EPHJ-2020_La Newsletter du Salon_ANG

La Newsletter
du Salon
January 2020 www.ephj.ch | #EPHJ20 |
EPHJ HITS THE ROAD
Meeting the exhibitors
Starting this spring, the show’s
managers have been out and about
meeting exhibitors on their home
turf at a series of very popular
breakfasts.
From Lugano to La Chaux-de-Fonds,
Besançon to Bern and Fribourg, EPHJ
officials have been travelling out from
Geneva to visit towns and cities in regions
that are home to large numbers of exhibitors.
“The exhibitors come to us once a year in
Geneva, so it was only right that we should
return the favour,” explains EPHJ Director
Alexandre Catton.
These informal breakfasts are an
opportunity to address all topical issues of
relevance to the show, as well as to discuss
market developments and operational
constraints. “Social media is all well and
good, but nothing can beat face-to-face
contact,” the show’s co-founders André
Colard and Olivier Saenger chime in unison.
“What’s more, we love being able to shake
hands with people and catch up on the
latest news.”
The morning meetings allowed managers
to talk with exhibitors about the types of
visitors and the most sought-after buyer
profiles, whether in watchmaking/jewellery,
microtechnology or medtech. “Like us,
exhibitors are finding that visitors have less
time and want to fit in as much as possible
when they come to EPHJ. That’s why it’s
important that we disseminate information
ahead of the show, especially regarding
innovations,” notes Catton. These outreach
meetings with exhibitors will continue in
early 2020.
EDITORIAL
EPHJ expands
its reach
Almost before EPHJ 2019 was
over, we were already looking
ahead to the 2020 show, buoyed
up by the satisfaction of a job
well done. We achieved our main
objective, which was to increase
the number of visitors, especially
those coming from abroad.
With attendance up 5% and an
even wider range of countries
represented, we were able to offer
our 820 exhibitors fresh business
opportunities and a unique chance
to meet a very large number of
prospects under one roof in
just a few days. This ambition
will continue in 2020, when
we’ll be partnering with more
foreign umbrella organisations
to attract new companies
with an interest in the
high-precision industry to
Geneva. A special effort
will be made in 2020
to attract the largest
medtech companies.
In the meantime, we
wish you a very happy
festive season.
Upcoming
edition
16-19 june
2020

La Newsletter du Salon | January 2020
Straumann Group,
global leader in dental implants
“Supplier innovation is key”
INTERVIEW
You are the world leader
in dental implants,
with a holding company
headquartered in Basel.
Many Swiss high-precision
SMEs are wondering how
they can best approach you
in order to show off their
expertise. Any tips?
Mark Hill, Corporate Communication
& Public Affairs:Preferably via
our operational area or business
development specialists in Basel. If a
supplier wants to develop an innovation
with Straumann, they should visit our
innovation portal on the Group’s website
straumann-group.com.
What types of subcontractors
do you work with? Do you
collaborate with companies
specialising in high-precision
technologies?
For us, the following characteristics are
important in the high-tech subcontractors
we work with: how innovative the
supplier is, benefits for current and
future projects, and scope for achieving
cost savings in the manufacture of our
products, with or without a reduction in
capacity.
Is the microtechnology expertise
present in the watchmaking
industry something that might
interest you? Do you already
work with watchmaking
companies that have branched
out into medtech?
Actually, Straumann has its origins in
watchmaking and precision engineering.
That’s why our Villeret factory in the
Bernese Jura is in the heartland of the Swiss
watchmaking industry, giving us access to
employees with these special skills.
Do you keep a close eye on
innovations in the high-precision
field?
Precision engineering is one of the
cornerstones of our business, and
innovations enable us to continuously
develop the business and position
ourselves as a leading supplier in
aesthetic dentistry.
Do you think that Swiss
medtech has an important
role to play in this market,
with real added value in terms
of know-how?
Medical technology is an important and
high value-added industry in Switzerland.
Many companies have a good reputation
in the sector and offer high-tech
solutions.
Décovi and its oscillating weights
10 years serving the biggest brands
EXPERTISE
As the core component of
automatic movements,
oscillating weights
actively contribute to
the magic behind every
watch’s individual
autonomous energy.
This unique feature
plays a central
role in the story
of Jura-based
company
Décovi.
The story begins in 2009, when Décovi
was approached about machining
tungsten, a material that is both difficult
to work with and extremely complex to
decorate. “We accepted the challenge
and just a few weeks later, the tungsten
components we were machining already
looked like oscillating weights,” recalls
Décovi’s General and Administrative
Manager Claude Chèvre.
To begin with, the Acrotec Group company
only turned, milled and deburred metal, but
Décovi later branched out into decoration
(snailing, Côtes de Genève, cerclage,
satin finishing, surface treatment, resist
coating and pad printing), laser engraving,
colouring and, more recently, assembling
the ball bearing on the weights.
“We now produce around a million pieces a
year, which can be stamped with the Swiss
Made seal. This success is the reward for
10 years of hard work and a unique brand
of know-how that constitutes the strength
of Swiss watchmaking,” concludes Chèvre.

La Newsletter du Salon | January 2020
“We’re going to see a steady rise
in international visitors”
INTERVIEW WITH EPHJ’S DIRECTOR
What were the stand-out aspects
of EPHJ 2019 for you?
Alexandre Catton, EPHJ Director: I was
impressed by the care our exhibitors took
with arranging and decorating their stands
to show off their products to full advantage.
Any little stories you’d like to
share with us?
Actually, I’ve realised that the show is
never too far from my mind... Last year,
I was driving to stay with some friends
for the weekend. A company name that
I saw on the journey stuck in my mind.
I contacted them the following Monday
only to discover that they’d just bought
a machine to develop a watchmaking
business. As a result, that company
attended EPHJ for the first time in
2019, and I understand they had quite a
successful show…
Was the increase in visitor
numbers expected?
We did everything we could to drive up
attendance. Even though it’s a priority for
us and we’re putting in the resources to
attract more international visitors, it remains
a challenge. But we’ll keep up the work in
2020, focusing particularly on large buyers
of medtech.
What will be your main action
areas for 2020?
Creating the best possible conditions
for our exhibitors to do business
by diversifying their markets. We’re
going to go a step further in terms of
communicating and promoting this
expertise. We’ll also be meeting our
exhibitors on their home ground.
Will you continue your drive to
internationalise the show’s visitor
base?
We make EPHJ a little more international
each year, and the show already attracts
visitors from 56 countries. We’re currently
working on PR campaigns targeting
customers and prospects outside
Switzerland and through institutional
partnerships.
What are the main trends to look
out for in 2020?
Traceability and sustainability are a
major concern for big brands and the
high-precision sector is no exception,
particularly watchmaking and jewellery.
This is an issue that we’ll be addressing.
We also want to work with exhibitors to
devote part of the show to recruitment.
How do you see EPHJ’s role
in the various initiatives
being taken to support the
watchmaking industry?
This show was established to showcase
watchmaking skills upstream and
downstream of the finished product. All
the brands come here to do business.
That’s how we support the watchmaking
industry: by creating the best possible
ecosystem so that these two worlds can
meet and grow together on a scale that
extends beyond Switzerland’s borders.
INTERVIEW WITH ALEXANDRE STEIMLE (FEMTOPRINT), WINNER OF THE 2019 EXHIBITORS’ GRAND PRIX
“SPOT in-vitro tests have a 100%
success rate”
Can you tell us about the
innovation that won you the 2019
Exhibitors’ Grand Prix?
Alexandre Steimle: The Safe Puncture
Optimized Tool (SPOT) is a miniaturised
surgical device for safely injecting a drug
that dissolve clots into the retinal veins
of patients with vascular disorders such
as retinal vein occlusion (RVO). SPOT’s
unique monolithic glass structure combines
a 3D passive mechanical system with
a microfluidic channel that extends the
length of the device, all the way to the tip
of the needle. The innovative adjustable
bistable mechanism allows the surgeon to
control the path of the injection needle and
release the drug when required. The drug
is thus injected as close as possible to the
occlusion site, which drastically reduces
the complications often associated with
venous cannulation.
What stage are you at
now, six months on?
The first prototypes are currently
undergoing in-vivo validation in
the eyes of pigs and chicken
embryos. The results of the
in-vitro tests indicated a 100%
success rate, in terms of both
safe and controlled piercing and
the actuation of the mechanical
system. Nevertheless, we did
make some adjustments to
optimise the device, particularly
with regard to its performance in
injecting fluid to rinse the blocked
veins.

La Newsletter du Salon | January 2020
A LOOK BACK AT THE 2019 SHOW
The traditional Jura cocktail.
Lively atmosphere at the exhibitors’ reception.
An exhibitor hard at work.
Round table session on Industry 4.0.
Cantonal Councillor Jean-Nat Karakash opens
the Canton of Neuchâtel evening.
Visitors paying close attention to exhibitors’ innovations.
In the world of the
infinitesimally small.
Round table session on continuing training
in the watchmaking industry.

La Newsletter du Salon | January 2020
INNOVATION
From the human body to
the critical parts at the heart of a watch
Coat-X, inventor of an ultra-thin protective coating technology
The unique solutions developed by
Coat-X are ideal for the watchmaking
industry, medical industry and any
other sector involving precious and
delicate components that need to be
protected from corrosion and wear
and tear at all costs.
Developed at La Chaux-de-Fonds, in the
heart of Swiss watchmaking country, the
innovative Coat-X technology has most
obvious appeal in other high-precision
fields, where critical and precious
components have to be preserved from
corrosion, humidity and general wear
and tear: “Our unique solutions involving
ultra-thin biocompatible multilayer coatings
can replace conventional and expensive
metal, glass or polymer encapsulation and
protection processes,” explains Dr Andreas
Hogg.
In the uniquely sterilised atmosphere of
the medical sector, a hitherto unfulfilled
need has been addressed in the form
of a technological solution whereby
microelements that treat or regulate, or
even compensate for vital functions, are
implanted in the human body, aided by
advances in medtech. The existing methods
used to protect these elements become
more cumbersome the smaller the element
is. Which is why the ultra-thin protective
coating developed by this SME is so
significant.
1
But the technology’s potential is also
generating interest in the watchmaking
industry. Entrepreneur Stefan Schwab,
founder of Linoa Holding and Chair
and CEO of Schwab-Feller, a leading
manufacturer of springs for the watchmaking
industry, is injecting capital. With connected
products such as smartwatches and
wearable devices moving inexorably
towards flexible structures in their design,
the demand for almost infinitesimally thin
protection systems in this area is opening
up a promising array of applications. As
for the watchmaking industry, it is set to
make growing use of these systems, in
particular to satisfy its thirst for innovation
and creativity in terms of decorations,
finishes and exteriors. Leather, fabrics,
plant-based materials, liquids ... the creative
opportunities are endless.
Joël A. Grandjean
Chief editor JSH® Magazine
1 The untouched purity of edelweiss: encapsulate an organic material,
prevent it from discolouring and protect it from atmospheric and
chemical impacts... Innovation and know-how! Thanks to patented
Coat-X technology, the flower is preserved forever in acrylic glass,
as this striking sample shows.
2 Andreas Hogg gained an engineering degree in Microtechnology
before completing an MSc and PhD in Biomedical Engineering.
He is now CEO of this award-winning start-up, which employs
a dozen people. Between 2012 and 2015, he retained close
ties to academia, leading a research group on thin-film
technologies at HE-Arc in Neuchâtel.
3 The low-temperature coating process creates an
ultra-thin, hermetic and biocompatible multilayer
coat. It has already proved effective in sensors,
microsystems, PCBs, watch components
and medical devices, and complies with
international standards on hermeticity and
corrosion resistance, among others.
2 3

La Newsletter du Salon | January 2020
Guido Zumbühl,
CEO of the Bucherer Group
“The CPO market has enormous potential”
INTERVIEW
Why did Bucherer decide to
enter the certified pre-owned
(CPO) watch market?
Guido Zumbühl: In general, more and
more people are taking an interest in
beautiful watches, and vintage watches
with a history are gaining in popularity.
Demand is growing, and the market
has enormous potential. We’ve
been watching this market and its
development for some time and, as
watchmaking experts, we know that
many customers are wary about
purchasing second-hand watches.
With our CPO concept, we want
to create a brand-new showcase
for watch lovers and redefine
the way these timepieces are
bought and sold.
What opportunities do you see for
Bucherer in this area?
There are currently a number of players
in the market, mostly start-ups that rely
heavily on online sales. Most of them
have no outlets on the ground, whereas
Bucherer is present on all fronts, with
the ability to sell both online and in store.
These channels complement each other
extremely well. Online, customers have a
clear and comprehensive overview of what’s
available, but we believe that our in-store
offering is also a critical success factor as it
enables the would-be buyer to see a watch
up close and try it out for themselves. This
hands-on experience gives an emotional
dimension to the purchase of a luxury watch.
With over 130 years of history and market
presence, Bucherer truly embodies tradition
and sought-after values such as reliability.
Customers associate this with trust in
the company, and it is this trust that is so
important in the CPO market.
What does Bucherer promise its
customers, what are its USPs?
Bucherer’s entry into the Swiss, then
European, CPO market marks a new
milestone in the company’s 130-plus-year
history. Bucherer intends to revolutionise
this market and give second-hand watches
their rightful place in the luxury segment.
After all, the most coveted brands and
models retain, and even increase, their
allure over time. What can customers expect
from Bucherer? Proximity to the market, a
magnificent product range, excellent service
and top-class expertise. Our reputation
means that customers can rest safe in
the knowledge that each watch has been
authenticated by a certified watchmaker,
as well as being assured of a shopping
experience like no other.