Affolter Group - Nearly a century of service to the watch industry

Three generations have worked hard to make the Affolter group what it is today. From Renan to Malleray, a potted history of this independent family business, whose fourth generation is preparing to take up the torch.

Made up of four entities, the Affolter group today plays a leading role in high-end watchmaking through the manufacture of pinions, wheels and other gear-train components, as well as the machines used to produce the latter. Affolter Holding comprises Affolter Pignons, AFManagement and Affolter Technologies, to which is affiliated a branch in Asia based in Shanghai, Affolter China. The group currently occupies five industrial buildings in Malleray where more than 175 people are employed. However, it wasn’t always like this. Rewind a hundred years…

In 1919, Louis Affolter (1880-1947), born in Malleray and grandfather of the current management team, set up a workshop producing pinions and pivots of all kinds in Renan. Previously, Louis Affolter had worked as head of pinion production for Record Dreadnought Watch Co SA, in Tramelan, and Champagne Louis Müller SA, in Bienne. He chose this small commune in the upper Saint-Imier valley due to its proximity to the watchmaking centre of La Chaux-de-Fonds. At that time, it was so remote that deliveries were occasionally made on foot. In 1925, he decided however to buy a plot of land in Malleray where he built a workshop and an apartment. In 1946, Louis’s three sons - André, René and Marc - took over the reins of the company, which changed its name and became «Les fils de Louis Affolter». The firm continued to grow, still with the principal aim of manufacturing gear-trains for watches.

As time went by, Marc’s sons - Jean-Claude, Michel and Marc-Alain - joined the family business. Pinion-cutting, setting up a burnishing department, administrative control and developing new means of production were among the outlets each found for his talents, and it was in 1985 that the firm’s share capital passed into the hands of this third generation. In 1993 the company, then called Pignons Affolter SA, moved to new premises at Grand-Rue 74, in Malleray, where the group now has its headquarters.

It was also in the early 90s that the Affolter Technologies department came into existence. Because Affolter Pignons had a huge appetite for machines not available on the market, its management decided to develop and produce them in-house. Many long years were needed to optimise and replace the Affolter Pignons machine inventory. To reap some profit from all the research and technology developed in this area, the group decided to sell its machines to other manufacturers. Affolter Technologies was born. Today this group entity produces and sells gear hobbing centres - under the name GEAR Line - and numerical controls. These products, marketed in Europe, Asia and the United States, are certified 80% Swiss made, a rarity in the industry attributable to the fact that Affolter Technologies develops and produces not only the mechanical parts of the machines, but also the CNC.

To rationalise the management of the group’s new entities, Affolter Holding and AFManagement were created in 2004. The Management part includes Human Resources, IT, Finance and Infrastructure departments, etc, and the Holding controls them all.

Buoyed by the success of the Gear Line machine range and with a view to opening up new markets, an office was opened in Shanghai in 2008, firstly inside the Swiss Center, and later in its own sales space in 2010. In 2013, Affolter China Co Ltd was established, triggering a second move - still in Shanghai - to more spacious offices with a showroom.

A leader in the manufacture of pinions, wheels and other gear-train components for almost a century, Affolter Pignons sells millions of components every year to clients in the watch industry. The first step in the production of any part is profile-turning, the stage where pinions are cut from steel bars. They are then precision-cut using machines equipped with automatic loaders specially designed by the group. After the hobbing process, the pinions are quenched and tempered, a process which changes the structure of the material. They are then ready for burnishing, which gives them the necessary hardness to ensure correct operation of the watch movement. Between each operation, batches of parts are washed. This serves not only to improve the visual appearance of the components, but also removes residues of shavings and lubricant. Generally carried out by ladies, burnishing gives the pinion its final dimensions and considerably improves its surface finish. The last stage in the process is assembly. Most gear-trains contain a brass wheel mounted on a steel pinion. The operation to assemble these two elements is called riveting. Finally, the component is inspected. Carried out during production, it ends a process in which 100% of production is verified for high-end components, while a sampling method is used for the firm’s mid-range products.

Looking ahead to the company’s future, the current management team is committed to training young recruits in technical skills (micromechanics, lathe operators, technical drawing specialists, gear cutters, fitters, etc). To raise awareness among young people of skills that have become to some extent neglected or «outmoded», managers have organised a wide-ranging information campaign which is diffused through schools. An initiative which appears to be bearing fruit, since in August this year the firm will have 25 apprentices on its books, including three girls (fairly uncommon in the world of engineering).

Keenly aware of factors that can affect the family environment of its employees, the Affolter group was singled out in 2005 by the Federal Department headed by Doris Leuthard for its efforts to reconcile working life with private life.

Proud of the fact that its entire share capital is in its own hands, the group has decided to continue along a highly successful path and retain its independence. Decisions concerning the handover to the fourth generation have been made and will enter into force over the coming years.

June 05, 2014