News On 27 June, the FH appointed a new President in the person of Jean-Daniel Pasche to succeed François Habersaat, who has resigned.
François Habersaat let it be known on 22 June 2000, when he was re-elected as President of the FH, that he intended to pass on the baton to his successor before the end of his new three-year term of office. This has now been accomplished, since the General Meeting of the Federation of the Swiss Watchmaking Industry held on 27 June at the Schweizerhof in Bern unanimously elected Jean-Daniel Pasche to the presidency of the sector's umbrella association.
Born on 25 February 1956, married and the father of two children, the new President of the FH - he took up his duties on 1st July - comes originally from Servion (VD). With a degree and a doctorate in law from the University of Neuchâtel, he began in 1982 climbing the ranks of the Federal Office of Intellectual Property (lawyer, Head of Trademarks Division and Vice-Director) before accepting, in the summer of 1993, the post of Director of the FH. He has therefore been running the association for nine years, with the enlightened support of François Habersaat. All of which testifies to the fact that he has been in good hands and has a comprehensive, detailed and rigorous knowledge of watchmaking matters!
New members for the Council
Before electing the new President, delegates approved the minutes of the General Meeting of 28 June 2001, the annual report and the accounts for that year, as well as the 2003 scale of contributions, which remains unchanged. With regard to nominations, they appointed Fiduco as auditors for a further one year term of office and appointed the following as members of the FH Council:
- Friedrich Sauerländer (Manufacture des Montres Rolex SA, Biel) to replace Franziska Borer-Winzenried;
- Hannes Pantli (IWC) to replace Michael P. Sarp;
- Pierre-André Bühler (Nivarox-Far SA) to replace Roland Dubois;
- Claude Calderari (Hans Stettler AG) to replace Claude Wampfler (Doniar SA).
Marc Bernhardt (IWC) and Christian Feuvrier (Nivarox-Far SA) for their part were elected as alternate members.
Following the election of Jean-Daniel Pasche, the General Meeting also passed an amendment to the statutes of the association, made necessary by the fact that the new President - who occupies his post full-time and no longer on a part-time basis as was the case with his predecessor - is no longer supported by a Director and a dozen or so Heads of department, but by three Heads of division, with each division (economic, legal and administrative) comprising a number of departments.
Farewell address by François Habersaat
In his last address as President of the FH, François Habersaat focused again on a subject close to his heart: the presence of Swiss watchmaking in the economical and midrange lines.
"For a number of years and based on the steady decline in the quantity of exported watches, I have been pleading in favour of a new solution in the economical range, which generates high volume sales," he reiterated. "Fortunately, we are present in the 50 to 150 franc price range, thanks to one renowned brand that holds a share of this market. This market is expanding rapidly, particularly in line with the increased purchasing power of emerging countries, which represent half of the world's population, or more than 3.5 billion inhabitants. I refer, amongst others, to China and India.
"Technical solutions have been found. It is in the area of marketing that the problem exists. At present, no other company is interested in mass production that would of course require large investment, both in means of production and distribution, taken in the widest sense of the term.
"After numerous consultations, I am slightly troubled by certain declarations which would tend to prove that the Swiss watch should occupy the upper half of the market segment pyramid, and that selling cheap watches, particularly those costing less than 50 francs, is rightfully the business of foreign watch manufacturers.
"This is indeed a realistic view of the problem, which requires very serious consideration, the question being whether this concept would keep in employment the 40,000 male and female workers currently engaged in our fine industry.
"Looking to the long-term future, is there a possibility of reconciling these two different approaches? For the time being, we must wait and see!"
As regards the grouping of organisations in the sector, the outgoing President noted with satisfaction that operations were continuing. "I remain convinced that the meeting of different organisations under the same roof cannot fail to have a positive influence on our external credibility. Together, we will become even stronger and effective, and our power of intervention, generally speaking, will be greatly enhanced", he concluded.
The statutory part of the Meeting was followed by a fascinating report by Aloïs Ochsner, of the Integration Bureau (State Secretariat for the Economy, seco), on bilaterals II and the implementation of bilaterals I.
June 27, 2002
