Agathon celebrates 100 years with prestigious event

Agathon celebrates 100 years with prestigious event

Leading Swiss company Agathon AG pulled all the stops out at its recent 100-year anniversary event at its factory in Bellach and at a special evening event in Soloturn.

Over 200 invited guests were given the opportunity to tour the impressive factory in Bellach with the day starting with a welcome from Agathon CEO Michael Merkle. He pointed out that not every company could achieve this milestone, which took courage, confidence and tenacity, stating: “We trust in the power of innovation and the expertise of our staff. The revaluation of the Swiss Franc in 2015 by 20 percent was a challenge, especially as we had just bought the company! We decided that we would only buy what we actually needed, i.e. lean products, manufacturing expertise and Industry 4.0. Innovation comes through people and discussions in small groups.

“We need to have courage to continue to develop ourselves, attracting the best talent to develop new ideas. A perfect example of this is the ground-breaking laser for machining advanced materials that we have introduced.”

An indication of the importance of the event, was the attendance of Federal councilor Johann N. Schneider-Ammann, the former president of Switzerland and the current head of the the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research, who explained his long association with Agathon began with his wife selling the then managing director a dog! On a more serious note, he of course, congratulated the company on reaching such a significant milestone and gave a detailed appraisal of the Swiss economy and its relationship with the EU. He predicts a growth of 2.9 percent this year with a strong emphasis on investment in R&D and innovation. The country is also investing heavily in education in order to bridge the apparent skills gap.

At the evening event, guests were entertained by an impressive light show and breathtaking cabaret acts, bringing the day to a wonderful close.

A full report on the Agathon facilities and machines will be published in the next issue of the magazine in September.

To video : https://youtu.be/wYNY2EGhu3M

Agathon AG
Tel: 0041 32617 4500
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www.agathon.ch