News 
Over the space of two decades, VOH has progressed from a simple distributor of basic equipment to a manufacturer of customised production equipment and innovative inspection systems. Resolutely forward-looking, the Courtelary firm will unveil at EPHJ a revolutionary hand bracket with built-in intelligence.
Swiss watchmaking is a patchwork of several hundred brands: well known or less conspicuous, historic or more recent, independent or affiliated to large groups, all vie with one another in ingenuity to give the highest possible profile to their products. Such at least is the more visible panorama. Behind the scenes there are countless small and medium-sized suppliers and subcontractors who do everything they can to facilitate the work of watchmakers. These firms are less prominent but no less efficient, and no less focused on innovation. They make up the industrial fabric which gives Switzerland its richness. Among their number: VOH, Vaucher Outillage Horloger, a company based in Courtelary, which this year celebrates its twentieth anniversary. It is run by Richard Vaucher, an astonishingly dynamic entrepreneur who is also at the head of the Berne Jura Economic Promotion Office (CEP).
From 1995 to the present day, growth of the firm has been impressive indeed! The modest tooling distribution counter for trade sales has become a dynamic SME employing around 55 staff, 11 of whom work in the Research and Development department alone. An expansion which is attributable to several factors, but which owes its success above all to the personality of its director, a watchmaker by training and an engineer in spirit. Initially, as he himself points out, Richard Vaucher started from the following observation: «When I took over this business, I realised quite quickly that added value needed to be injected into the basic activity, and that I couldn’t be content with being a distributor like dozens of others.»
He drew inspiration from his personal and professional experience: «I worked for several years with leading Manufactures, particularly in after-sales, design offices and quality assurance. I saw for myself what the demands of the job were. And since I’m an inventor at heart, I was always looking to improve things that didn’t work as well as I thought they could. That’s how everything began… When I started out on my own, I put my ideas into practice. I quickly put together a team of engineers and technicians to conceptualise what I had in my head,» explains the boss of VOH.
Vertical integration
Over the years, Richard Vaucher has made the vertical integration of his company a key objective. Why? «Each way of doing things has its place. But in my situation, I’ve always preferred to keep manufacturing processes in-house. Firstly, it means you’re not dependent on subcontractors. Secondly, it allows you optimal control over quality assurance throughout the production line. That is a crucial aspect of our business,» points out the boss, who rounds off his argument in the following terms: «Take Swiss watch manufacturers as a whole. Today, they have attained an extremely high level of industrial and human integration. Whether they make a plastic watch that sells for 80 francs or a limited edition timepiece selling for several hundred thousand francs, the quality standards are exceptional. They owe it to themselves therefore to use the most suitable equipment, in order to ensure that operations are carried out to perfection. That’s the role of a firm like ours: to provide them with optimal assistance.»
Even better. If VOH is now an authentic Manufacture designing and producing original products, it also offers complete industrial equipment and personalised solutions to clients who request such services: «I mentioned just now added value. To my mind, that is precisely what explains our growth and our success. We weren’t content just to follow the trend. On the contrary, we try to anticipate new trends. We reflect on what the future might hold, always in close collaboration with our clients,» explains Richard Vaucher.
Latest-generation bracket
And since we’re talking about the future, in what fields exactly does VOH envisage making innovations? «I’m not going to tell you all our secrets,» continues the entrepreneur. «Nonetheless, much still remains to be done, particularly in the control of force in areas such as driving, torsion and displacement. While that may not sound very spectacular, these are key problems during the assembly of a watch. I can also see possible developments in the field of advanced metrology, not to mention of course electronics and the whole realm of man-machine interfaces.» To illustrate his remarks, Richard Vaucher cites as an example the «revolutionary» tool he intends to unveil in Geneva at the EPHJ/EPMT/SMT trade fair for subcontractors. Its name is PAViX. What is it? Well, it’s a latest-generation, electronically-assisted bracket for watch hands. Yes, embedded intelligence also has a role to play in this type of product! Soon the system will allow its operator to control entire series of very different hands without needing to change tools. Ingenious!
Clearly this approach, involving regular investments in infrastructure, the recruitment of highly qualified staff and the constant drive for innovation, comes at a cost. One can imagine therefore that when the economic situation turns sour and the Swiss franc skyrockets, it could pose a problem for a business such as VOH, even if the firm realises only 10% of its sales on the export market. Richard Vaucher does not seem overly concerned by the prospect: «Yes, of course, managing a company like this is not easy every day. But we’ve made our choices and we’re sticking to them. For example, in the early part of this year we decided not to change our commercial policy. On the other hand, we do try and offer more for the same price. That’s how I like to work,» concludes the boss of VOH with a smile.
May 13, 2015