In 1988, Mr. Arnoux and Mr. Richard founded their company Arnoux Richard SA Porte Echappement, or "Arsape" for short, in La Chaux-de-Fonds, one of the metropolises of the Swiss watch industry in the canton of Neuchâtel in western Switzerland.

Founded as a management buy-out to take over the construction of watch drives, the first single-phase and then two-phase stepper motors were created - with a power-to-volume ratio and precision that were one step ahead of conventional drive technologies. Motors with which larger systems could be driven electronically much more precisely than before, and which were in great demand not only in the watch industry. The product range was constantly expanded and the workforce - twelve colleagues followed the founders - grew rapidly in parallel with the demand for high-end stepper motors.

It was therefore a logical step for Faulhaber to acquire a stake in Arsape in 2000 to expand its technological portfolio and integrate the stepper motor specialist into the Group. In 2012, Arsape was renamed Faulhaber Precistep SA. In 2015, the company relocated to a larger, modern industrial building in order to continue to meet the required production and logistics standards as a global leader in the market for precision miniature stepper motors.

Today, Faulhaber Precistep produces two-phase permanent magnet stepper motors from six to 22 millimetres in diameter. The tiny drives with an impressive power-to-volume ratio support the increasing miniaturization in many industrial sectors. Together with the low-backlash gearboxes from Faulhaber Drive Systems, they can operate in environments that were previously difficult or impossible to reach. In addition to maximum, long-term stable performance, another advantage is that Precistep also adapts its drives precisely to customer requirements.

The range of applications is correspondingly broad: from optics and photonics, especially in the medical sector, to aerospace. For example, stepper motors will be part of the next rover expedition to Mars in 2020. But before that, Precistep will be celebrating its 30-year success story in La Chaux-de-Fonds on June 22, 2018. as