The number of members of the European Security Systems Association (ESSA) is rising rapidly: “At present, we have 116 members from 31 countries. 29 new members joined us during the last 12 months alone. These figures are a clear sign of the wide acceptance and international orientation of the ESSA,” stressed the Chairman of the Executive Committee, Harald Lüling, when speaking to 130 participants at this year`s General Assembly in Frankfurt.

The General Assembly with to date the highest number of participants is a reflection of this positive development. In the course of the last five years, the successful security association managed to triple its circle of members – in 2006, it had only 43 members. At present, the number of valid ECBS certificates in the global security market is 960. Of these, 702 are for products providing protection against burglary, 162 for products providing protection against fire, and 96 certificates for high security locks. “Our growth clearly shows the strong interest of the industry in certifications of security products in accordance with the European standards. And it further demonstrates the performance of the ECBS certification,” emphasised ESSA Managing Director Dr. Markus Heering. The association supports the ECBS certification of European Certification Body (ECB) GmbH as a neutral certification body.

At the General Assembly, information was also given about the latest changes in European standardization in 2012. EN 1143-1 for the testing of safes shall, among other things, be expanded with attacks using gas. In addition the European Standard EN 1143-2 for the testing of deposit systems will be restructured – here as well, it is planned to implement gas attacks in future. [www.fup-gut.de]