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Valtronic Celebrates EPFL Innovation Park Office Opening

LES CHARBONNIÈRES, Switzerland, June 16, 2016 Valtronic has officially opened its Innovation Office in the Ecole Polytechnique Fédéral de Lausanne (EPFL) Innovation Park on June 6, 2016, in the presence of government officials, researchers, customers as well as academic and other partners.

The office on the EPFL campus is Valtronic's fourth worldwide location, next to the corporate headquarters in Switzerland and the sites in Cleveland (Ohio, USA) and Casablanca (Morocco). "Our presence on campus and within the networks of Switzerland Innovation shows our commitment to innovation. Staying close to new technologies and research is key for our continued success as a partner of choice for our customers. Our presence here gives us access to technologies as well as talent in the MedTech field", said Dr. Rainer Platz, Valtronic CEO.

Mrs. Corboud Fumagalli, EPFL Vice President for Innovation and Technology Transfer, welcomed Valtronic amongst the other companies active in Biotech, Medtech, Micro and Nano-technologies on campus. Mr. Raphael Conz, head of the Economic Promotion of the State of Vaud, praised Valtronic's contribution to the economic tissue as a high-tech company, active in the second sector within Switzerland and the Canton of Vaud.

Dr. Rainer Platz outlined in his presentation the vision behind Valtronic's innovation strategy and its contribution to the generation of value for Valtronic and its customers. "Continuously fortifying our foundations of technologies, people and experience is essential for remaining competitive in the future", he said.

The following series of keynote speakers shared their visions and experiences regarding challenges and opportunities for innovation between the laboratory and finally economic success. Prof. Dr. Philippe Renaud, Professor in the Microsystem Laboratory at EPFL and the scientific director of EPFL's Center of MicroNanoTechnology (CMi) shared his experiences from having encouraged and accompanied the foundation of numerous start-ups by his students. He insisted on the fact that scientific standards and the university's primary mission of teaching could not be compromised and the entrepreneurial spirit needed to come on top. Mr. Sacha Cerboni, Chief Quality Officer of Sensimed AG gave an insightful talk about innovation and its challenges from the perspective of one of these startups, emphasizing the numerous hurdles to a finally successful market introduction, as well as Valtronic's contribution to overcome these.

Finally, Dr. Abed Hammoud, CEO of Renishaw Mayfield, spoke about their impressive range of products and reminding the audience of the positive impact of Medical Device Technology on patients' quality of life.

For more information about Valtronic, visit http://www.valtronic.com. To find out more about Valtronic's new office in the EPFL Innovation Park, visit http:/ /epfl-innovationpark.ch.