Editor’s Note
This article provides a concise overview of the 2023 EPHJ trade fair in Geneva, highlighting its status as Switzerland’s premier event for precision machinery and metalworking. It outlines the event’s key dates and introduces its core sectors, including watches & jewelry and microtechnology.
Switzerland’s largest trade fair for precision machinery and metalworking, “EPHJ”, was held in Geneva from June 6 to 9, 2023.
The fair is composed of three sectors: watches & jewelry, microtechnology, and medical devices. Exhibits of precision machining equipment for watch components, measuring instruments, metal materials, metalworking technologies, and related decorative items were particularly prominent.
The 21st edition of the fair saw participation from 750 companies (700 in 2022) from 16 countries. Attendance reached 21,780 visitors, a 21% increase year-on-year. According to the organizer’s announcement, the increase in visitors from abroad was particularly notable. The number of Japanese exhibitors (including those displaying within agent booths), as confirmed by JETRO, was 14. Furthermore, the Greater Nagoya Initiative (GNI) Council, which promotes international economic exchange in the region centered on Nagoya with a 100km radius, participated for the fourth time under the “GNI” banner, with 7 companies from Aichi, Gifu, and Mie prefectures exhibiting.
According to an announcement by the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry, the Swiss watch industry performed strongly in 2022, recording export value of 24.8 billion Swiss Francs (approx. 3.9184 trillion JPY, CHF, 1CHF ≈ 158 JPY), surpassing pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels.
Switzerland’s unemployment rate in 2022 was 2.2%, the lowest in 20 years. According to the organizer’s survey, as 70% of companies in the precision machinery industry face hiring difficulties, the fair hosted a salon offering advice to job seekers and mock interviews. On the final day, an initiative called “Job Dating” was held to provide opportunities for connection with companies recruiting talent.
The next “EPHJ” will be held from June 11 to 14, 2024.