Ad hoc announcement pursuant to Art. 53 LR

Tornos to concentrate industrial activities at the Moutier site

In the scope of strategy implementation, Tornos SA has initiated a further rationalization step at the Moutier site with respect to a number of the company’s own properties and plots of land. The focus here is on properties not required for operational purposes.

Sale of football pitch to municipality

The perfect buyer – in the form of the town of Moutier – has been found for the football pitch “Terrain B”, which is situated right next to the company’s headquarters. This will give Moutier football club, which has benefited from financial assistance from Tornos for many years, the assurance that ideal training and playing facilities will be guaranteed in the future, too. The sale price, which has been approved by both the town council and the municipality council, is CHF 400,000.

Renovation of “Tour Bechler” on track

The conversion of this former office building (“Tour Bechler”, Rue Industrielle 15) into a mixed-used building for office premises and apartments is very much on track. Following the comprehensive rebuilding and renovation work, there will be one 1½-room, seven 2½-room, fourteen 4½-room and one 5½-room apartments available at a central location in Moutier on attractive terms. The tender process for the apartments or offices will be held from the 2015 year-end onward.

Further streamlining of real estate portfolio

Solutions that involve a new form of use are under study for the “Foyer” building (Rue Industrielle 95), the workshop building (Rue de l’Ecluse 49) and the “Usine Junker” (Rue Industrielle 123).

In this context, the “Usine Junker” will be used by Tornos for its own purposes, which is why residents of this building and the operators of the “Pantographe” were requested in a letter dated October 29, 2015 to vacate the building within the specified notice period. The operators had been informed of this decision in a meeting at the beginning of October.

Furthermore, capacities of the “Foyer” building, which houses in particular the staff restaurant, are insufficiently exploited. Tornos therefore looks for an adequate catering area that is situated close to the workplace of its more than 400 employees. Consequently, a buyer or tenant for the “Foyer” is being sought. A sale of this building is envisaged in the medium term.

In the workshops at Rue de l’Ecluse 49, Tornos uses only a fraction of the gross floor space available over two storeys, which together amounts to some 5,600m2, for the warehousing of components of semi-finished products, as well as the assembly of multi-spindle machines. Following the integration of multi-spindle machinery into the lean assembly process from 2016 onwards, all company products originating from Moutier will be assembled, tested, and prepared for dispatch in the same factory area (Tech Center, Rue Industrielle 109), which will significantly improve logistical and administrative processes. The freed-up industrial site at Rue de l’Ecluse 49 will therefore also be sold in the medium term.