In search of the best in the industry

03.08.2020 Conditions of employment

Anyone who receives an award from the Hermann Herzer Foundation has achieved something special in the meat industry. This was the wish of the founder of the foundation, who spent 36 years of his professional life at Bell - including many years as Managing Director. Through his foundation, he continues to support those who are willing to give their best, even after his death.

It is not known what motivated Hermann Herzer to learn the butcher's trade. born in 1902 to a wealthy industrialist family, he certainly had many doors open to him after leaving school. As is often the case with successful personalities, his decision to become a butcher was probably a combination of a special talent and a great passion. This career choice also laid the foundation for his career at Bell. After his training and initial work experience, he joined the leading Swiss meat company in 1925. As he already had a deep insight into the national and international industry - his training had already taken him to Chicago in the 1920s - he quickly climbed the career ladder until he finally steered the company's history as Managing Director.

It was during the years of the economic miracle and the beginning of the consumer society that Hermann Herzer held this position. After the hardships of the Second World War, meat was once again in plentiful supply. The visionary knew how to take advantage of this upswing. He geared the company towards the new demands of the markets, which included strongly promoting the butcher's trade. The next generation was particularly important to him. He wanted to motivate young people to achieve more than the norm. He therefore worked tirelessly for young people starting out in their careers who were striving to do their best. His aspiration for himself and others: To take the company to the top through personal achievement. A goal that still drives us at Bell today.

When Hermann Herzer died of heart failure in 1975 at the age of 72, he bequeathed a large part of his estate in his will to a foundation with the intention of "encouraging and rewarding people who put their heart and soul into Bell". To this day, the Hermann Herzer Foundation promotes further training and honors professionals in the meat industry with outstanding achievements every year. The award winners include apprentices as well as managers and training companies. Among them, of course, are always Bell employees. The foundation also awards scholarships for further training in meat industry professions and enhances the image of the industry in Switzerland by supporting research and development projects.

The first award from the Hermann Herzer Foundation was not given to Bell: The inaugural prize was awarded in January 1980 to the butchery college of the Association of Swiss Master Butchers in Spiez, which received CHF 22,000 to purchase training equipment. This shows that the foundation had the promotion of the entire Swiss meat industry in mind from the very beginning - entirely in the spirit of its founder, who wanted to promote the profession that was his passion throughout his life.