News Officine Panerai is consolidating its manufacturing base; the brand recently acquired the building which for a long time housed the cantonal police headquarters in Neuchâtel, located at rue de la Balance 4. Facing the lake in the immediate vicinity of the old town, the property is intended to accommodate Officine Panerai's long-term development. It will become operational during the course of next year and will be occupied by around 40 highly specialised employees.
Officine Panerai was founded in Florence in 1860. The brand, which has belonged to the Richemont group since 1997, is present in all international markets through a network of 260 dealers. Combining Italian creativity and design with the hallmark values of luxury watchmaking, the company is experiencing increasing demand which today requires high levels of sophistication equivalent to those used in quality control. The installation of Officine Panerai in Neuchâtel is part of a move to implant Italian engineering in a region renowned internationally for its watchmaking expertise.
With its executive management remaining in Milan (Officine Panerai Marketing & Comunicazione), the company will thus be able to bolster the various stages governing the watchmaking process in accordance with its stringent quality requirements. The building will house manufacturing and product development activities. It will also serve as an international service platform for the brand.
This vertical integration will take shape within a building full of character, the size of which is perfectly adapted to the requirements of Officine Panerai. It was constructed in 1966 and renovated in 1993. Approaching 9,000 m3, its volume offers an effective surface area of 1,300 m2 on six levels (850 m2 in a two-level basement).
October 11, 2001
