SVI defies the crisis with a positive 2023

Oberwangen, May 20, 2024. The Swiss Packaging Institute SVI can look back on a challenging 2023. The Swiss Packaging Award was a great success in an overall satisfactory year for training. In financial terms, the association made a small profit. Despite increased regulatory pressure on the industry and a currently rather weak economy, the SVI wants to emerge from crisis mode in 2024. There are also plans to relocate the head office to Olten.

SVI President Philippe Dubois welcomed 21 voting members to the 61st Annual General Meeting of the Swiss Packaging Institute SVI on May 17, 2024 in Olten. The past year 2023 was characterized by the war in Ukraine and the Middle East, with corresponding effects on the global economy. In the packaging industry, the last upheavals from the corona crisis slowly subsided and other issues such as energy shortages, raw material prices, deindustrialization, economic downturn, shortage of skilled workers and increased regulatory activities in Switzerland and the EU weighed on the industry. In view of all these facts, the Board of Directors defined and sharpened the SVI’s strategy for the next three years at its last meetings.

Out of crisis mode
Managing Director Andreas Zopfi considers it necessary to change the narrative from crisis mode and calls for the current situation to be understood as the “new normal”, which includes both wars and increased regulatory pressure. The past year was dominated by “sustainable transformation” and the SVI fulfilled its duties in the office and implemented its strategy and mission. Zopfi’s report focused on the topics of internal and external communication, law & politics and the results of the latest SVI economic survey. Training remains an important strategic pillar of the SVI. The review of the Swiss Packaging Award 2023 is positive with 48 entries and two Swiss winners also scooped a Worldstar.

Annual financial statements 2023
The association’s annual financial statements for 2023 showed a better earnings position than in the previous year. Income from the Academy was satisfactory, even if a certain reluctance to make offers was noticeable. As the CAS training was not well received, the SVI will write off the initialization costs in full in 2023. Overall, operating income of CHF 643,568 and expenses of CHF 588,622 resulted in a profit of CHF 2841 for 2023. The budget for 2024 seems realistic, even if the year did not start as well as expected due to the weak economy.

Statutory business
In the statutory business, the SVI’s annual report and the minutes of the 2023 General Meeting were unanimously approved and the Board of Directors was discharged. The budget for 2024 also received unanimous approval. A moderate 3.5% increase in membership fees from 2025 was also approved without dissenting votes, the first increase since 2010. There were no personal elections on the agenda this year. Board elections for the period 2025-2027 are due next year, as well as the election of a new President, as Philippe Dubois wishes to retire for good. The Board of Directors will deal with the personnel issues this summer. The relocation of the head office to Olten is also planned for August 2024.
The full minutes of the SVI General Assembly 2024 will be available on the SVI website from the end of May 2024.