A historic reference in Swiss watchmaking for springs and barrels, with three million pieces produced each year, Générale Ressorts will be turning an important page in its long history with the departure of Jean-Michel Uhl as CEO, to be replaced by Alberto Sicco on January 1, 2025.
Like all transitions within the Acrotec Group, the change of General Manager at the head of Générale Ressorts had been planned for a long time. Jean-Michel Uhl and Alberto Sicco had already been working well together for several years, one as Managing Director since 2009 and the other as Operations Director since 2020.
“For the past four years, Alberto has managed the day-to-day operations and teams at Générale Ressorts,” explains Jean-Michel Uhl. “He knows our customers inside out. So it’s a logical and natural transition, in line with the company’s values. I’m therefore handing over the reins of general management to Alberto with peace of mind, and deeply convinced of the relevance of this choice for the future of Générale Ressorts.”
After 15 years at the helm of Générale Ressorts, Jean-Michel Uhl will hand over the reins to Alberto Sicco on January 1. He will remain Chairman of the Board and CEO of two other Acrotec Group companies: Pierhor-Gasser and Butech.
Alberto Sicco, 35, joined Générale Ressorts in 2014 after a degree in materials engineering from EPFL and a first job at Rolex. Successively Technical Manager, Technical & Quality Director and finally Operations Director at Générale Ressorts, Alberto Sicco knows the company and its 65 employees well. “The transition was a smooth one,” confides Alberto Sicco. “Jean-Michel Uhl has enabled me to be fully operational on a daily basis and to meet our customers. I’m going to pursue a strategy that has enabled us to break records in 2023 with the production of 3 million springs and 1.5 million complete barrels. These figures clearly position us as the leading independent manufacturer of springs and complete barrels for the Swiss watchmaking industry.”
Under the leadership of Alberto Sicco, Générale Ressorts will pursue its strategy of innovation and investment, notably in its machinery, with the imminent arrival of the automatic assembly machine for complete barrels developed by Petitpierre SA, another Acrotec Group company. In 2024, Générale Ressorts also broke new ground with the launch of an entirely lead-free complete barrel for the watchmaking industry, featuring a Bioflex spring – a truly sustainable revolution for the watchmaking industry.