Ad hoc announcement pursuant to Art. 53 LR

Strategic reorientation well on track – downsizing of General Management

One year after its launch, the strategic reorientation of Tornos Group is well on track. A product portfolio geared to customer needs as well as a product roadmap aimed at innovation are driving forward the international orientation. By further reducing the number of General Management members, Tornos is embarking on an additional step in its strategic reorganization.

As already announced, the future structure is based on a clear concentration of production sites by product segment. This means that high-end products and key components will be made in Switzerland, and standard and mid-range products in China and Taiwan. This orientation will be consolidated over the coming months, taking account of the shift in balance between world markets. This concentration of production sites led by product segments accompanies the Group’s intention to reinforce the introduction of lean structures, which makes it possible to reduce the number of interfaces and accelerate decision making processes. In Moutier, Tornos will be consolidating its activities in one place in order to further increase efficiency. Based on the markets’ evolution and the production sites at the Group’s disposal, the current product portfolio is being analyzed closely. Tornos Group’s (Tornos, Almac, Cyklos) attendance at EMO Hanover 2013, the world's biggest machine tool trade fair, has stimulated interest among a highly international clientele. All the products exhibited were inspired by the new platform concept for automatic lathes (SwissNano, EvoDECO) as well as automatic multi-spindle lathes (MultiSwiss).

New company structure allows streamlining of General Management

The changes mentioned above permit a significant reduction in the number of General Management members. From now on General Management will comprise Michael Hauser (CEO), Luc Philippe Widmer (CFO) and Bruno Allemand (Head of Sales & Marketing). The posts of Chief Operations Officer, Chief Technology Officer, and Head of Market & Sales Support will be eliminated. As a consequence, Mr Pierre-Yves Mueller (COO since 2012) and Mr Olivier Marchand (CTO since 2011) are leaving the Tornos Group. Mr Marchand will continue to serve Tornos as a strategic portfolio development consultant. The duties associated with Market & Sales Support will be transferred to the Sales & Marketing department. Mr André Chardonnereau, Head of Development and Engineering and a member of General Management since 2011, will lead product development activities at the Almac SA subsidiary in La Chaux-de-Fonds. Furthermore, he is in charge of coordinating development projects at Tornos Group level. The changes in General Management will come into force on December 1, 2013. The members of the Board of Directors would like to thank the people in question for their invaluable contributions to Tornos' management, particularly their tremendous dedication in driving forward the development and launch of new products that have been positioned in different markets over recent months.