Inauguration of the new building of the movement production of Montres Rolex S.A.

The new building, the product of one of the largest industrial construction projects in recent years in Switzerland, enables the world’s leading luxury watchmaker to rationalize production of its watch movements. Movement manufacturing has been brought together on a single ultra-modern 400,000 m3 site – of which the new building occupies 230,000 m3 – over a total area of 92,000 m2.

Through its exceptional performance in terms of productivity, employee comfort and respect for the environment, the Bienne production site sets a new standard in watch manufacturing, perpetuating Rolex’s pioneering spirit and passion for quality.

“Today Rolex is entering a new era,” said Maître Bertrand Gros, Chairman of the Manufacture des Montres Rolex S.A. “The construction of the new building in Bienne, which began in 2009, demonstrates our unshakeable confience in the future. At a time when the supply of strategic components is a major concern for the watchmaking industry, our sites in Bienne and Geneva form a solid manufacturing base that gives the brand absolute autonomy, complete freedom for innovation and creativity, as well as ensuring a level of excellence that corresponds to its demands.”

Federal Councillor Johann Schneider-Ammann underlined the importance of Rolex as an ambassador of Swiss quality and expertise throughout the world: “With its signficant investment in its new production facility, Rolex is signaling that, even with the difficult world economic climate, Switzerland remains a first-class manufacturing location.”

The new building in Bienne marks the culmination of the strategy Rolex adopted over 10 years ago with the aim of integrating production of all the essential components for its watches – from the case to the movement, from the dial to the bracelet – on four purpose-built or remodelled sites, three in Geneva and one in Bienne. This avant-garde strategy designed to ensure autonomous manufacturing has given Rolex means of production that remain unequalled.

Grouping movement production in a new manufacturing complex increases eficiency and productivity, rationalizes the various manufacturing operations, and improves the movement of people and flow of products. New facilities include an impressive fully automated stocking system. It provides more than 46,000 compartments for safe storage of components and finished products, and transports items rapidly to the production workshops via 22 stations and over 1.2 km of rails across the site.

The building’s architecture is sleek and rigorous. It provides vast space and good natural daylight thanks to light wells whose design was inspired by a watch movement. The new complex also includes a large company restaurant with panoramic views and several relaxation areas for employees.

As at each Rolex site, the new building was designed and built to strict standards concerning safety, integration into the environment and respect for the natural surround ings, as well as with sustainable development in mind. The new building in Bienne complies with the Swiss MINERGIE® sustainable building standard, which is exceptional for a building of this size. The building is distinguished by a rational use of energy, a high-performance thermal envelope, the adoption of renewable en ergies and high degree of integration between industrial processes and the building’s technical systems.

More than 2,000 people work at Rolex’s site in Bienne and more than 4,000 work in Geneva, where the brand’s world headquarters is located, the other components are made and the watches are assembled.

Leading brand of the Swiss watch industry, Rolex, headquartered in Geneva, enjoys an unrivalled reputation for quality and expertise the world over. Its OYSTER watches, all certi?ed as chronometers for their precision, are symbols of excellence, per formance and prestige. Pioneer in the development of the wristwatch as early as 1905, the brand is at the origin of numerous major watchmaking innovations, such as the OYSTER, the first waterproof wristwatch, launched in 1926, and the PERPETUAL rotor self-winding mechanism introduced in 1931. Rolex has registered over 400 patents in the course of its history. A truly integrated manufacturing company, Rolex designs, develops and produces in-house all the essential components of its watches, from the casting of the gold alloys to the machining, crafting, assembly and finishing of the movement, case, dial and bracelet. Rolex is also actively involved in supporting the arts, sports, the spirit of enterprise, and the environment through a broad palette of sponsoring activities as well as philanthropic and patronage programmes.