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The Debrunner Acifer Trophy 2021

Alec Steven Gwerder is the new Swiss Trades Champion

The young building services planner from Valais, who specialises in plumbing, achieved the top score in the 2021 SwissSkills Championships. At the headquarters of his training company and employer Duchein SA in Villars-sur-Glâne, Alec Steven Gwerder was awarded the Debrunner Acifer Trophy 2021: a Ford Puma.

This year, the SwissSkills Championships comprised 14 categories at 7 venues across Switzerland, organised by a number of professional associations. The Swiss Professional Building Technology Championships took place in October at the Solothurn HESO Autumn Trade Fair. Alec Steven Gwerder from Kalpetran (canton of Valais) not only won gold in the category of Building Services Planners specialising in plumbing, but also achieved the highest score at the SwissSkills Championships 2021 overall, making him the ultimate Swiss Trades Champion. A special rating scale, which is also used at the WorldSkills Trades Championships, enables comparison between the different trades disciplines.

A car for the Swiss Trades Champion

Alec Steven Gwerder did his apprenticeship as a building services planner specialising in plumbing at Duchein SA in Villars-sur-Glâne, and has been working there ever since. “A lot of work went into my success at the SwissSkills Championships,” he says. “But even more than that, it’s important to have a real interest: you have to want to do the work. And you have to feel connected to the profession if you want to succeed.” As a reward for his outstanding achievements, he won the Debrunner Acifer Trophy 2021, a dark blue Ford Puma. The champion from the Valais can now use the prize car for a whole year.

Debrunner Acifer is committed to the next generation of trade professionals

Debrunner Acifer AG is a long-standing partner of the SwissSkills Championships and sponsors the “Swiss Champion” car for the overall winner each year. Alec Steven Gwerder received the winning car at his place of work from Armin Lutz, Head of Corporate Communications at the Debrunner Koenig Group. “I see the car as a sign of recognition: They acknowledge that I’ve invested a lot of effort in my apprenticeship, and they convey to me that I know something about my profession,” says Alec Steven Gwerder happily. According to Armin Lutz, “We’ve been awarding the Debrunner Acifer Trophy since 2005. As a Gold Partner of the SwissSkills Championships, we celebrate the tireless efforts and outstanding achievements of young professional talents with this award. We are proud of the next generation of professionals and we hope that the Debrunner Acifer Trophy will spur young people on to professional excellence.”

SwissSkills 2022 to be held in one location in Bern

While the SwissSkills Championships 2021 were split between different locations, in 2022 they will be held in Bern for the third time after 2014 and 2018. Young professionals will gather at the Bernexpo site from 7 to 11 September 2022. The event is set to see record numbers: 150 different apprenticeships, 85 Swiss championships and around 1,000 young trade professionals promise maximum excitement over the five days.

Debrunner Acifer Trophy

The Debrunner Acifer Trophy is part of our commitment as Gold Sponsor of the SwissSkills Team. In recognition of top performance in his or her occupation, the best Swiss Master receives free use of a car for one year.

Sponsoring Debrunner Acifer

Gold sponsor of the SwissSkills team and commitment to vocational training at the industry associations.