EPHJ-2020_La Newsletter du Salon_ANG

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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.
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