15.10.2026
eta, one of the industrial centres of the swatch group
housed in a simple two-storey industrial building covering 17,000 m², eta‘s factory 25 in sion is where all swatch watches sold worldwide are made. this production unit, heir to the fontainemelon company which opened the site in 1970, has become a symbol of swiss industrial engineering applied to mass watchmaking.
28.09.2026
The HES-SO Valais-Wallis launches a new campaign: “Studying in Valais. An adventure in itself.”
The HES-SO Valais-Wallis is launching a new campaign with the slogan “Studying in Valais. An adventure in itself.” The campaign is based on a simple idea: choosing what and where to study also means choosing the environment in which to learn, meet people, gain new experiences and shape your future. A film by Valais director Guillaume Darbellay, released yesterday, brings this idea to life with humour. At a time when generative artificial intelligence can create spectacular images in seconds, the HES-SO Valais-Wallis chose to shoot every scene on location.
22.09.2026
arxada, a specialty chemicals giant, is putting the valais region on the map
arxada’s history began in july 2021, when the investment firms bain capital and cinven finalized the acquisition of the specialty ingredients division of the lonza group. the entity, initially named lsi, was renamed arxada in october of the same year. this name, derived from the latin words arx and arcis—meaning citadel and fortress—reflects the company’s mission: to protect its customers’ products through microbial control technologies.
14.09.2026
A Valais-based depalletizing robot frees wineries and breweries from repetitive work
Until now, no automatic depalletizer was suitable for the modest production rates of small and medium-sized wineries or breweries. The equipment currently available on the market is too bulky and ill-suited to the confined spaces of cellars. It was this observation that prompted Oppletis to begin developing this solution in 2020.“This depalletizing work is repetitive, and I didn’t want to assign skilled staff to it. So it was clear that I needed to find a solution,” explains Olivier Mounir, director of Cave du Rhodan. Responding to this need, Oppletis designed a robot based on a Universal Robots UR20 collaborative arm, equipped with an in-house-developed gripper and an automatic bottle and pallet detection system.
27.08.2026
20 years of Summer School on Advanced Biotechnology: anniversary edition on the Energypolis campus
The Summer School on Advanced Biotechnology came to a close on 3 September after a memorable week marking the 20th anniversary of this international event. For this special edition, the HES-SO Valais-Wallis Institute of Life Sciences had the honour of hosting the anniversary celebrations on the new Energypolis campus in Sion.
25.08.2026
the valais-based 3r group, a leader in medical imaging in french-speaking switzerland
the 3r group—réseau radiologique romand—is now the benchmark for community-based medical imaging in french-speaking switzerland and beyond. since 2000, it has continued to expand from its origins in valais. in addition to valais, 3r now operates in the cantons of vaud, fribourg, neuchâtel, geneva, and bern. the 2023 acquisition of radioviva in bülach (zh), with its two centers for radiology and nuclear medicine, marks a historic milestone by opening the network to the german-speaking swiss market.
