About us

ComatReleco at a glance – World of Relays

ComatReleco is one of the world’s leading suppliers of high-quality relays and contactors of all kinds. With one of the broadest product portfolios, including customized solutions, ComatReleco serves customers in the industrial automation and building installation, rail and transportation segments. Our core competencies are industrial relays, timing relays, monitoring relays and contactors. These are installed with the latest semiconductor technologies or also with the traditional electromechanical design.

Designed in Switzerland, assembled in…

ComatReleco continuously invests in research and development, thus ensuring a consistently high rate of innovation. Several international patent applications support this fact. Our research and development team is headquartered in Switzerland and has access to additional qualified employees in our subsidiaries in Germany and China. With a share of more than 20% of total research and development costs, we outperform many global players in our segment.

Customer orientation and quality management

ComatReleco has a group-wide quality management system with real-time access to test and inspection protocols. Our relays and contactors are 100% tested at the end of the production line. On arrival of the goods at our central warehouse in Switzerland, another quality test is carried out.

Are you using a ComatReleco product or are you looking for a suitable solution? Our support centre in Switzerland will be happy to help you find the right relay or contactor for your application. ComatReleco is known for the world’s largest number of customized solutions for industrial, time and monitoring relays and contactors.

Headquarters in Switzerland – international presence

The warehouse and logistics are managed centrally at the headquarters in Switzerland. Production is diversified and optimized in terms of quality, costs and logistics criteria. Our production sites are located in Europe and Asia. Through our network of distribution partners, the Group is present on all world markets. ComatReleco has been part of the management team since 2003.

Management Team

Alexandre El Soda

CEO and Board member, born 1972, Swiss citizen. After completing his diploma in engineering at the ETH Zurich in 1997, Alexandre El Soda began his professional career in the Supply Chain Management sector at the Scintilla Bosch AG. After that, he worked for over 5 years as a Senior Consultant for Hayek Engineering, a consulting firm belonging to the Swatch Group. In 2006 he completed his extra-occupational MBA in General Management and Corporate Finance at the University of Rochester – William E. Simon Graduate School of Business Administration. After that he managed the department production and engineering across different sites for 6 years at Vifor SA, a Swiss pharmaceutical company. In 2014, he joined ComatReleco AG.

Daniel Herren

CSO, born 1963, Swiss citizen, electrical engineer with a master’s degree in Marketing and Business Management. He started his professional career as a planner and project manager for industrial buildings. He then took over a manager role in assembly and commissioning at WIFAG, a leading manufacturer of newspaper printing machines in the 1980s. This was followed by functions in international sales. In 1995 he joined the WAGO group where he was most recently responsible for marketing and sales in Switzerland. In 2010, he became a partner at Friap Feuron AG, a privately-owned company in the sector housing technology, which was sold to the Walter Meier AG at the end of 2014.

Sebastian Dorthe

CTO, born 1974, Swiss citizen. After completing his diploma in electrical engineering at the HEIG Engineering School Yverdon, Sebastian Dorthe began work as a development engineer at Charmilles Technologies AG (Geneva). In 2004, after completing further education courses in the USA on power packaging and cooling for semi-conductors, Sebastian Dorthe moved on to HaslerRail AG (Berne), which operate in the transport segment. There he was responsible for setting up the hardware development department. Sebastian Dorthe successfully completed his MBA in corporate management in 2007. Then in 2014 he completed the course “Driving Strategic Innovation” at the MIT Sloan and was thereafter promoted to “Innovation and Platform Manager” by HaslerRail. He has been at ComatReleco AG since April 2017.

Sergio Di Sigismondo

Quality Manager, born 1968, Swiss citizen. Sergio Di Sigismondo started his career within Software Quality Assurance at Autodesk with as an electrical engineer. He then moved to dspfactory SA as Product Manager, where he completed his basic technical training with an Executive MBA. In 2004, he moved to De La Rue plc within the Quality Management of the research and development department. And in 2012 Sergio Di Sigismondo moves to HaslerRail, where he takes a position as Quality Manager in the rail and transport sector. In the course of his career, he increasingly addresses the topics of quality management and compliance with safety and process standards and continues his education in project management (Certified PMP), scrum (certified Scrum Master), as well as in occupational health and safety (FCOS Safety Engineer). In 2018 Sergio Di Sigismondo joins ComatReleco as Quality Manager.

Josua Ambrosi

Product Manager, born 1972, Swiss citizen. Josua Ambrosi completed his electrical engineer TS at the IBZ in Berne in 2001 and his postgraduate studies in business administration at the TEKO in Berne in 2009. He began his professional career as an electrician at the former Deisswil cardboard factory. His further career path led him to Kraft Foods Schweiz AG (later Mondelez Schweiz GmbH). For 9 years he worked as a project and department manager in the industrial areas of maintenance, automation and electrical engineering. In 2006, he moved to Siemens Schweiz AG as project and team leader and was responsible for customer service in the area of security systems and was active in the Association of Swiss Security System Installers (SES). He joined ComatReleco as Product Manager in September 2019.

Hans-Jörg Rothert

Product Manager, born 1962, German citizen, received a master degree in electrical engineering from University of Hannover. He started at Huber+Suhner AG as R&D Engineer and became a system engineer for fiber optic distribution systems for mobile network markets. He then moved to product management for RF antennas and for data center connectivity solutions. In 2015 Hans-Jörg Rothert joined Comlab AG as a System Engineer where he had responsibility for professional mobile and in-building jamming systems for security and defence applications. In January 2020 Hans-Jörg Rothert joined the ComatReleco team.

Nadine Geissbühler

Supply Chain and Finance Manager, born 1995, purchasing specialist with federal certificate. In 2011, she began her apprenticeship as a businesswoman at ComatReleco AG. After graduation, she worked in various departments of the company, but then focused on purchasing and passed the professional examination for purchasing specialist in 2017. From 2018 to 2019, she worked for a year as a buyer at ALBIRO AG, then came back to ComatReleco AG in spring 2019. Since January 2023, she has assumed responsibility for operational procurement & finance.

Natascha Henzer

Head of Sales Administration, born 1977, foreign trade specialist. After completing an administrative apprenticeship, she started her career in 1998 as a sales administrator at ComatReleco AG. She completed various further training courses in marketing, accounting and foreign trade and decided to take on a new challenge in 2008 at Raymed Imaging in the Dispatching/project officer position and was responsible for project work in connection with X-ray installations in Western Switzerland and Ticino. In 2009, she returned to ComatReleco AG, where she works in export and accounting, among other things.

Adrian Augsburger

Technical Sales Represantive, born 1990, Swiss citizen. In 2021 he graduated from the TEKO in Lucerne as a technical businessman. He began his professional career after training as an installation electrician at Elektro Imholz in Kriens. His path then led him to Idea-Technik, where he gained 8 years of experience in switchgear construction. In 2021, he moved to Bettermann AG as a technical specialist. Adrian Augsburger has been working for ComatReleco AG as Technical Sales Represantive since September 2023.

Daniel Apostol

VP Sales International, born 1974, German citizen, diploma in electrical engineering at UAS Landshut. He started his career in Munich at Analog Devices as DSP Field Application Engineer in 2000 before working as Senior Engineering Consultant at Berata GmbH (now Capgemini Engineering) in the automotive industry around BMW. He emigrated to Switzerland in 2007 and worked for 2 years as Product Manager for semiconductor sensors at Steinel Solutions AG. In 2009 he joined Xtralis-Honeywell as Product Manager for security and traffic detectors and moved on to Sales Manager Security for Eastern Europe and Traffic World Wide. He joined ComatReleco in January 2024.

Tianbao Zong

Vice President Engineering Operation Manager, born 1979, in Tianjin, China. Completed his course of studies in machine engineering and automation technology at the University of Jiangsu, Zhenjiang, China. After gaining his diploma, Tianbao Zong worked as a machine and process engineer at Toyota Gosei. He joined Comat Tianjin in 2007.

Board of Directors

Werner Schiesser

Born 1963, Chairman of the Board of Directors at ComatReleco AG (previously a member of the Board of Directors for ten years). He is Managing Partner at FS Partners AG since the beginning of 2021, holds several board mandates and acts as a consultant.

Werner Schiesser is active in the Forensic Services and Litigation Support sectors, among others. Within these services he provides advice to companies, non-profit organisations and pension funds that have been affected by economic crime. He acts as an expert authority and consultant for law courts, law enforcement agencies and arbitration panels and regularly acts as an expert witness for these sectors. Werner Schiesser advises and accompanies companies on matters of digital transformation and risk management. In addition to his mandate with us, he is Chairman of the Board of Directors of Girsberger Holding AG, Mitreva AG and Mühlemann Popp Online Media AG. He is also a member of the board of directors of Comerge AG and Schulverlag plus AG.

Werner Schiesser has a degree from St. Gallen university, M.A. HSG in law. (1989). He then trained to become a qualified auditor (1994) and certified public accountant, CPA (1995). He also holds a degree as a certified fraud examiner (2000). In 2016 he completed the SKU (Swiss corporate management courses) programme.

Werner Schiesser is active in several NPOs of different orientations as president, as a foundation board member or as an advisory board member, is a Rotarian and a member of the alumni association of the student fraternity Mercuria San Gallensis.

Helene Schmid-Obrist

Born 1963, member of the Board of Directors at ComatReleco AG since 2011.

Helene Schmid-Obrist initially studied to be a teacher for intermediate grades, then went on to complete a degree as a nutritionist in TCM. In 2003 she trained to become a systematic and integrative marriage councillor and family therapist at the Institute M. Kennessey, Zurich. In 2010 she completed her Master of Advanced Studies ZFH in Coaching and Supervision in organisations at the ZhAW. She supports both private and business customers with a process-orientated approach. The consultation and the approach are based on the strengths of the person seeking advice, to put them in a position to develop and form their path independently with the aid of support.

Helene Schmid-Obrist a member of the professional association coaching, supervision and organisation consulting BSO, member of the organisation consulting and coaching SVIPP, member of the Swiss association for integrative psychology and pedagogics ZG-TCM and also a member of the Zurich association for Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Alexandre El Soda

CEO and Board member, born 1972, Swiss citizen. After completing his diploma in engineering at the ETH Zurich in 1997, Alexandre El Soda began his professional career in the Supply Chain Management sector at the Scintilla Bosch AG. After that, he worked for over 5 years as a Senior Consultant for Hayek Engineering, a consulting firm belonging to the Swatch Group. In 2006 he completed his extra-occupational MBA in General Management and Corporate Finance at the University of Rochester – William E. Simon Graduate School of Business Administration. After that he managed the department production and engineering across different sites for 6 years at Vifor SA, a Swiss pharmaceutical company. In 2014, he joined ComatReleco AG.

 

Code of Conduct

ComatReleco is an international operating corporation with subsidiaries, customers, distribution partners, cooperation’s and suppliers in various countries. The constant changes, the diversity of tasks and the expanded interdisciplinary and transnational activities makes it increasingly important for employees to perceive their work in a larger context. This Code of Conduct describes primarily the manifold social, political and legitimate framework. It is the basic principle of our behavior and acting within our organization and towards our employees, business partners and public authorities. The codex applies for all divisions and subsidiaries of ComatReleco.

1. Compliance with applicable laws

ComatReleco and its employees are committed to observe the applicable laws and regulations of the countries in which they operate. The cultural diversity of the countries must be observed and respected at all times. We deal respectful with each other in internal and external conferences and show our openness to learn across borders and cultures to act flexible and open to alternative solutions and perspectives.

2. Equal employment opportunity

Adherence to all local work and social laws is a matter of course for ComatReleco. Fair working conditions prohibit all forms of discrimination and harassment of employees and business partners by reason of sex, skin color, religion, origin, nationality, age, marital status, sexual orientation, political affiliation or disabilities. Violence at the work place, including threats, threatening behavior, physical attacks, mobbing, as well as any form of sexual harassment is not tolerated.

3. Healthy workplace, Environement

ComatReleco is committed to provide save working conditions and environment to all employees. The applicable laws and guidelines are respected. Each employee is jointly responsible for the safety on his job. All our operations are conducted in compliance with the laws and regulations applying to environmental protection.

4. Child labor

ComatReleco disapproves child work. The same applies to our business partners and suppliers. The minimum age of employees shall be in accordance with the applicable national laws.

5. Corruption and bribery

In conjunction with business operations of all kinds, no employee shall grant improper advantages to business partners, his employees and relatives. Corruption and frequent with it connected criminal offenses as tax fraud, scam and forgery of documents are not tolerated within our organization. Exceptions are advertising giveaways of low value and business invitations for lunch and dinner within an appropriate limit. Employees are subject to the same regulations. Generous presents need prior approval of the of the management.

6. Quality

Quality assurance and optimation provide the basis of our business success. Our products comply with the applicable technical standards and regulations. The data sheets are correct and represent true technical values of the products and guarantee for given technical data’s. Additional or other technical specifications are based on effective measured readings. Data’s and test results have to be documented unaltered. Approvals, certificates or attestations are to be disclosed correct.

7. Protection of data’s and intellectual property

ComatReleco respects and values its employees, privacy and no personal data’s will be disclosed to third parties. In return, ComatReleco requests that company secretes are treated confidentially and are not passed to any third parties. Likewise confidential are customer data’s which shall be safeguarded in an appropriate way to avoid inappropriate access and disclosure. Such information’s are only be used for the identified occupational purpose directly related to the assignment. They may be passed on to third parties as necessary only with the consent of the customer.

8. Public Statements (the medias)

Communication of company-, customer- and personal data’s and statements to external parties, in particular to the media, need prior approval of the general management. This rule applies irrespective if such information’s can be interpreted as positive or negative for the company.

9. Antitrust

The ComatReleco group conducts its business while observing and respecting the laws governing free trade and fair competition. Price agreements with competitors or customer boycotts as well as any other accords to restrict free competition are prohibited.

10. Internet and e-mail

The internet must be used primarily for business purposes. The down load and installation of software from the internet is not allowed. Access to objectionable, extreme or immoral contents is explicit not permitted. e-mails are reserved for business purposes. Distribution of viruses to our business partners must be impeded. Messages of unknown origin and sender, in particular with large attachments have to be handled with special caution.

11. Implementation

This codex is a significant part of our corporate culture. The guidelines are mandatory regulations and apply worldwide for all members of ComatReleco. Employees are obliged to report violations to these rules of conduct immediately to the general management of ComatReleco.

History

2023

  • Push-in CRINT market launch
  • Relocation from Worb to Düdingen

2021

  • Sx-PI Launch of the Push-In Relay Socket Family

2019

  • Launch of the CMS-10R for use in 2G, 3G and 4G mobile networks

2018

  • CMC14 – Portfolio expansion in the field of motor controllers
  • UTR13/UC12-24V – Replacement product for the urinal controls US89 and US92 discontinued by Biral Pumpen

2017

  • MRE – Market launch of the new energy metering device with LAN connection
  • CHI – Market launch of the 3-phase 16A power relay for inrush currents up to 800 A
  • Re-certification according to ISO 9001:2015

2015

  • RIC – Market launch of the 2-pole contactor for high DC loads suitable for railway applications

2014

  • CHI – Market launch of the 1-phase 16A power relay with 800A inrush current
  • Alexandre El Soda stepped in as shareholder

2013

  • Market launch of a new series in Power Electronics with softstarters and electronic contactors.

2012

  • MRx – Market launch of the new series of monitoring relays

2011

  • Founding of the own sales company Comat Releco GmbH in Hamburg, Germany.
  • Founding of the own sales company Comat Releco do Brasil.
  • CMC – Market launch of the new series of DC motor controllers
  • Change in ownership. Helen & Peter Schmid stepped in as main shareholders

2007

  • CIM – Market launch of the new multifunctional time relays

2006

  • CMS-10 – Market launch of the ComatReleco SMS Relay.
  • Comat AG in Worb takes over RELECO SA in Madrid.

2005

  • Comat establishes Comat Tianjin, China, for the development and production of its products.

2003

  • Kurt Wanzeck hands over the company on 1.1.2003, after more than three decades of successful business activity, in the context of a management buyout to former members of the management.
  • Market launch of the “Comat BoxX” small controller

1996

  • A certified quality management system according to ISO standard 9001 is introduced across the entire company.

1989

  • In addition to timer relays, Comat starts developing and producing high-quality monitoring devices.

1987

  • The new building at Bernstrasse 4 is already being extended by a new building due to lack of space.

1984

  • Introduction of the time cube developed by Comat, which will turn out to be a top seller in the world market in the following years.

1979

  • Inauguration of the new building at Bernstrasse 4 in CH-3076 Worb, Switzerland.

1975

  • Cooperation with Releco in Spain. Comat starts selling industrial relays in Switzerland.

1972

  • Releco expands in international markets and begins to set up a sales network.

1970

  • Founding of Comat AG in Worb, Switzerland by Kurt Wanzeck.

1962

  • Founding of Releco SA in Madrid, Spain by Santiago Lozano Rico.