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In honor of their 150th anniversary, International Watch Company has opened, for the first time in the storied Swiss brand’s history, a manufacturing facility that brings together case making, movement part making and movement assembly together under one roof. The new Manufakturzentrum, which was completed in just 21 months, is located on the outskirts of Shauffhausen, Switzerland, the long-time headquarters of IWC.
Encompassing a production workshop where 1,500 components are produced, an electroplating shop where movement components are surface-finished, a movement assembly line, a case production department, and an engraving/machining department, the new facilities will house all production operations in a central location and optimize IWC’s watchmaking process.
Says Andreas Voll, COO of IWC Shauffhausen, “The entire process of creating value, from the raw materials to the individual movement component and on to the finished manufacture movement, progresses in a logical order on a single storey. The close proximity of the offices and the production facilities also facilitates communication and allows the different departments to coordinate more quickly. I have been dreaming of this ever since I started at IWC back in 2007.”
Architecture has also played an outsize role in shaping the new facilities, due in no large part to the fact that IWC CEO Christoph Grainger-Herr is also an architect and personally helped design the new Manufakturzentrum.
“Architecture is about much more than just designing a utilitarian building,” says Grainger-Herr. “A building is a living space — an environment that directly affects the way people live and work. I see this in the Manufakturzentrum too, a building that over 230 employees call their professional ‘home.’”
Stay tuned later this week for more coverage of the new IWC Manufakturzentrum from Gear Patrol!
