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The presentIN 2007: mediSIAMS in Moutier (Switzerland)Horology was the launch vehicle of micro-technology in the Jurassic Arc. Machine tools, metal alloys andmanufacturing techniques (rather than ‘secrets’) that are still in use today, were designed and developed inorder to meet the requirements of this sector.During the twentieth century, car manufacturersjoined the list of large consumers of micro-technicalsolutions. To a lesser degree, the armaments sectoralso proved to be a major client for this technology.The extension of telecommunications – starting withthe telephone and then the explosion of informationtechnology – pushed the connector industry intobecoming the major user of micro-technology.More recently, coupled with the progress, both inthe medical and surgical sectors, the demand forso-called bio-medical products snowballed. In thissector, requirements ranged from producing adequatealloys to mastering the multiple facets ofmicro-technology and the numerous ways of assemblinghighly different components – micro-technologycomponents combined with those of the plasticsand connector industries and, in particular, withIT applications. Not forgetting, on a more mundanelevel, those products used in corrective surgery, suchas screws, dental implants, nails, plates, femur headsand other “technologically replaceable” elements ofthe human body.54 DECO MAGAZINE03 / 06