Chamber of Commerce and Industry St. Gallen-Appenzell
The aim of the St. Gallen-Appenzell Chamber of Commerce and Industry is to protect and promote the interests of industry, trade and service companies in the cantons of St. Gallen , Appenzell Ausserrhoden and Appenzell Innerrhoden . It is organized as an association and has its headquarters in St. Gallen.
The chamber is the oldest chamber of commerce in Switzerland, whose origins go back to the 15th century. The oldest known list of members of the Gesellschaft zum Notenstein , the forerunner of today's IHK, dates from 1466.
Seat
The chamber has had its seat since 1864 in the house "zum Engelskopf" at Gallusstrasse 16 in the St. Gallen monastery district. Previously it was located right next to it in the town hall, which is now the seat of the local community of St. Gallen.
organization
The chamber is a membership organization. Any natural or legal person as well as any partnership that is committed to the goal and purpose of the association can become a member. In contrast to other countries, Switzerland has no compulsory membership for companies. The IHK St. Gallen-Appenzell currently has around 1,600 member companies that employ around 80,000 people.
General Assembly
Each member has one vote at the General Assembly. The tasks of the General Assembly include, above all, the election of the members of the Board of Directors, the President and the Vice-Presidents, or the approval of the annual report and financial statements.
Board of Directors and Presidential Committee
The members of the Board of Directors and the Presidential Committee (consisting of the President and the Vice-Presidents) are elected by the General Assembly for a period of three years. Since a revision of the statutes, the board of directors consists of a maximum of 15 members who are supposed to represent the various branches of industry and regions appropriately. The term of office is limited to three terms. In exceptional cases, the General Assembly can decide on a fourth term of office.
The board of directors is the executive body of the association. He is u. a. responsible for all measures that serve to achieve the goals of the association. The executive committee prepares the business for the attention of the board and represents the association internally and externally. Roland Ledergerber has been President of the St.Gallen-Appenzell Chamber of Commerce since 2018.
Office
The office implements the decisions of the board and has been managed by IHK director Markus Bänziger since 2018. The office currently employs a total of 14 people, half of whom work part-time. In total, this corresponds to about ten full-time positions.
tasks
The Chamber has three main tasks:
- Export: It promotes free foreign trade, advises and supports its members with regard to regulations in the international trade in goods, services and payments and offers export training.
- Events: It creates platforms for networking for its members through various events. It supports education and training and promotes the exchange of experiences among the members.
- Economic policy: It advocates a competitive market economy vis-à-vis the state and the public and promotes understanding among the state, social partners, schools, the media and the general public for the tasks and problems of a market economy.
history
15th century
The origin goes back to the St. Gallen canvas trade, which developed into the first export industry of the Swiss Confederation in the 15th century. As a counterweight to the guilds, the long-distance traders organized themselves into the free society of the Notenstein, the forerunner of today's IHK. The oldest known list of members dates from 1466. The most important tasks were in trade policy and in the organization of the commercial messenger service, the Nuremberg and Lyons Ordinari.
16th Century
St. Gallen was reformed, a wall was built between the abbey and the city of St. Gallen. The Gesellschaft zum Notenstein sold their society house on the fruit market to the city and moved into a tower-like building at Brühltor. Thanks to the trade privileges agreed with France in the Eternal Peace of 1516, the importance of Lyon for the St.Gallen linen trade steadily increased.
17th century
In the 1630s, a general assembly of all merchants and shopkeepers was constituted. This took over the operational tasks of the society to the Notenstein, which remained as a social association of noble families. The political turmoil in the sales markets put a strain on the St. Gallen canvas industry. However, the guild constitution prevented an adaptation of products and production to the new circumstances. Competitive locations emerged in Hauptwil and Trogen. In 1685 the merchants set up the "Eglise française de Saint-Gall" for the Huguenot refugees, which is still under the patronage of the IHK St. Gallen-Appenzell.
18th century
Cotton products replaced the canvas. The strong position of the weavers' guild made structural change in the city of St. Gallen more difficult. In 1730, the merchants, which had grown out of the Gesellschaft zum Notenstein, had their own organizational statute as a commercial corporation. In 1753 the first mousseline fabrics were embroidered. Hand embroidery quickly became an important economic factor throughout Eastern Switzerland. In 1798, along with the guilds, the company zum Notenstein was liquidated.
19th century
The improvement of the hand embroidery machine and the invention of the Schiffli embroidery machine triggered a steep rise in St. Gallen embroidery. It became Switzerland's most important export product. At the same time the textile machine industry developed. In 1864 the commercial corporation sold its post office building (today the town hall) and moved into the neighboring property, the "Haus zum Engelskopf", as its new place of business. Since the commercial corporation was only open to townspeople, export merchants founded the trade and industry association in 1875.
20th century
With the outbreak of World War I and the subsequent global economic crisis, the embroidery industry fell into a deep crisis. Most of the companies disappeared. Today, one percent of the workforce in Eastern Switzerland still works in the textile industry. However, there are still significant textile companies that have brought the name “St. Gallen »all over the world. In 1991 the commercial corporation and the trade and industry association merge to form the St. Gallen-Appenzell Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
literature
- Hans Rudolf Leuenberger: 500 years of the St. Gallen Commercial Corporation. St. Gallen 1966.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ IHK statutes of June 13, 2012 ( Memento of the original of August 3, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
