News The 2004 General Meeting of the FH was held for the first time in the canton of Jura, in Delémont to be precise.
After Biel, La Chaux-de-Fonds, Granges, Neuchâtel, Colombier, Geneva, Bern and Fribourg, Delémont was the setting, on 2 July this year in the Exhibition Hall, of the 2004 general Meeting of the FH. The meeting was held in a much more relaxed economic and political environment than the 2003 edition, a point made by the President of the association, Jean-Daniel Pasche, in the opening words of his address: "The downturn of 2003 is now fading from memory. A page is turning in this first half-year of 2004: Swiss watch exports are strong after the first five months of the year and economic conditions for a general recovery are increasingly favourable. The United States and Asia are confirming the hopes nurtured at the end of 2003. There is even a risk of overheating in China. In Europe, the recovery is more moderate and will probably take a little longer. Firms seem more confident, particularly after the positive feedback from the watchmaking exhibitions held in April."
Jean-Daniel Pasche remained cautious however in his forecasts, aware of the sensitivity of watchmaking products to fluctuating economic conditions and surprise geopolitical events. His forecasts for 2004 were for "growth to be maintained at a rate of several percent, which would see a return to the record figures posted by the industry in 2001-2002."
In this context, the President of the FH insisted once more on the importance of good framework conditions in Switzerland and across the globe, which remain priority objectives of the association: "In this respect, we regret the failure of the WTO ministerial conference in Cancun in September last year. A small country such as Switzerland needs multilateralism to secure improvements in free trade. With regard to the WTO, two subjects concern us more particularly. Firstly, there is the question of access to markets for industrial products. At this level, we are expecting a reduction or even the elimination of customs duties and a simplification of trade formalities. Secondly, we are hoping for a strengthening of protection in terms of geographical indications for manufactured products, which would be beneficial for the Swiss made label. Unfortunately, this objective has met with hostility on the part of Anglo-Saxon countries, which look unfavourably upon any such strengthening… With regard to bilateral relations, we are taking advantage of official meetings scheduled by the Swiss authorities to issue messages conveying the concerns of our industry. This entails preparing watchmaking briefs for the attention of Federal Council delegates required to go on missions abroad or to receive official foreign delegations in Switzerland. Last year for example, fifteen briefs were prepared and delivered to authorities in the following countries: Bolivia, Brazil, China, South Korea, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Kazakhstan, the Lebanon, Morocco, Peru, the Philippines, Russia, Turkey and the Ukraine."
However, the good health of the Swiss watchmaking industry in foreign markets also depends largely on the promotional actions it orchestrates. Here, Jean-Daniel Pasche expressed his delight at the particular success of the traveling thematic exhibition FH Think Time - Think Swiss Excellence. Inaugurated in February 2003 in Biel, the exhibition was staged in April at Baselworld, then in July as part of the festivities marking the 300th anniversary of Saint-Pétersbourg, where it was officially opened by the President of the Confederation Pascal Couchepin, and in October in Brussels, at Time - The European Luxury Watch Exhibition, where it had the honour of being visited by Prince Laurent of Belgium.
After insisting again on the association’s role in defending the interests of the industry in relations with Swiss and foreign authorities, in particular in the difficult question of measures to combat watch counterfeiting, but also in the adoption or revision of laws affecting watchmaking to a greater or lesser extent, President Pasche ended his talk by introducing the new "face" of the FH.
With regard to the purely statutory part of the proceedings, delegates approved the annual report and the 2003 accounts, as well as the system of contributions for 2005, which remains the same. The meeting also extended by one year the mandate of the auditors (Fiduco SA) and appointed to the FH Board Jean-Pierre Aebischer (Manufacture des montres Rolex SA) as a full member, to replace Friedrich Sauerländer (Manufacture des montres Rolex SA), and Ulrich von Barnekow (Rolex SA) as an alternate member, to replace Alain Cerutti (Rolex SA). Lastly, the new Federal diploma of Watch Sales Adviser introduced by the Swiss Association of Watch Manufacturers in collaboration with the Swiss Association of Specialist Watch and Jewellery Retailers (ASHB) was described by its initiators.
The statutory part of the meeting was followed by a talk by Patrick Aebischer, President of the Federal Polytechnic of Lausanne (EPFL), on the subject "Polytechnic training as a contribution to growth". Afterwards, Jean-Daniel Pasche issued an invitation to delegates for 30 June next year in Soleure - which will also be a first – for the 2005 FH General Meeting. According to a tradition that has now become well established, the meeting was followed by an aperitif and a meal.
July 02, 2004
