Caption:
136 representatives of the international security industry took part in this year’s general assembly.

Photo:
ESSA


Caption:
This year, a new ESSA board was elected – from left to right: Markus Hartmann, Myriam Bevillon, Harald Lüling, Wolfgang Bruna, Slavka Marinic, Dr. Markus Heering and Thomas Schmidt. Not shown: Dr. Johnny Liu.

Photo:
ESSA




ESSA General Assembly 2018

Board Elections, personnel changes and SECOTA - The industry is facing new challenges


Frankfurt/M. – November 2018. On the 14th and 15th of November 2018, the annual General Assembly of the European Security Systems Association (ESSA) took place again in Frankfurt am Main. For the 51th consecutive year, 136 representatives of the international security industry met to commemorate last year's activities and set the course for a successful next year.

Also, this year, the two-day event was chaired and moderated by ESSA chairman Harald Lüling (BURG-WÄCHTER) and Deputy Chairman Myriam Bevillon (Gunnebo). "Last year, in order to mark the 50th anniversary of the association, we focused this traditional event on the most significant and defining milestones in our history. This year, we want to turn our gaze towards the future. Our industry is a very concentrated industry, and this poses ever-increasing challenges for all parties involved." says Harald Lüling at the beginning of the event. The European Security Systems Association is expected to continue to act as an advocacy group for member companies and remains a valued platform for the professional exchange of manufacturers, distributors, insurance companies and authorities in the physical security industry.

The assembly, which has been popular in industry circles for decades, offered not only interesting specialist lectures, but also space for joint discussion and brainstorming. The following speakers were invited: Dirk Etheber (European Certification Body GmbH) - "Comparability of Examinations and Certifications in Europe" and "ECB Service Audits", Dr.-Ing. Philipp Klimant (Chemnitz University of Technology) - "Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality in Industry" and Julia Jacob (Messe Essen GmbH) - security Fair: Review 2018 and Outlook 2020. Furthermore, ESSA representative Falko Adomat lectured on the topics "Distributed Systems and Smart Devices" as well as "CE Marking of Safes".

Board elections 2018 and personnel changes: Falko Adomat appointed to the management

As part of this year's event, a new board had to be elected. The current board, consisting of Harald Lüling (BURG-WÄCHTER), Myriam Bevillon (Gunnebo), Wolfgang Bruna (Wertheim Betriebsberatungs GmbH), Thomas Schmidt (dormakaba EAD) and Slavka Marinič (PRIMAT d.d.) was unanimously elected by the members for a further term of office confirmed by three years. As in previous years, Harald Lüling (BURG-WÄCHTER) was elected chairman of the board. Myriam Bevillon (Gunnebo) will also continue to be deputy chairman of the association.

As new members, Markus Hartmann (Hartmann Tresore AG) and Dr. Ing. Johnny Liu (Tri Star Inc.) were voted into the board. "The result of the board elections is very pleasing. I am looking forward to a good and constructive cooperation and I am convinced that we will continue to be successful with the new, broader board.", says Markus Hartmann from Hartmann Tresore AG.

Another change in staffing concerns the ESSA management. Falko Adomat will take over the position of Deputy Managing Director of the association with immediate effect. In this role, he will support the current Executive Director Dr. Markus Heering.

SECOTA – Security, Equivalent, Certification, Organization, Testing and Auditing

Also presented was the working group SECOTA, which has set itself the task of making testing and certifications in Europe comparable and comprehensible for all communities of interest. The association of international representatives from the security and insurance industry works according to its four pillars: transparency, comparability, exchange of information and compliance with European standards. Over the coming year, SECOTA will develop several concepts for holistic comparative tests and will share them with the participating laboratories and certification bodies. In principle, all interested laboratories can participate in the comparison tests. An application can be submitted informally to ESSA.

The next ESSA General Assembly will take place on the 13th and 14th of November 2019.

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As of: 20th of November 2018