From its beginnings as a supplier of products in the field of precision metalworking, for example to the Swiss Army in 1957, right through to launching its first ever chain hoist in 1963. GIS has a seven decade track record of manufacturing and developing systems for the live touring market, built on innovation, adaptation and a progressive company culture that has seen them expand outside of Switzerland and develop over half a million chain hoists and counting.
With bases in Germany, United Kingdom, and the US, GIS’ worldwide distribution network includes 95 companies – 40 specifically focussed on serving the live entertainment sector around the world from Australia, Asia, Europe and America.
The inspiration behind the creation of GIS’ chain hoists came down to fate as GIS Marketing Specialist, Lukas Bühlmann, alluded to: “The team that was using a different chain hoist, in the production for a different product, witnessed an incident that made them think they could do a better job of creating the chain hoists,” he recalled. “So, our people made a chain hoist, and here we are, on the fourth generation of GIS electric chain hoists.”The company’s third generation, which was launched in 2005, saw its first foray into products for the live entertainment industry, but its current generation was the first time the company had paid undivided attention to the needs of the live touring and installation world.
“GIS had identified a part of the market within entertainment that could have benefited from our engineering here, and we jumped at the opportunity,” Bühlmann said. This is not to say GIS has forgotten about other aspects of its business, which proved beneficial amid the COVID-19 pandemic. During the pandemic, our wide range of products, which includes not only electric chain hoists but also crane systems and vacuum lifters, proved to be a great asset. This allowed us to focus on other industry sectors and limit the damage caused by the shutdown in the entertainment industry.”
It is no secret that productions are getting bigger and heavier. Bühlmann shared how GIS has adapted to meet required safety regulations. “The market wants security and monitoring so crew can check what load is on a chain hoist, or where the hook path is,” Bühlmann said. “The goal for us is to provide that as uncomplicated and cost-effective as possible so that it is easy for our partners to deploy it.”
Sustainability is paramount for GIS, who implemented a CO2-neutral heating system which supplies both its office building and production halls with heat – saving around 110,000 litres of heating oil per year. GIS began development for climate-friendly heating in 2019 when the new production hall was built, with plans to add a wood pellet heating system – however this plan didn’t go ahead and instead was replaced with a heat pump system which was installed in Spring 2024, with operation starting in October of the same year.
“The system has been supplying 12,000sq m of operating space with heat,” Bühlmann added. “There is also the electricity that we work with which utilises water power, which is also ‘green’, as well as a cycle to work scheme, Schötz is quite small and many members of our team are from the local area, so it’s not unusual for them to cycle to work.”
Commitment to sustainability doesn’t just mean greener energy for GIS, with investment in its people also essential to business. Bühlmann elaborated: “We have 150 employees and are growing sustainably, we like to grow this way, slowly but constantly.”
GIS also provides young people in the nearby region with apprenticeship opportunities across polymechanics, commercial clerks and engineering departments. “The apprentices start here at age 16 and stay with us for three to four years and then the goal is to then retain these highly skilled professionals within the company in the long term – last year we had four apprentices who graduated, and three of them stayed,” Bühlmann said.
He believes the core of the company is built around the customer base and its relationship with its technological experience. “We have long-term partnerships that are very important to us, we have some that date back 60 years. Our slogan is ‘Swiss Lifting Solutions’ and those aren’t just empty words,” he said.
In the summer of 2024, GIS produced its 500,000th chain hoist, after developing its first in 1963 – over that time, the company has risen from just six to 150 at the production site in Schötz. “500,000 is an impressive figure,” commented Ivan Muri, Managing Director at GIS AG. “You have to bear in mind that hoists, unlike televisions or mobile phones, have a very long service life and are often in use for decades.”
GIS’s manufacturing of chain hoists for entertainment now sees the company creating products that have a 4,000kg lifting capacity in a single fall operation, or 6,300kg in a double fall operation – adapting to the industry as it expands. “We have been developing products for the manufacturing industry for a long time. When designing the current generation of electric chain hoists, we focused on the entertainment industry’s specific needs, paying particular attention to the lightweight, modular design of the hoists. For instance, a second brake, which is required for safety standards, can easily be installed on the existing motor shaft or preparations for path and load measurement can be easily integrated,” Bühlmann said.
As TPi discovered during a site visit, GIS’s operations have managed a range of duties across its 69-year history and continues to do so now – not only operating in the entertainment landscape but also through agriculture, transportation and much more. Closing in on 70 years, Bühlmann says he is “excited” to see how and where the company will grow in the next 70 years…
Words: Alicia Pollitt
Photos: GIS
