After Securiton was officially founded in 1948, the Swiss security technology pioneers did everything they could to improve their products, expand their range and supply customers with first-class products. The first few years were characterised by convincing people and looking for suitable premises. Incidentally, Securiton did not acquire its first customers in its original home region of Bern, but in Western Switzerland. The director of Securiton, Hans Kuhn, looked back on the early years in the Wächterzeitung in 1962.
It was extremely difficult to find interested parties who were willing to install our alarm system, which was still very simple at the time. As the old saying goes, a prophet is not without honour save in his own country. As a result, our first customers came not from Bern, but from Lausanne. Although Securiton was regarded as a competitor at the time, we enjoyed friendly support from the Lausanne branch.
Competitors who had already sold such equipment were gradually discovering that the emerging company had to be taken seriously. We saw how many companies were already working with such systems or had decided to become players in this branch. It was therefore high time that we should become active in this area. A decision was made to establish a building in Zollikofen near Bern. As the development of Securiton was still unclear, a kind of large residential building was constructed with workshops in the basement and offices on the ground floor. In 1950, the company moved from Hohliebe to this new building.
At the time, all the material used by Securiton fit into a small delivery van, and people almost felt lost in the expansive new rooms. Thanks to the hard work and dedication of all Securiton employees, our company grew rapidly. We were unswerving in our development of new devices. The trust of our customers increased. Our operations expanded. Thanks to the dedication of our staff, we were able to prove to customers that Securiton AG not only manufactures and sells high-quality, perfectly suited devices, but also cares for and maintains the systems through our technical service team. False alarms were reduced to a minimum, meaning the police also showed an increasing interest in our systems.
Securiton devices are designed in such a way that they can be easily checked for operational readiness by Securitas every evening. Many customers have recognised the significance of this collaboration. As a result, our company grew slowly but surely. An extension to the existing building soon turned out to be too small. The developments in our modern laboratory and design office are now beginning to bear fruit. Today, the most state-of-the-art devices for protecting against intrusion and fire are already being installed. While this is pleasing, the company and its 85 employees (1962) are now faced with another major task.
The old buildings are becoming too small, and a hut accommodating part of our stock has already been set up in the confines of the garden. There are no other expansion options. We have therefore decided to build a new factory, also in Zollikofen. We hope that this next major milestone in our further development will not only bring us a lot of work, but also joy and success.