Less than two months before it opens, the EPHJ-EPMT-SMT trade show announces the once-in-a-lifetime participation of two personalities whose appearance is always eagerly awaited André Kudelski, Chairman of Innosuisse and the Kudelski Group, and Richard Orlinski, the world’s biggest-selling French contemporary artist, who recently designed a number of watches for a famous Swiss watchmaking brand.
The organisers of the EPHJ-EPMT-SMT trade show are very keen to get the ideas that are shaping our technological future talked about, and in particular industry 4.0. This year, they have secured a big coup with, as a kick-off event, a conference-debate by André Kudelski devoted to Switzerland’s true innovative capabilities.
Managing Director of the Kudelski Group, which employs almost 4,700 people in 33 countries, André Kudelski will be stepping up mainly in his capacity as Chairman of Innosuisse. He was appointed to this post by the Federal Council. The intention behind the creation of this Swiss agency was to encourage innovation and back the competitiveness of Swiss SMEs by freeing up major resources to that end. What is the true situation? In reality, is Switzerland truly providing itself with the means to turn innovative ideas into reality? Hear the response on 12 June at 4.30 p.m. at Palexpo Geneva.
A further star guest at the international high-precision trade show: Richard Orlinski, one of contemporary art’s most en-vogue artists. Richard Orlinski demolishes received ideas and enjoys exploring different artistic fields: sculpture, design, music, live entertainment and so on. At a round table devoted to new trends in watchmaking design, the French artist will talk about his most recent collaboration with a famous Swiss watchmaking company for which, inspired by his graphic universe, he has just created a limited-edition collection. Be there on 13 June at 3.30 p.m.
The equally eagerly-awaited round table “Industry 4.0, is it an opportunity or a threat for SMEs?” will bring together a number of experts from the industrial sector who will debate this major issue faced by Swiss and international industry. While this concept of industry may still appear abstract to some people, there is no doubt that it is best to grasp it as an opportunity and act in full knowledge of the facts.
A further important new feature of this 2018 edition of this event is the launch of the “Watch Medtech Innovation” Challenge. Having demonstrated true vision by uniting watchmaking expertise, microtechnologies and medical technologies under one roof, the organisers of the EPHJ-EPMT-SMT Trade Show are now going one step further, launching, in partnership with the Inartis Foundation, the first ideas development challenge, “Watch Medtech”.
The figures are very clear on this subject: more and more companies working in the field of watchmaking are making use of their expertise in order to diversify into the medtech sector. At the 2017 edition, almost one third of exhibitors stated that they had an activity in the medtech sector, a spectacular rise in the space of 5 years. This opening enables these companies to position themselves on other promising markets and balance the unknowns of watchmaking and microtechnologies.
Hence the idea to set up a Challenge, the main objective of which is to foster, support and accompany new transdisciplinary projects based on recourse to collective intelligence.
The EPHJ-EPMT-SMT Trade Show wishes to enable companies interested in this diversification to do so under optimum conditions, with advice from specialists who will be able to support them in their endeavours and provide a degree of financial assistance.
In order to take part in the Inartis/EPHJ-EPMT-SMT “Watch Medtech” Challenge, applications must be received, before 1 May, at the following address:
By e-mail to: challengeinartisEPHJ@inartis.ch
Or by letter to: Inartis CP 76 CH-1015 Lausanne
For more information, please go to the EPHJ-EPMT-SMT trade show website.