EPHJ 2023, a positive note

Officially opened by Delphine Bachmann, Geneva’s new State Councillor for the Economy and Employment, the event saw an increase in visitor and exhibitor numbers.

The healthy state of the high-precision markets created a positive atmosphere at the EPHJ show, which was held from 6 to 9 June at Palexpo. Attendance at the 21st edition was up 21%, with 21,780 Swiss and international trade visitors packing the aisles of Geneva’s International Exhibition and Convention Centre. Exhibitor numbers were also up, with 750 exhibitors from all sectors. The majority of them were Swiss (75%), followed by representatives from 15 other countries, including France, Germany, Italy, the United States and even Japan. Neuchâtel still dominates the top 5 of the 22 cantons represented, with 130 companies, followed by Bern (115), Geneva (78), Jura (76) and Vaud (64). French-speaking Switzerland accounted for 50% of all exhibitors, with 26% coming from German-speaking Switzerland and Ticino.

Demonstrating the multi-sectoral development of the companies present for this year’s edition, 91% of exhibitors are active in the watch or jewellery industry, while 54% are involved in microtechnologies, particularly in the machinery industry. As in 2022, the majority of exhibitors (50%) are active in the medical sector. This trend clearly demonstrates the watch and microtechnologies industry’s capacity to bring sought-after skills to the medical equipment environment.

Another Job Dating Day
The shortage of talent in Switzerland’s watch and microtechnology industry is a major challenge, requiring an expert approach to recruitment. A number of factors combine to explain the current situation. Increasingly demanding technical requirements and specialised training discourage many candidates. What’s more, there has been a general decline in the attractiveness of manual trades in recent years, particularly among young people, who are increasingly turning towards digital careers, relegating artisanal trades to second place.

Faced with this shortage and with recruitment times getting steadily longer, and given the rewarding first experience in 2022, EPHJ once again organised its Job Dating Day in partnership with JobWatch, which mobilised its extensive network of candidates around the exhibitors’ numerous job offers. Candidates, future graduates and future apprentices had the opportunity to meet company directors on Friday, which began with a debate on the subject and a review of the state of the job market with a number of leading figures from the sector.

Exciting Round Table debates
Another key feature of the show was the debates, which provided an opportunity to put topical issues into perspective and to exchange views with experts and leading figures from the sector. The famous Round Tables dealt with topics such as “The upturn in the watch market: will it continue in 2023?”, “The haptic robotics forum”, “The challenges of passing on watchmaking knowledge”, “Cybersecurity, a major new challenge for the industry” and “The fusion of technologies”, to name but a few.

Exhibitors’ Grand Prix
As in previous years, the jury for the Exhibitors’ Grand Prix, comprising Eric Rosset (Professor HES-SO), Pierre Amstutz (Director of the Geneva Watchmaking School), André Colard (Founder of EPHJ), Olivier Saenger (Founder of EPHJ) and Alexandre Catton (Director of the EPHJ show), selected six innovations from among the submissions.

Chosen by its peers after a period of suspense lasting right up to the last moment of the exhibitors’ vote, MPS Watch won thanks to its innovation called Oscrew, a new system dedicated to attaching the oscillating weights to bearings in self-winding watch movements. Oscrew offers an aesthetic, reliable solution that can be dismantled without the need for additional components. This innovative system combines the advantages of crimping, locking blades and the MPS Flyfix system. Laboratory tests have confirmed its reliability, even under extreme conditions. A division of MPS Micro Precision Systems, MPS Watch develops and produces ball bearings, movement components and oscillating weights for its customers and watch manufacturers. It invented the watchmaking ball bearing in 1947 and is still considered an expert in this product today.

June 15, 2023