Swissmem is the Swiss association of mechanical and electrical engineering industries (MEM industries). With some 335,000 employees, the MEM industries are Switzerland’s largest industrial employer and, since they account for 35.2 percent of the country’s exports, an important economic and political player. In the first three quarters of 2011, the nearly 1,000 member companies of Swissmem exported goods worth 51.3 billion Swiss francs.

Swissmem was created by the merger of two associations: ASM

ASM

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 (Association of Swiss Engineering Employers) und VSM

VSM

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(Swiss Association of Machinery Manufacturers). Both associations have been operating under the Swissmem name since 1999. VSM was renamed Swissmem at the beginning of 2007, when it took over all ASM’s activities with the exception of those associated with the sector’s collective bargaining agreement.

Swissmem represents the MEM industries’ interests to the Swiss government, national and international organizations, employee representative bodies and the public. It also acts as the MEM industries’ service centre. In its capacity as employer representative, Swissmem negotiates the terms of the collective bargaining agreement for the MEM industries with the unions. The MEM industries’ collective bargaining agreement is traditionally a benchmark for a large number of collective bargaining agreements in Switzerland, having evolved to its current state of refinement since the "peace agreement" of 1937.

Organization

Swissmem is chaired by Hans Hess since November 2010. Federal Councillor Johann Niklaus Schneider-Ammann was formerly the President of Swissmem. In the past, several important officials of Swissmem, ASM or VSM have risen to even more influential positions in the Swiss Employers’ Association (Peter Hasler, Thomas Daum (Switzerland).

Swissmem’s CEO is Peter Dietrich.

Member companies

Swissmem has nearly 1,000 member companies, including all Switzerland’s major industrial enterprises.
Swissmem’s members are divided into the following divisions:

• Power transmission technology
• Assembly and factory automation
• Dimensional measurement
• Electric tools
• Handling and storage equipment
• Printing machinery
• Hand tools
• Compressors, pneumatic and vacuum technology
• Plastics machinery
• Swiss aeronautical industries
• Oil hydraulics and pneumatics
• Pumps
• Space technology
• Welding and cutting technology
• Security and defence technology
• Textile machinery
• Environmental technology
• Internal combustion engines
• Process engineering equipment
• Packaging machinery
• Die and mould industry
• Machine tools and manufacturing technology
• Cutting tools