Mission Statement
Represent. Support. Inform. Study.
FEC was created in 1952 to defend the interests of the European Cookware, Cutlery, Flatware and Hollowware manufacturers.
It promotes co-operation between members, gives help and supports on economic and technical improvements, works to the definition of technical standards and officially represents the common interests of its members to the international authorities and particularly to the European Commission in Brussels.
FEC’s major fields of work are
- Tracking the international regulations relevant to the product groups of FEC.
- Representing our industry in European committees, where legal aspects of the products and business processes are involved: food contact, chemical legislation, sustainability, reporting, due diligence, etc.
- Servicing as a platform to join the industries interests in common projects: research, surveys, events, etc.
Directors‘ Committee
The Directors‘ Committee, including the President and the Vice-President, consists of representatives of our member companies and associations. The Directors‘ Committee is in charge of all activities of FEC.
Olivier Brault
President FEC I Directeur Gestion de Crise Groupe, Groupe SEB, France
He transitioned to Groupe SEB, a renowned global leader in small domestic appliances and professional coffee.
At Groupe SEB he serves as Director of Lobbying for the Group and Director of Prospective at the President’s Office.
Tobias Gerfin
Vice-President FEC | CEO, Kuhn Rikon, Switzerland
After his studies and his doctorate at the ETH Zurich as a natural scientist, he worked at the EPF Lausanne on solar cells. His industrial career led him to Bruker in Fällanden in the field of NMR, Optrel, a leading company for welding helmets, in Toggenburg, and Glas Trösch in Bützberg, where he took over the management of the glass in interior work in 2007. In 2010 Tobias Gerfin was appointed CEO of Stoll Giroflex AG in Koblenz in the office furniture sector.
Gernot Strehl
Head of Product Compliance, ZWILLING J.A. Henckels AG, Germany
At Zwilling he is responsible for product compliance on a global level with a special focus on food contact and chemical legislation. Within the Senior Expert team in FEC metals & alloys as well as ceramics and enamel are his key interests.
Tobias Knapp
Group Sustainability Director, Le Creuset Group AG, Switzerland
Sandro Tarozzo
Integrated System Manager Guardini, Italy
Since 1998 he holds the position of Quality Manager, Integrated System Manager and Regulatory Compliance Manager for Chemicals and Food Contact for the Bakeware business of Guardini.
Eike Sträter
CEO, Flügel CSS and PCM Proficut Messertechnik, Germany
Eike is CEO of the companies Flügel CSS and PCM Proficut Messertechnik based in Solingen. With more than 100 years of market experience FEC´s member company Flügel CSS is one of the leading sharpening steel manufacturers not only in Germany but also worldwide. Customers are international top brands of cutlery and household items as well as well-known wholesalers for professional use. Since the beginning of 2023, Eike has been an active member of the FEC board of directors and particularly responsible for planning FEC’s main annual event: the FEC Business Days.
Mara Rossi
Association Manager, Anima/Fiac, Italy
For over 10 years, until 2017, Mara was the association manager within Applia Italia for the air conditioning and professional catering equipment sectors, called EFCEM Italia. She managed the secretariat and developed activities related to Food Contact Materials, FGAS, Energy Labeling, Ecodesign, and WEEE, as well as managing relationships with companies. She also represented the voice of Italian manufacturers in these sectors within the relevant European associations: Applia Europe and Efcem Europe.
For some years, she worked in certification bodies, developing certification for regulatory and legislative compliance, with particular reference to the provisions of FCM and FGas.
She was also the Certification Manager and the person in charge for attending to the Associations meetings and to the Technical Regulatory Committees for an Italian company, that manufactures equipment for the Horeca industry.
Since June 2024, she has been the Association Manager for the Food Technology Associations within the Anima Federation, including FIAC, which represents Italian manufacturers of cutlery, cookware, metal tableware and related items, Fec member.
Emmanuel Brugger
Directeur Général, Cristel, France
Jan-Frederik Kremer
Managing Director, IVSH, Germany
Pierre-Armand Lemoine
Executive Vice-President Cookware, Groupe SEB, France
LEGAL AND FINANCES
Our legal and finance activities are handled at our headquarter in France in close cooperation with SYNETAM.
Emmanuel Brugger
Directeur Général, Cristel, France
MARKETING AND MEMBERS
Our marketing and member activities are handled by our office in Solingen.
Stefanie Menning
FEC Coordinator
Stefanie gained her first working experience in the banking sector, holding various positions at Germany’s second-largest bank for over 13 years. In 2002, she joined a renowned cookware and cutlery company based in Solingen, working as a management and marketing assistant covering product management, marketing, packaging design etc. For more than seven years she worked in Solingen as well as in Cyprus. She later completed a degree in new media, social media, and content management and gained journalistic experience as a freelancer for a German newspaper. Since July 2021, Stefanie has been supporting FEC as Coordinator for Marketing & Communications, leveraging her diverse experiences for the benefit of all FEC members.
REGULATIONS
FEC´s policy & Regulatory activities and the Sustainable-Development Working Group are supported by our office in Brussels.
Dario Dainelli
M. Sc. Chemistry, FEC Consultant
TESTIMONIALS
„I am proud that FEC reached over the last years high reputation and acceptance by the European Authorities and that the important international European Consumer Good Trade Shows welcome the Partnership of FEC as the representative of our industry.“
Dr. Wolfgang Auwärter