BERN: Switzerland’s largest trade fair opened in Geneva on Tuesday geared to precision professionals in the watchmaking, jewellery, micro technologies and medical fields.
Around 20,000 Swiss and foreign visitors are expected at the four-day annual “Salon international leader de la haute précision” fair featuring 867 exhibitors from 12 countries, organizers said. Despite the uncertain economic outlook, the number of exhibitors has grown by four percent from last year’s event at the Palexpo exhibition centre, near the Geneva airport.
The trade fair bills itself as the biggest venue in Switzerland for the “medtech sector” represented by 255 companies offering medical technology products. Geneva has a centuries-old tradition as a centre for watchmaking and has acquired a more recent reputation for its jewellery manufacture. A programme of lectures and roundtable discussions is scheduled on subjects ranging from the future of watchmaking to SME financing to the “true impact” of 3D printing.