Awards for Qualipet and Mars Petcare

The award for the "PET Personality 2014" was given to Rolf Boffa, founder and managing director of the Swiss pet supplies retail chain Qualipet, at the International Pet Conference in Berlin. A separate award for special services benefiting the pet sector was presented to Mars Petcare Germany. Both awards were given by the trade magazine PET worldwide.Qualipet AG, established by Rolf Boffa, has been the market leader in the Swiss pet retail trade for over 25 years. In spite of growing competition, the company has steadily consolidated its position. It now operates nearly 90 pet stores in Switzerland, an online shop, mail order business and a publishing firm, which forms the basis of the company.Mars Petcare Germany has worked to promote pet ownership for over 50 years. Although it focused in the early years on explaining the advantages of using industrially produced pet food, the company has since made a substantial contribution to improving the relationship between human and pet. This has been achieved not just through advertising, but also through various research projects and support for welfare associations. Tom Albold, general manager of Mars Petcare Germany, received the award from Ralf Majer-Abele, managing editor of the trade magazines pet and PET worldwide, at the evening function following the first day of the conference.