Affolter Group celebrates its 100-year anniversary

In 1919, Louis Affolter, the second child of the watchmakers Samuel and Marie-Louise Affolter, founded his own company and started to produce gears and pivots for the Swiss watch manufacturers in the area. 100 years later, nine Affolter family members work in the high-tech enterprise Affolter Group and its daughter companies Affolter Technologies and Affolter Pignons.

The 100-year history of the family enterprise was filled with technological innovations. After Louis had established the enterprise, the second generation – his sons André, René and Marc – developed the business further and built the first industrial premises. In the third generation, led by Jean-Claude, Michel and Marc-Alain Affolter, the company underwent a rapid modernization process. Electronics and high-tech equipment helped to improve the production processes.

^{Louis Affolter in his workshop in 1919. Source: Affolter Group}

Sustainable growth
Based on its innovative power, the Affolter Group expanded, diversified and grew. In 1980, a mere 15 employees worked on a workspace of 5,400 sq. ft. Today, the company has 140 dedicated employees, 15 apprentices and four buildings with an overall workspace of 86,000 sq. ft. The fourth generation, led by Grégory and Vincent Affolter, as well as Nicolas Curty, oversees the continued expansion and diversification of the Affolter Group, including  the founding of Affolter China in 2013 – a milestone for the enterprise.

The two main business lines of the Affolter Group are the contract manufacturing of gear trains for the gear trains industry and the development, manufacturing, and marketing of machine tools and numerical controls.

Affolter Pignons is specialized on the manufacturing of gear trains for the Swiss watchmaking industry. For 100 years, the company has reinforced its position as a leading expert in the art of force transmission. Through automation, Affolter Pignons was able to realize the mass-production of top-quality, high-precision gear trains.

“In a partnership with Affolter Technologies, we also develop our own machines. Together with our experience and
know-how, that enabled us to grow quickly. We aim to continue this growth strategy,” said Grégory Affolter, managing director of Affolter Pignons.

^{Affolter workshop in 1988. Source: Affolter Group}

Affolter Technologies specializes in the design, manufacturing and commissioning of numerical control gear hobbing machines for microtechnology gears. “Through the decades, we were always dedicated to be a technology and innovation leader in the field of micro gear hobbing, aiming to make our customers more productive and efficient,” said Vincent Affolter, managing director of Affolter Technologies.

That is why the company continues to invest heavily in R&D. Vincent Affolter: “Robots, machine learning, in-house designed and developed CNC controls, our own software, Industry 4.0 – we embrace the future.”

The CNC gear hobbing machines of Affolter Technologies are used for the production of microtechnology gears in markets such as watchmaking, micromechanics, automotive, aircraft, robotics, servo motors or dentistry. Eighty percent of the machines are being exported into the main markets: EU, Asia and U.S.

The current Affolter workshop. Source: Affolter Group

Talent of tomorrow
The extensive apprentice program has become one of the backbones of the Affolter Group. Today, more than 15 apprentices are trained in-house and in a network of six highly specialized businesses in the Swiss Valbirse area.

Nicolas Curty, CFO at the Affolter Group: “Our apprentice program makes sure that the micro-technical know-how and expertise is transported efficiently from generation to generation in the company.”

The chief mechanical engineers of tomorrow are trained in high-tech fields such as profile turning, gear hobbing,
burnishing and assembly.

^{The Swiss company Affolter Technologies is a market leader in high-precision micro gear hobbing. Source: Affolter Technologies SA}

100 Years: the Affolter milestones
1919: Louis Affolter starts his business in Renan.
1926: Construction of a workshop in Malleray, with a family apartment upstairs.
1927: Registration of the company "Louis Affolter, gears and pivots of all kinds" in the commercial register.
1946: The three sons of Louis, André (1916-1992), René (1918-1991) and Marc (1928-2009), take the torch and the company changes its name to "The sons of Louis Affolter." The company manufactures clockwork wheels as a subcontractor for the Swiss watch industry.
1947: Death of Louis Affolter.
1978: The company is transformed into a public limited company under the name of " Affolter Pignons SA."
1985: The management of the company passes into the hands of Marc's three sons Jean-Claude (1954), Michel (1955) and Marc-Alain (1952), representing the third generation.
1991: Expansion and creation of Electronics SA, the research and development department of Affolter Pignons SA. This company changes its name in 2005 to Affolter Technologies SA.
2004: Establishment of the Affolter Holding SA and AFManagement SA.
2008: Opening of the Shanghai sales and service office for Affolter Technologies products.
2012: Moving into the new Grand-Rue building. The floor space is now 86,000 sq. ft.
2013: Founding of Affolter China Co. Ltd., with headquarters in Shanghai.
2013: Obtaining ISO 9001 certification for Affolter Pignons SA, Affolter Technologies SA and AFManagement SA. In 2014, also for Affolter China Co. Ltd.
2016: The fourth generation takes over! Grégory Affolter (1984) as managing director of Affolter Pignons SA and Vincent Affolter (1980) as managing director of Affolter Technologies SA. With Nicolas Curty (1972), Grégory and Vincent form the new management of the Affolter Group.
2016: Marc-Alain (1952) and Michel Affolter (1955) leave the management. As the third generation passes the torch, the staff has increased from 17 to 140 employees, and the floor space of industrial buildings has grown from 5,400 to 86,000 sq. ft.
2017: Creation of Affolter Innovations SA in order to concentrate the research and development of the group in a single company.