Swiss Watch Company Frédérique Constant Celebrates its New Headquarters in Plan-les-Ouates, Genève
Frédérique Constant, a company that manufactures Swiss watches, celebrated its "first stone setting" ceremony for its new headquarters in Plan-les-Ouates, Genève. The project began in Autumn 2003 and the expected completion date is Nov. 1, 2005.
Plan-les-Ouates, Genève (PRWEB via PR
Web Direct) June 1, 2005 -- Frédérique Constant, a company that specializes
in making Swiss
watches, celebrated its "first stone setting" ceremony for its new
headquarters in Plan-les-Ouates, Genève. The ceremony, which took place at the
company's new site, featured a speech by owners and founders Peter Stas and
Aletta Stas-Bax and their son, Pieter-Jan Constant Stas. Guests included Mr.
Carlo Lamprecht, Councillor of the Republic and Canton of Geneva and Mr. Michel
Favre, Secretary-General of Plan-les-Ouates.
During the ceremony, Mr.
Stas announced that his son, Pieter-Jan Constant, would be setting specially
selected items in the excavation on the main floor of what will be the new
Frédérique Constant headquarters. Pieter-Jan Constant, who carries the
“Constant” name as fifth descendent of Constant Stas, placed the following items
in the excavation: one of the first prototypes of the FC-910 Manufacture Caliber
and a copy of the business plan that has been the base of the success of the
Swiss watch company.
With the strong growth of the company, Frédérique
Constant (www.frederique-constant.com) has been looking for new premises
since October 2003. In Genève Canton, the final conclusion was that constructing
a new building was the most cost-efficient solution. After having completed the
procedures to obtain the building permit, construction started
immediately.
The project began in Autumn 2003, and the actual
construction of the building began in late February 2005. The Swiss watch company is expected to move into the building by
October 2005, and the expected completion date is Nov. 1, 2005. Mr. Stas says
the company will strongly invest in new people and equipment. He says that in
the short term, the company plans to hire 25-35 new people, bringing the total
for the company to 70 persons.
The new headquarters will be the fourth
location of Frédérique Constant in the past eight years. Before 1997, the
company was located in an old farm in Troinex. In 1997, it moved to Carouge,
which again became quickly too small and since 2000, it has been located on the
fourth floor of a commercial building in Chêne-Bourg. By the end of 2003, it
became clear that these premises would also become too small to accommodate a
larger production.
“Clearly, this new factory in Plan-les-Ouates will
enable us to better organize development and production of our calibres and
watches,” said Mr. Stas.
The factory will house a total work and storage
space of 3,200 square meters divided over four floors. The top floor will house
management and support staff and the third floor will house the atelier. On the
fourth floor, amongst other facilities, a 200 square meters conference room is
planned to invite customers for presentations and training. Other relevant
features are the two main conference rooms, the cafeteria and fitness
room.
"While Frédérique Constant is heavily investing in this new
building, the company will remain 100 percent committed to continue the
successful strategy of offering Swiss Made
watches with passion at sensible prices," Mr. Stas said. "With the slogan
'Live your passion,' we will continue development and production of exciting new
collections. Our plans, including the recent acquisition of the Alpina watch
brand (www.alpina-watches.com), give us strong confidence that we can
continue our growth in the future."
Additional background information
about the new Frédérique Constant building:
Total surface terrain: 6500
m²
Number of floors: 4
Total floor space: 3200 m²
Number of conference
rooms: 3
Different specialisations: Calibre design and assembly
Number of
departments: 6
Types of departments: Sales, Marketing, R & D,
Production, Logistics, S.A.V.
Capacity: 70 employees short term, 100
employees mid term
1 Fitness room
2 Dressing rooms
1 Cafeteria with
outside terrace
Private parking
Elevator
About Frédérique
Constant:
Frédérique Constant (www.frederique-constant.com) is a family business. During the
past 10 years, Frédérique Constant has consistently grown 25 – 30 percent per
year. Last year, the company grew over 34 percent compared to 2003. In 2004,
Frédérique Constant produced over 43,000 Swiss watches. Frédérique Constant is
involved in all phases of watch making, from initial design to final assembly.
All watches are therefore 100 percent Swiss made. Frédérique Constant introduced
its first manufacture caliber in 2004. The Swiss watches with this caliber have
been received with great enthusiasm. In Basel, the company recently introduced a
new version of this caliber, the Heart Beat Manufacture Moon phase Date. The
company is currently developing additional versions of its Manufacture caliber.
Contact:
Jan-Douwe Gaastra – Communication Manager
Frédérique
Constant S.A.
Rue Peillonnex 39
Chêne-Bourg
CH-1225
Geneve
Switzerland
Tel: +41-22-860-0440
Fax: +41-22-860-0464
e-mail
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www.frederique-constant.com/press
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Source : http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/6/prweb246849.htm