs. We are here to serve
others. To improve on a daily basis, to
offer our customers the absolute best –
that is what Sonceboz stands for, a
family business with passion.
I would like to take this opportunity
to thank all of our customers, suppliers
and everyone who has stood by
Sonceboz over all the years. I would
like to recognize our employees in particular
who contribute to the progress
of the company day in and day out. You
are the ones who through your work
and commitment will continue to update
the success story of Sonceboz.
The history of today’s Sonceboz factory
in the small village of Sonceboz-
Sombeval in the Swiss canton of Bern
dates back to 1849. That was the start
| | ❶ Basic principle of a mechatronic drive system
| | ❷ Recognize needs early on and control the development of innovation
accordingly
| | ❸ From time control to motion – The most important stations of the
Sonceboz company from 1936 to 2011
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