To accommodate its continued growth, and to further assist in the verticalization of its watch production, Hublot began construction of a second building that will more than double the surface area of its existing manufacture in Nyon, Switzerland.
In a groundbreaking ceremony on March 3, Jean-Claude Biver, chairman of Hublot (and recently named president of the LVMH Group’s Watch Division), and Ricardo Guadalupe, CEO of Hublot, turned the first sod with shovels specially engraved for the occasion.
This new unit, located right next to the original building, will be dedicated chiefly to the production of components for Hublot manufacture movements and the production of watch cases. The facility will house micro-mechanical workshops, a bank of CNC machines, and workshops devoted to decoration, electroplating, general mechanical and washing, among other disciplines. After-sales service and some administrative offices will also be installed in the new building, which is set to open in August 2015.
The current building will be reorganized, allowing the company’s “Innovation, Research & Development” department, devoted mainly to working with new materials and grand complication movements, to be extended across the entire ground floor. This will enable the ASF (assembly of parts), T1 (assembly of movements) and T2 / T3 (assembly of watch dials and watches) departments, as well as the complications workshop, to be redeployed and expanded to meet the needs of the growing Hublot brand.
Another production unit, currently located in nearby Gland and focused mainly on manufacturing carbon fiber components and cases as well as hand-setting, will also be added to the main site in Nyon.
When complete, the new structure, built with the assistance of the Nyon-based architectural firm Coretra, will comprise 8,000 square meters and will allow Hublot to create 100 new jobs, bringing the company’s staff in Switzerland to more than 400 people. Hublot has invested 20 million Swiss francs in the project.
