Frankfurt/M. – November 2017. On November 9, 2017, the annual General Assembly of the European Security Systems Association (ESSA) was held in Frankfurt am Main. 141 representatives of the international security industry came together to not only review the activities of the last year. Rather, the jubilee year was a welcome occasion to bring back the history of the association, the people behind the achievements and the accomplishments of half a century.

The 2017 General Assembly was moderated by the chairman of the board Harald Lüling (BURG-WÄCHTER KG) and the deputy chairman Myriam Bevillon (Gunnebo AB). "Our association has grown to 137 member companies since the fall of 1967 and with the high personal commitment of all our members, we are working hard to advance and continually improve the market of physical security" says Dr. Markus Heering, Managing Director of ESSA. This dynamic within the association reflects the dynamics in the market. The European Security Systems Association has proven itself as independent representors of interests and as an established platform for the professional exchange of manufacturers, dealers, insurance companies and authorities in the field of the physical security industry. “ESSA continues to be fully committed to identify the prevalent restrictions on the international market of physical security. It is our main task to support our members in recognizing and overcoming market barriers”, he said.

In addition to the golden jubilee, this year's general meeting focused on the keynote speeches of the three invited guest speakers Anna Pettersson (FOI Swedish Defense Research Agency, Stockholm), Jürgen Küenzlen (Adolf Würth GmbH & Co. KG, Künzelsau) and Julia Jacob (MESSE ESSEN GmbH, Essen).

Frankfurt/M. August 2017. Fires in data centers are not uncommon. Inevitably, this is accompanied by a partly devastating data loss. Total losses of the IT systems can lead to the industrial death of enterprises even within a few days. Data rooms minimize this risk, but not every data room provides the same degree of security. The most important difference - and thus the lowest risk - is the level of resistance to fire. Conventionally built data rooms are often only component-tested. Correspondingly, differently assessed components from different manufacturers are usually combined. In the event of a disaster, effectiveness cannot be guaranteed. Data rooms, however, are generally type-tested according to strictly stipulated specifications of the EN 1047-2. This makes the European standard a reliable quality feature for data rooms.

Frankfurt/M. – July 2017. The amended German Weapons Act entered into force on 30th of June 2017. The comprehensive amendments mainly concern the storage of firearms and ammunition. Products according to the VDMA specification 24992 are now no longer allowed for weapon storage in case of a new purchase. For A and B cabinets which are already in use, however, unrestricted inventory protection applies.

Frankfurt/M. – April 2017. Security Essen will open its doors for the 23rd time next year, bringing together the international experts of the civil security sector for four days. The year of 2018 will bring some changes to the fair regarding the orientation of its content as well as its new hall allocation.

Frankfurt/M. – April 2017. With the constantly increasing number of domestic burglaries in Europe, the human’s need to store his valuables even more securely increases as well. In most cases, the first search for more security leads the layman to the internet. Comparison portals and online retailers promise favorable prices, transparency and neutrality in their valuations – even for products in the physical security sector. But not every test rating is in fact confirmed by experts.

Frankfurt/M. – March 2017. If firearms get into the wrong hands, it can become dangerous. Oftentimes, a proper and professional storage of weapons and ammunition can already prevent worse. Motivated by recent events, German politicians have now reacted with a new draft law for amendments of the Weapons Act. Due to the special urgency presented by the federal government, a final decision is to be expected before the summer break.