swatch base eta 2824-2

Further to the significant expansion of the Blancpain brand and consequently the company's increasing requirements for components for movements, together with the need to adapt organization structures and rationalize operational activities, the Executive Group Management Board of Swatch Group recently took the following decisions during its last meeting:Fr��d��ric Piguet SA based in Sentier will be integrated into Blancpain which has its headquarters in Paudex/Le Brassus. This company has been producing movements and components for Blancpain timepieces for many years.With immediate effect this entity will now be officially known as the Manufacture Blancpain. Fr��d��ric Piguet SA is a company of the Swatch Group with a workforce of 481 employees. By virtue of this merger the prestigious watchmaking brand Blancpain will now complete its verticalization as a Manufacture.Furthermore, Valdar SA a company whose headquarters are in L'Orient, will be taken over by Fran?ois Golay SA, which is based in Brassus. Since 1914 Valdar SA has been producing micro-mechanical components which conform to the stringent regulations set by the watchmaking industry; Fran?ois Golay SA is also a company specializing in the manufacture of components of exceptionally high quality for supply to luxury watchmaking companies. The integration of Valdar SA into Fran?ois Golay SA will ensure the centralization of the production, assembly and high-end finishing processes into one legal production unit in the Vall��e de Joux.All employees at Fr��d��ric Piguet SA and Valdar SA will be maintained and taken over by Blancpain and Fran?ois Golay, both of which are companies of the Swatch Group; thus guaranteeing optimal synergies for development, including the concentration of major assets for capital investment and expenditure required for continued growth and progression.

Dorna Sports has announced that it will continue its longpartnership with Tissot as the official time keeper of the Moto GPracing series. Tissot which is a subsidiary of Switzerland basedSwatch Group is excited to continue to offer time keeping expertise tothe Moto GP races. With Tissot on the team when races come down tomilli second diferences it wont really matter as Tissot will get itright. 'At Tissot, we strive to produce top quality products for our clientsall over the world. Moto GP is the pinnacle of motorcycle racing and,hence, is a perfect match for our brand. We look forward to ourcontinued work together in the future.' said Francois Thiebaud thePresident of Tissot. Dorna Sports Chief Executive Officer Carmelo Ezpeleta said, 'At DornaSports, we are extremely proud of Moto GPs long and productiverelationship with Tissot. Their long-standing involvement with theworlds premier motorcycling championship showcases their dedicationto precision and innovation, whilst also allowing the sport, theathletes and the fans to benefit from their years of top level sportstimekeeping expertise.' Tissot also offers its expertise as the official time keeper of othermajor sporting leagues as well including the World Championships ofBasketball (FIBA), Cycling (UCI), Ice Hockey (IIHF) and Fencing (FIE)and much more prominently both the summer and winter Olympic games forthe past several decades as well as many other unmentioned sportingevents, leagues and even major events.