STP
Swiss Technology Production (STP) is a watch movement assembler and finisher in Manno, Ticino, Switzerland. It is 51% owned by Hong Kong/American fashion watch giant, Fossil.
History
STP was founded in 2006 by a group on Lugano investors under Hans Ulrich Saurer as Prime Watch Holding Production (PWP). The company specialized in assembling and finishing parts for movements that could be called Swiss Made. Production was established in the remote Canton of Ticino due to availability of expensive labor compared to watchmaking cities like Biel, where Fossil had previously manufactured movements as Antima.
STP produced an initial batch of 2,000 movements 2010, and ramped up production in 2012. That same year, Fossil purchased a 51% interest in the company to establish Swiss provenance for their brands, such as Burberry, Zodiac, and Fossil Swiss. Production ramped dramatically, with 140,000 examples produced in 2014, and was highly automated, with just 28 watchmakers involved.
STP also supplies other companies, including Eterna. The first product of STP for Fossil was calibre STP1-11, which is very similar to the ETA 2824-2. This was joined by variations (STP2, STP3, STP5, and STP6) as well as a smaller STP8-14 for women's watches.