Anniversary AGM of swiss safety at the KKL Lucerne

The statutory business was dealt with swiftly. The association is on a solid financial footing and can easily cope with the loss budgeted for 2026 due to greater expenditure in the areas of marketing, website and more intensive activities on social media. Membership development was also discussed. Swiss safety currently has 53 active members, eight specialist members, five passive members and five honorary members. swiss safety was also able to continue working on a good basis in terms of communication and cooperation with partner organizations and intensify its relationships.

Focus of the association's work

An important focus of the association's work last year was also on the new training concept for members. A new «PPE sales workshop» was launched for this purpose. There was great interest in the workshop, which was held for the first time. Follow-up events are therefore planned. The e-Toolbox, which was launched by the association a few years ago as an online reference work for the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) and is freely accessible to all interested parties, is also a major focus for the association and offers awareness-raising measures in the market to draw the attention of at-risk employees to the effective use of PPE. The educational videos in particular provide valuable support for training courses and the practical transfer of specialist knowledge.

A special moment at the anniversary General Assembly was the retirement of Dominique Graber from the presidency. He had been active as President of the association for almost 15 years and had already been a member of the Board for several years. During this time, he brought a great deal of momentum to the association's work, initiated numerous activities in the interests of swiss safety and successfully implemented these together with the Board. Dominique Graber has now stepped down from his position. His fellow Board member Ralph Jaschek paid tribute to his great commitment in a laudatory speech. Dominique Graber was then appointed as a new honorary member to great applause.

Denis Bürgi, who had played a key role in shaping the association for more than a decade, was also dismissed from the Board. Her commitment was also honored by fellow Board member Ralph Jaschek in a laudatory speech. The meeting thanked both individuals warmly for their many years of commitment, their services and their solidarity with swiss safety.

New president elected

Due to the two departures mentioned above, the elections took center stage. Laura Dorman was elected as the new President of swiss safety. She takes over the presidency from Dominique Graber and will lead the association into the next phase. She describes herself as a passionate PPE enthusiast. Together with the association and all its members, she will continue to work hard to ensure that only certified, high-quality PPE is used and sold in Switzerland. Stefan Bissig from Zeder AG and Lisa Weber from Würth AG Switzerland were newly elected to the Board of Directors. The existing Board members Ralf W. Jaschek, Yves Schwarz, Sandro Natuzzi and Alois Benz were re-elected.

The next activities and focal points were presented as part of the annual program. Special attention was also paid to the chronicle of the last 50 years, which documents the development of the association and important milestones in its history.

The anniversary General Assembly was enriched by various messages of welcome. Simon Schnyder from the Swiss Trade Association praised the commitment of swiss safety. He emphasized how important it is that protection does not remain pure theory, but is actually applied in the market with pragmatic solutions. Marcel Knecht from the Swiss Association for Standardization underlined the importance of standards as a basis for quality and safety and as a single but important piece of the puzzle in the area of personal protective equipment. It is also to the credit of swiss safety that its awareness-raising activities and the marketing of certified, high-quality PPE lead to increased safety in the workplace. And Henk Vanhoutte from the European Safety Federation emphasized the importance of a strong network like swiss safety. Especially in a specialized industry, the exchange between members, partners and institutions is central to developing effective solutions together and strengthening safety in the long term.

At its 50th General Assembly, swiss safety not only looked back on half a century of association history, but also set the course for the future. The anniversary meeting at the KKL Lucerne made it clear that the association has a strong network, committed members and a clear focus on practical, effective solutions in the field of personal protective equipment.

After the official part, the participants were given an exciting tour of the KKL Luzern, which provided interesting insights into the architecture, history and operation of the renowned culture and congress center. This was followed by an aperitif, which provided an opportunity for exchange and personal discussions. Afterwards, the celebrations on the ship came to a memorable conclusion with a shared lunch and many stimulating conversations. The «50 years of swiss safety» anniversary was thus celebrated in a worthy setting and impressively rounded off.