The General Management of Rolex has recently announced its decision to begin construction of a major extension at the Manufacture des Montres Rolex site in Bienne.
The company thus gives a strong indication of its confidence in the future within the context of a difficult economic situation that has not spared the watchmaking sector. The building programme also demonstrates Rolex's firm attachment to the city of Bienne and the Canton of Bern. The project will bring the entire industrial production of Rolex movements under one roof.
A new state-of-the-art industrial complex
The two existing production units, Rolex 4/6, with a total volume of 170,000 m3, will be linked to a new state-of-the-art industrial complex with four floors above ground and three floors below ground, with a volume of 230,000 m3. The new complex will principally house an impressive automated stock and distribution system that will ensure the entirely robotized transport of components and finished products to the production workshops.
The new production facility combining these three elements (over 400,000 m3) will bring together all the assembly, machining, press, thermal and surface treatment, maintenance and laboratory activities. It will also feature an underground car park, a delivery area, a wastewater treatment plant, a large restaurant and several cafeterias.
Work on the actual site will begin in the coming weeks. The entire project is scheduled for completion in 2012.
Source: Rolex
www.rolex.com
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