POLYMEDIA SA

What POLYMEDIA SA does

POLYMEDIA SA is a privately held Swiss B2B publishing company headquartered in Morges, Vaud, that operates four specialized French- and bilingual technical and scientific journals: La Revue POLYTECHNIQUE (founded 1898, monthly), Oberflächen POLYSURFACES (bilingual German/French, four issues/year), Sécurité Environnement (four issues/year), and the Revue internationale de criminologie et de police technique et scientifique (RICPTS, four issues/year, archives back to 1947). The company's underlying technology is conventional editorial content production — written articles, summaries, exhibitions, and a growing library of PDF and MP3 audio article formats — distributed across print mail subscriptions and a self-serve digital PDF channel with archives dating to 2012.

The business model is recurring subscription revenue layered with advertising. Subscriptions are sold on annual and biennial terms across three geographic zones (Switzerland, Europe, Rest of World), with student tiers available for RICPTS. POLYMEDIA monetizes advertising within publications and holds official publication status with ten Swiss industry associations (SST, AFTS, UIG, GESO, swissT.net, SEC, FSPM, ASRTM, AJS, ASJS), giving it embedded distribution across industrial, security, surface treatment, and journalism verticals. Customer segments include industrial company executives and purchasing managers, technical managers of Swiss Romandie communes, security and environment professionals, surface treatment industry buyers, and the criminology and forensic science research community. Marketing is conducted via a multilingual website (French, German, English), LinkedIn and Facebook pages, and association channels.

The firm is small (8 employees) and mature, with no disclosed funding rounds, M&A activity, leadership changes, or financial statements. In January 2026 it expanded its content offering with audio article versions and launched a donation appeal supporting editorial independence, indicating modest product evolution within a stable legacy publishing model.

Name

POLYMEDIA SA

Legal name

POLYMEDIA SA

Website

https://polymedia.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

1898

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

POLYMEDIA SA is a privately held Swiss B2B publisher in Morges operating four niche French- and bilingual technical journals (polytechnics, surface treatment, security/environment, criminology) for industrial professionals, security specialists, and researchers in Swiss Romandie and internationally, monetized via subscriptions and advertising.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Technical Trade Publishing

NAICS

Newspaper, Periodical, Book, and Directory Publishers (5131)

SIC

Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)

akta.pro primary industry

Scholarly Societies & Conference Proceedings Publishing (MPAJABAK)

Keywords

• Technical trade publishing
• Industrial scientific journals
• Surface treatment publications
• Security environment journals
• Criminology forensic journals

Headquarters

HQ city

Morges

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Magazine Subscriptions: Core revenue from subscriptions to four specialized journals: La Revue POLYTECHNIQUE (10 issues/year), Oberflächen POLYSURFACES (4 issues/year), Sécurité Environnement (4 issues/year), and Revue Internationale de Criminologie et de Police Technique et Scientifique (4 issues/year). Subscriptions available for Switzerland, Europe, and rest of world.
2. Advertising: Revenue from advertising placements within publications, targeting industrial companies and professionals in French-speaking Switzerland.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

POLYMEDIA SA is a Swiss B2B publishing company that produces and distributes four specialized technical and scientific journals—La Revue POLYTECHNIQUE (industrial technology), Oberflächen POLYSURFACES (surface treatment), Sécurité Environnement (security and environment), and RICPTS (criminology, forensic police science, terrorism)—through a subscription model and advertising sales. Each title serves a defined professional readership in Switzerland and internationally, with content delivered in print and digital/PDF formats.

Product overview

POLYMEDIA SA operates a multi-journal publishing platform consisting of four distinct Swiss technical and scientific publications: La Revue POLYTECHNIQUE (a monthly polytechnic journal founded in 1898), Oberflächen POLYSURFACES (a bilingual surface treatment journal), Sécurité Environnement (a security and environment journal), and RICPTS (an international criminology and forensic science review). The company also offers subscription services, PDF access to back issues dating to 2012, and digital audio article versions. The journals serve different professional audiences including industrial companies, engineers, security professionals, and criminology researchers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• La Revue POLYTECHNIQUE Monthly French-language industrial and technical journal covering industrial technology, engineering practice, and supplier information for industrial companies, technical offices of Swiss communes, engineering schools, and individual engineers. Published 10 issues per year, available by subscription in print and digital (PDF) with access to the title's archive.
• Oberflächen POLYSURFACES Quarterly multilingual (French/German/English) trade journal covering surface treatment technologies—galvanization, coating, plating, painting, finishing—targeting suppliers, processors, applicators, equipment vendors, and research laboratories in the surface treatment industry. Published 4 issues per year.
• Sécurité Environnement Quarterly journal addressing occupational safety, security, and environmental management for Swiss municipalities, cantonal administrations, industrial HSE departments, fire and rescue services, environmental consultancies, and private security providers. Published 4 issues per year, available by subscription.
• RICPTS Quarterly scientific journal covering police science, forensic science, criminology, and terrorism, targeting law enforcement agencies, forensic institutes, criminology departments, counter-terrorism units, and security consultancies. Published 4 issues per year, available by subscription.

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• GESO (Groupement Électronique de Suisse Occidentale)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 March 1975Founded March 12, 1975 in Lausanne. Members are active in development and application of electronics, automation, industrial IT, sensors, instrumentation, microelectronics, and microsystems.
• UIG (Union Industrielle Genevoise)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUIG promotes the attractiveness of Geneva industry and aims to address challenges of future industry through concrete projects in social partnership, innovation 4.0, and professional training.
• ASRTM (Association Suisse de Traitement Thermique des Matériaux)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSwiss Association of Thermal Treatment of Materials that brings together individuals, companies, or institutions involved in material treatments and associated techniques.
• swissT.net (Swiss Technology Network)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNetwork organization for Swiss technology sector members, gathering economic interests, creating market transparency, ensuring knowledge transfer, promoting young talents, and influencing general conditions.
• SEC (Swiss Electronics Cluster)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCluster for valorization and recognition of Swiss electronics quality through international IPC standards, supporting both order-givers and manufacturers of electronic assemblies or components.
• FSPM (Fédération suisse des professionnels de la mécanique)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFederation representing and defending professional, economic, social, and legal interests of members in mechanics and electrical mechanics professions.
• AJS (Association suisse des journalistes spécialisés)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSwiss Association of Specialized Journalists
• ASJS (Association suisse du journalisme scientifique)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSwiss Association of Science Journalism
• SST (Société Suisse de Traitement de Surface)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOfficial publication organ of the Swiss Surface Treatment Society
• AFTS (Association des fournisseurs pour les traitements de surface)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOfficial publication organ of the Association of Suppliers for Surface Treatments

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Market position

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/polymedia.ch
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/polymedia-sa

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about POLYMEDIA SA