Swissmem is the Swiss association of mechanical and electrical engineering industries (MEM industries). With some 320,000 employees, the MEM industries are Switzerland’s largest industrial employer and, since they account for 31 percent of the country’s exports, an important economic and political player. In 2015, the nearly 1,000 member companies of Swissmem exported goods worth 63 billion Swiss francs.
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Swissmem was created by the merger of two associations: ASM (Association of Swiss Engineering Employers) und VSM (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 specialist groups: