Produc t i o n
2011 was an excellent year for ETA, both in terms of results and volume. Swatch Group invested heavily in production methods, involving staff recruitment, implementation of infrastructure and industrialization processes as well as logistic and management systems that will enable an increase in the capacity available to the brands for the next few years. In the area of mechanical products, activity linked to new developments once more increased, as demonstrated by the production of the A07.l31 movement, a retro longines moonphase; the A05.h31 movement, a personalized chronograph for Hamilton; and the omega A14, A16 and A22 automatic calibers. Omega’s exclusive A22 chronograph necessitated the creation of a new ultramodern line in Grenchen, ensuring the mastery and reliability of the assembly process. Quartz products have also been a big success, especially those resulting from the e49 development program launched to integrate new technologies intended for the Tissot touch compass with the e49.301 movement, and the Certina Ds Multi-8 with the e49.351 analogdigital movement. The e22.303 analog-digital caliber with pilot function for omega, the G15.561, retro perpetual calendar for Tissot, and finally, the e20.373, analog-digital for Hamilton, all attracted considerable attention when they appeared on the market. Swatch’s products built on their success, most notably, with the swatch touch launched in summer 2011, the new Gent and colour codes models, and with the Irony line with a stainless steel case. In order to attain the high production speeds required for the completely swiss Made steel cases, modern, highly automated machines were installed in Grenchen. These new technologies are intended for case machining and polishing operations and will soon be running at full capacity.