Portrait

Founding of AirWork Ragoni Services: a business idea begins to take shape. The founder starts as a one-man business offering services such as «Documentation», «Product certification in conformity with PPE directive 89/686/EEC, Machinery Directive 98/37/EC and aviation legislation», «Concepts for occupational health and safety» as well as «Vocational education and training for marshallers».

Founding of AirWork Ragoni Services GmbH in Ebikon with 7 associates.

AirWork is acknowledged as FOCA’s competence centre for the Marshaller Syllabus manual, the work groups and the ERFA FH-SY meetings.

First collaboration with Heliseilerei & Nautikzubehör, Erstfeld. The PRES personal rescue and evacuation system, designed for REGA Swiss Air Ambulance, is certified by FOCA.

First major order by the aviation department of the German Federal Border Guard. 7 flying squadrons all over Germany are equipped with manual and electric release short and long lines.

The Marshaller Syllabus training centre starts working and performs initial training courses of a duration of up to 5 days.

AirWork achieves their first ISO 9001:2005 certification.

Fusion between Heliseilerei GmbH and AirWork Ragoni Services GmbH, marking the beginning of AirWork & Heliseilerei GmbH (A&H) in Küssnacht am Rigi.

Hermann Wyder, a pioneer of aerial work and air rescue from the very beginning, retires. His succession is arranged.

Entry into the new premises in Küssnacht am Rigi. The company is now presided over by Marco Zgraggen and Enrico Ragoni.

Under the direction of the professional association for transport and traffic of Berlin (BG-Verkehr), the first tests on «rope turn-up behaviour» take place at the Blohm & Voss shipyard in Hamburg.

The company becomes a member of Swisstextiles.

First major order by the Swiss Air Force.

"Assessment" is removed from our range of services.

Focus on the development, production and certification of components and equipment.

Under the direction of the professional association for transport and traffic of Berlin (BG-Verkehr), the "flight tests" project begins. Other important collaborators are the Department of Mechanical Engineering of Berne University of Applied Sciences at Burgdorf, the aviation department of the German Federal Police in Berlin and numerous aircraft service companies in Germany and Switzerland.

Relocation of our premises to the new industrial building of the painting and decorating company Bachmann in Immensee, featuring a 53 m long factory floor.

Relocation of the ropewalk from Niederlenz to Immensee.

Huge project for NH Industries, on behalf of Airbus Helicopters: the forged AM_KAU_NH90 steel thimble is designed and delivered.

Approval of AirWork & Heliseilerei GmbH (A&H) as an EASA Part 21 G Production Organisation (POA CH.21.G.0022).

A&H TNG organises and runs the 15th and thereby last ERFA FH-SY meeting, after which the Swiss Helicopter Association SHA takes over the ERFA meetings on the same basis. The meetings are acknowledged as a training module for safety representatives (SIBE).

"Training" for marshallers is removed from our range of services. Under our product logo A&H Expert we now focus on the training of qualified persons and persons acting as multipliers only.

The first “true” ropemaker with a proper vocational education enters the AirWork team. The journey level ropemaker Krzysztof Lukaszewski starts working in autumn.

10 years of AirWork & Heliseilerei GmbH (A&H) are duly celebrated.

Development and introduction on the market of the NH90 HEC strap, a backup securing system for the Fast Roping/Rappelling Beam with a human cargo capacity of up to 900 kg. The product is sold to the NH90 fleet in Australia.

An old sewing machine used for the construction of prototypes acts as our first investment in the field of sewing cloths and straps. To complete our machinery, we also purchase a bartacker for PPE straps and a cylinder-bed sewing machine.

A&H is acknowledged as "approved supplier" by Airbus Helicopters Germany for our NH90 and CH-53 projects.

Major order by RUAG to provide new short and long lines as equipment of the Swiss Air Force SuperPuma/Cougar helicopters.

In September we start using our first own braiding machine, an old-timer 24-270 model from 1967 previously located in Niederlenz. Production processes become much, much easier.

Martin Schnopp and Krzysztof Lukaszewski become company associates. As of 1st January 2021, Martin leads the company as CEO, while Krzysztof took over the role of head of production on 1^st October 2020.

A&H Equipment widens their range of products for external load transport by including drones and by designing load securing nets and tie-down straps for fixed-wing airplanes and helicopters.

Hermann Wyder, founder of the Heliseilerei & Nautik Zubehör in Erstfeld (UR) and one of the founding fathers of AirWork & Heliseilerei GmbH, started his last trip on August 17, 2021, one day after his 80th birthday. A pioneer has passed away who, despite its size, has always remained modest.

In grateful memory

Commissioning of the second braider (32-100) and the fourth sewing machine for heavy sewing work.

Our 1st apprentice, Philipp Pfister, successfully completed his apprenticeship at the end of June after four years of training (one year as a textile technician EBA, three years as a textile technologist EFZ).

With Javad Mohammadi and Homayun Sherzad, two textile apprentices EBA start their training.

A special order heralds a new era; from now on we also weave monofilaments in muted colors (olive, dark green, black) for extremely well-used LongLines.

8 people work at A&H, 5 of them in the workshop, 1 in development and 2 in the office.

We put the braiders 16-180, 32-100 and 48-100 as well as two winding machines into operation. We are weaving more and more rope coats ourselves.

In November - after 11 years of operation - the premises will be converted, the workshop and office will be adapted to the requirements and a separate area of 80 m2 will be created for the weaving workshop.

A&H will be successfully recertified according to ISO 9001:2015 in April. After 18 years at SQS, we are moving to SWISO.

In June, our apprentices Javad and Homayun, both refugees from Afghanistan, completed their EBA textile practitioner apprenticeship with grades of 4.9 and 5.1 (6 is the best grade in Switzerland). Both will remain with our company as textile practitioners. A new apprenticeship position will be advertised for autumn 2025.

At the beginning of November, the position of "Head of Management Systems" (LMS) will be given to Kerstin Märkisch from ddpConcepts. The enormous know-how in terms of EASA regulations, the long-standing cooperation and the great trust are crucial.

In November we reached two milestones: With the EASA STC 10085893 for the HEC_5_H125 we can offer the market a fully certified recovery rope system for the AS 350 B3 (H125). This marks the end of the era of Hermann Wyder's cabin safety for the SA 319b, SA135b and AS350B models. At the same time, our Canadian partner BOOST HEC Systems obtained the TCCA SH21-6, Issue 3.

25 years ago it started as AirWork Ragoni Services GmbH. On February 7, 2000, seven "crazy people" founded the company with no future (as a former boss put it). Leo Caminada sel., Robert Gnannt, Martin Hinkel, Claus Troche, Annemarie Ragoni, Enrico Ragoni and last but not least Hermann Wyder sel. (formerly Heliseilerei & Nautikzubehör, Erstfeld) founded the company, which is now a worldwide synonym for safety, quality and reliability. Since 2007, with the merger of Heliseilerei GmbH and AirWork Ragoni Services GmbH to form AirWork & Heliseilerei GmbH (A&H), we have grown from 3 to 8 employees today. From then on domiciled in Ebikon (LU) and Erstfeld (UR), the new company moved to the Chli Ebnet site in Küssnacht am Rigi on January 1, 2007. In 2012 we moved to Bahnhofweg 1 in Immensee. And this is where we want to celebrate. Save the date: June 27th or 28th, 2025.