As part of its strategic development, the specialised trade show Siams wished to learn more about the expectations of its exhibitors. To rely on relevant and usable information, the organizers have set-up a satisfaction survey. We met with Mr. Michel Voisard, director of Mediactif in Vevey, the institute of customers’ relation, who conducted this study. Sometimes satisfaction surveys lead to interpretation errors resulting in bad decisions and erroneous improvement measures. Mr. Voisard (…)

"After-Sales Services: New Expectations" is the theme of the 17th International Symposium of Watch Marketing (Journées Internationales du Marketing Horloger - JIMH) to be held on the 7th of November 2013 in La Chaux-de-Fonds. This symposium is preceded on the 6th of November by the 8th Journée de Rercherche en Maketing Horloger (JRMH), where research papers on the same theme will be presented. Often left in a secondary position in the marketing strategy, after-sales services will be the (…)

It has happened to everyone to stumble on a machining process. We change a few parameters in the hope the results will be better... but sometimes it is not enough and the number of tests quickly grows too large without any appreciable visible improvement. In this case, one possibility is to use the method of design of experiments (D.O.E.) that allows finding the optimum in carrying out a minimum amount of tests. But the method must be known and requires also the mastery of mathematical (…)

Faster, more precise and more efficient: Production facilities are under increasing pressure to reduce wastage and machine downtime while operating at an increasingly fast rate. Inline measuring technology gives systems a sixth sense – for preventive detection of errors, monitoring of tolerances and integrated process control. Inline measuring technology is directly integrated into ongoing production processes and provides real-time information about all the relevant machine data that is (…)

Harnessing the power of compressed air more reliably and economically is an effective way to drastically cut energy costs. A host of innovations on display at Hannover Messe shows how modern technology makes it possible. Even compressed air stations that were optimised for performance at the time of installation can yield further savings of up to 10 percent if the latest technology is used. The whole is more than the sum of its parts – a saying that also applies to compressed air station (…)

The Hannover Messe preview took place last week in Hannover and I was lucky to be there to discuss with some exhibitors and the organisers. It was amazing to see that at least half of the companies I visited talked about energy efficiency. It is still a major trend, let’s see an example. In any workshop people are using compressed air and most of the time that resource is seen as necessity evil and anyhow not a topic top deal with to add value to the company.... things may be seen (…)

Nowadays the mastery of power supply goes through high-performance devices that guarantee that the desired power is provided reliably and continuously. In demanding areas such as surface treatment and noble material coating, for example, being able to finely manage power supply is an absolute necessity. We met with Mr. Eric Aumeunier Director and Frank Vaccaro, commercial responsible at Micronics Systems, a French manufacturer of current rectifiers, stabilised power supplies and on-demand (…)

If, with Clipper, Clip Industry proposes a CAPM and ERP software which corresponds to the requirements of SME’s of the mechanical industries, it is because the product is not a software developed by scientists, but a working tool that was created in collaboration with engineers from the various fields of mechanical engineering and microtechnology. The implementation of Clipper has many objectives, including the improvement of productivity and profitability, greater responsiveness and of (…)

Outsourcing is often viewed as an attack on the Swiss work place, but in many cases, outsourcing certain activities in "low-cost" countries that are not part of the core businesses of Swiss companies allows them to preserve jobs in Switzerland. Meeting with MM. Thomas Dalla Vecchia and Hannes Treier, founders of Obal SA, a company that helps Swiss SMEs to subcontract in Eastern Europe. If many outsourcing operations in Eastern Europe are not that successful, it is simply that the processes (…)

New episode in the recent evolutions on the Swiss (micro)technical exhibition’s landscape: the unexpected move of mediSiams to Lucerne. This year is a very special one for Siams SA as there will be both Siams and Medisiams the same year! The organisers announced yesterday that mediSiams will be encapsulated into the World Medtech Forum in Lucerne (WMTF) from 25 to 27 September 2012. A strategic partnership has been concluded to offer a good potential of grow and international visibility to (…)