Stettler Sapphire was one of the world’s leading manufacturers of top-quality artificial sapphire glasses. The company supplied in particular the Swiss luxury watch industry with watch glasses and customer-specific sapphire components, and also manufactured technical products for optical, electronic and medical technology applications.

The acquisition

After around 100 years of family ownership, CEO Martin Stettler was looking for an active co-shareholder to further develop the business and to phase out retiring family members. The deal was sourced via the NEXX network on a proprietary basis. Mr. Stettler remained CEO and reinvested significantly together with additional managers.

Investment Rationale

Stettler operated in growing market segments, supported by the positive development in the luxury watch industry and the strong international expansion of key customers. Material and process know-how provided clear barriers to entry against Asian competitors. In addition, the Mauritius subsidiary offered potential for further efficiency gains.

Implementation of the growth concept

During the holding period, new products were developed for leading Swiss luxury watch manufactures, and the business with a key premium customer was expanded by establishing an in-house anti-reflection coating line, strengthening both revenues and margins. CNC manufacturing was specifically advanced for high-precision sapphire watch cases; on this basis, another renowned luxury watch brand was won as an important strategic customer. In parallel, the technical sapphire segment was developed further with a reinforced sales organisation.

Exit

The exit was completed in December 2016 to Groupe Industries Micromécaniques Internationales (Groupe IMI), a French-Swiss industrial group specialised in high-precision micromechanics and watch components.


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