The EPHJ-EPMT-SMT trade fair, which will be held at Palexpo Geneva from 5 to 8 June 2012, today unveiled the highlights of this year’s programme. The 11th edition of EPHJ-EPMT-SMT will see a record 650 exhibitors and welcome high-profile speakers to its round-table discussions, which are organised in partnership with various federal and regional bodies.

The 2012 edition of the annual international trade fair EPHJ (Environnement Professionnel Horlogerie) – EPMT (Environnement Professionnel MicroTechnologies) - SMT (Swiss Medical Technologies) will take place at Palexpo in Geneva for the first time this year.

The organisers have unveiled the line-up for this unique event, which will host a record 650 exhibitors, up 14 per cent over last year’s figure and proof that the move to Geneva corresponds to a real demand on the Swiss market to broaden its horizons. Some 13,000 professional visitors from Switzerland and the rest of the world are anticipated at this year’s event.

“We are happy to see that the reputation of our trade fair, that we have worked tirelessly to build up over the last ten years, and its new dynamic, will offer exciting business opportunities to our exhibitors in the same warm, friendly atmosphere,” said co-founder Olivier Saenger.

The major partners of this year’s event include the OSEC, the Swiss Office for Commercial Expansion and the Geneva Service for Economic Promotion, who are actively involved in the conference programme. The fair will also incorporate the fifth edition of Actes’Industries—a joint event between Geneva’s Service for Economic Promotion, the CCIG (Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Services of Geneva), the Office for the Promotion of Industry and Technologies and the Geneva Industrial Union (UIG)—which will discuss a number of key subjects and their direct impact on growth in the French-speaking region.

“This positive synergy reflects not just the industrial expertise of our canton, but of Switzerland as a whole. Subcontracting in watchmaking, microtechnologies and medical technologies is a vital aspect of our economy. It must therefore be showcased in the best possible way so that Swiss and international visitors alike can appreciate both the strength of our expertise and our capacity to constantly innovate,” stressed Pierre-François Unger, President of the Geneva Council of States.

Innovation and the future of production expertise are major issues that the organisers have chosen to address at the 2012 event, especially with the “Grand Prix des Exposants”. All exhibitors will be invited to choose a company that has recently excelled itself in terms of innovation, growth, expertise and originality in the industry of microtechnological subcontracting. The Grand Prix will be presented to the winner on the last day of the event.

The full programme and list of exhibitors is available at www.ephj.ch.