Kern Microtechnik GmbH, Eschenlohe, offers its customers in large parts of Europe the opportunity to experience the performance of their highly precise five-axis machining centers live. This is now also possible in the French-speaking part of Switzerland – in Glovelier, where the contract manufacturer 'Next Factory' is located. As a Kern partner, it opened a new technology center in 2025, centered around a Kern Micro HD.
The internationally renowned companies Swatch, Rolex, and Richemont are based in the French-speaking part of Switzerland. But other companies from the watch and luxury goods industry, as well as from medical and mechanical engineering and aviation, are also located there. They all require highly precise components, for which Kern Microtechnik's machining centers are specialized. To explain the highly complex technical processes in their own language, the Eschenlohe machine manufacturer decided to establish a technology center in French-speaking Switzerland.
Since mid-2025, companies involved in the production of highly precise components have had the opportunity to experience the five-axis high-precision center Kern Micro HD live in Glovelier (Canton Jura) and to conduct tests with their own components. This is made possible by the contract manufacturer and service provider for process development 'Next Factory' with its new Kern Technology Center.
‘Precision machining with Kern’
Since 2019, the French- and English-speaking machining technician Julien Mongey, together with his friend and partner Julien Werle, has been engaged in the contract manufacturing of highly precise metal components. Before founding Next Factory, Mongey gained extensive experience in several contract manufacturing companies with various machine tools.
It was clear to him that ‘to be successful in precision machining, we must invest in a 'Kern' from the very beginning. Because for me, these are the best milling machines when it comes to the highest precision, repeat accuracy, and surface quality,’ emphasizes Mongey.
For cost reasons, initially only a three-axis Kern Micro was possible. Thanks to this machine and the know-how of the two machining specialists, successes soon followed. In addition to orders from the luxury watch industry, inquiries for prototype components from the aviation and medical technology sectors also came in. However, a problem became apparent, as Julien Mongey says: ‘We could not manufacture the sometimes very complex components on our three-axis machine.’
But since we did not want to disappoint our new customers in any way, we asked the Kern representatives in Eschenlohe if we could manufacture various individual parts there on a five-axis Kern Micro HD.
The positive response came immediately. Stays in Eschenlohe to mill demanding test components from customers in the French-speaking Switzerland became increasingly frequent. Thus, it was a logical consequence to place a Kern Micro HD of our own in Glovelier – in close partnership with the machine manufacturer Kern. Because together with the delivery in 2025, the establishment of a Kern Technology Center is planned, where demonstrations and test machining will take place.
Successful as a contract manufacturer and technology center operator
‘In the second half of the year, we were able to demonstrate the capabilities of the Kern machine to ten potential customers,’ says Julien Mongey happily. ‘Five of them with real components, and they were all very satisfied with the results.’
He and his partner coordinate further support and alignment with the interested parties – always in close contact and harmony with the Kern headquarters in Eschenlohe. In addition, the Swiss machining specialists offer machine training. These take place either at the customers' sites or at the technology center at Next Factory. There, in addition to the Micro HD, various PC workstations are available for programming and simulating machining processes.
While Next Factory exclusively handles the sales of Kern machines for French-speaking Switzerland, the technology center offers training sessions and test part machining for all interested parties in France and other French-speaking regions of Europe. Julien Mongey is enthusiastic: ‘The collaboration with Kern is a complete success for us as a contract manufacturer and technology center operator.’ He looks to the future with optimism: ‘The signs are clearly pointing to growth, so we will significantly expand our workforce in the coming years.’
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