Swatch Group employs some 40 former employees of EnergizerUniverso acquires the Energizer site in La Chaux-de-Fonds
Universo Ltd., a company of The Swatch Group Ltd., and Energizer Ltd., both in La Chaux-de-Fonds (Switzerland) signed a contract on August 10, 2011, for the acquisition of buildings and land on rue Louis-Joseph Chevrolet 43 in La Chaux-de-Fonds. The handover will take place on November 1, 2011. In addition, The Swatch Group Ltd. will initially employ some 40 former employees of Energizer Ltd.
The Energizer site will be adapted to the needs of the Swatch Group and will be used for the ongoing expansion of the Group, for example as an additional production site for Universo and other Swatch Group production companies.
Despite the extremely difficult situation with respect to the strong Swiss Franc, the Swatch Group continues its efforts to further strengthen the workplace Switzerland or, as in the present case, the Canton Neuchâtel, with its investments.
Universo
Universo SA is the leading European manufacturer of watch hands, founded in 1909 by a group of small individual watch hand producers who merged into a single entity. Universo controls the entire complex process of manufacturing in this highly specialized field. Serving the most prestigious brands, the company is uncompromising in its values, its pursuit of new production processes and its efforts to make effective use of new materials.
Thanks to its close partnership with its customers, Universo successfully develops and launches innovative solutions aimed at both the design and the technical complexity of its products. They included for instance the high-definition electroforming of watch hands whose geometry is such that traditional swaging is impossible. Moreover, adapting production capacities to growing volume demand is not merely a matter of the means of production, which is why Universo placed specific emphasis and investment on qualitative human resources and on training.