Optrel looking for volunteers to try out its new welding helmet
Wattwil/Stettlen - After the B2B launch of its latest welding helmet in the fall of 2025, Optrel AG is now starting dealer sales. The company, which has been nominated for the final of this year’s Prix SVC Eastern Switzerland, is also set to launch the “Become a Test Pilot” campaign in the near future.
(CONNECT) Optrel AG from Wattwil in the Swiss canton of St.Gallen is launching two innovations: the new sphereX welding helmet and the A2P combination filter. Optrel offers the sphereX welding helmet in three versions with different features: sphereX clt, sphereX quattro and sphereX 2.5. According to the company, the standout feature of this new helmet series is its exceptionally wide field of vision. The sphereX clt is equipped with Crystal Lens Technology (CLT), which Optrel describes as revolutionary: It enables true-color and crystal-clear vision with a light level of 2.0.
The sphereX series has been available through B2B channels since September. To mark the current B2C launch, Optrel has announced the “Become a Test Pilot” campaign, for which welders can order a test helmet and record on video a “wow moment" they experience while using it. “If we like the wow moment, we’ll publish it, and the test subject can keep the helmet”, explains Marketing Director Thomas Wipfli.
Optrel won the Red Dot Award in 2021 for its swiss air respiratory protection system. With the newly developed A2P combination filter, this product now not only protects against aerosols, particles, smoke and viruses, but also enables wearers to work safely with paints, varnishes and solvents.
Optrel is a family-owned company founded in 1986. At that time, Optrel developed liquid crystal technology for the automatic darkening of vision protection materials. In 1999, the company was acquired by a French corporation, before being bought back by the son of one of the founders together with two partners in 2010. Although Optrel generates only 5 percent of sales in Switzerland, according to the company the Wattwil location plays “a central role in the company’s identity”. As Optrel explains, this is because Swissness is seen as a key factor in an internationally competitive market in which the company now operates with success, also with its sports eyewear brand react that was launched in 2022.
Optrel is one of five finalists for the Prix SVC Eastern Switzerland 2026. With this award, the Bern-based SME network Swiss Venture Club (SVC) recognizes SMEs that manage to achieve sustainable success thanks to their innovative products and services, their corporate culture and the quality of their employees and management. The award ceremony is set to take place March 5 at the Olma-Hallen in St.Gallen. ce/mm