A Swiss company inaugurated two solar furnaces on Friday in a watchmaking city, aimed at melting down and recycling the key industry's steel offcuts by using green energy.

The Jura mountains form Switzerland's northwestern border with France, with the Swiss side home to multiple watchmaking companies and medical instrument manufacturers that use high-quality steel.

The goal is to take their production waste and melt it down into ingots using concentrated solar rays -- then recirculate it to companies throughout the border region via a short supply chain.

"I've been dreaming of this moment for 10 years," said Raphael Broye, the chief executive of Panatere, which specialises in transforming and recycling metal raw materials.

La Chaux-de-Fonds is the cradle of Swiss watchmaking.

Panatere

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