How PB Swiss Tools benefited from the EU contracts
« Everything used to be more complicated »: what the EU contracts brought to this Emmental toolmaker
25 years ago, entrepreneur Eva Jaisli worried about a yes to the first contract package with the EU. What effects did the easier access to the EU have for the tool manufacturer PB Swiss Tools?
Sweet vanilla scent gets into your nose when you enter the production hall. But desserts are not made here. They are screwdriver handles that plop into a gray box every 20 second from the flow band.
PB Swiss Tools have been producing the red screwdrivers in Wasen in the deepest Emmental for over 70 years. The unusual fragrance comes from the vanilla aroma, which has been added to the plastic for several years to cover the strict smell of the raw material.
« The tension was great »
The village smithy, which once produced nose rings for oxen, has become a tool factory that delivers from the Emmental to the whole world. And that now no longer only produces tools, but also medical instruments. Switzerland and the EU are the most important sales market: the company now generates a third of sales.
Chairman of the Board of Directors Eva Jaisli is responsible for the international success of the contracts between Switzerland and the EU. Jaisli managed the family business for almost 30 years, and last year she handed over the operational lead to her son.
Jaisli says that she can still remember the 21st May 2000 very well, sitting in front of a wall of screwdrivers. At that time, Switzerland voted against the first contract package, the bilateral I. She was committed to a yes, she says. « The tension in advance was great. » Accordingly, the relief about the significant approval.
Less hurdles, more planning security
The bilaterals have expanded PB Swiss Tools access to the European market, brought planning security and dismantled administrative hurdles, says Jaisli. What does that mean? «Everything used to be more complicated. With every EU country, we had to negotiate individually about the conditions our products can be sold, »she explains.
In addition, each individual customer had to conclude contracts in which it was regulated which standards apply to production – for example regarding masses, product safety or delivery conditions. The new market access agreement has made trade easier.
In 2021, however, the EU refused in response to the termination of the framework agreement negotiations to update the agreement to reduce trade barriers. Switzerland was degraded into a third country. The result for the tool manufacturer: Since then, all technical regulations have to be checked and approved twice – in Switzerland and the EU. The company has hired an agency in Germany for this.
The next tremor is coming up
In addition, research with the EU also benefits – and thus the economy, says Eva Jaisli. For example, the SME in Germany had the SME examined how the screwdrivers can be optimized in order to increase safety. Such cross -border cooperation are easier with the bilateral agreements.
Against this background, it is clear to the entrepreneur that the bilateral path must continue. Also as Vice President of the Association of the Swiss Tech Industry Swissmem, she is a glowing supporter of the contract package, which is now on the table-and to which the voting population will ultimately have the last word.
25 years after she was worried about the first bilateral package, Jaisli will soon have the next tremor.
