The Fate of Zuchwil, Switzerland

There are occasions that leave a sad feeling in the pit of your stomach. One of the villages in our area is Zuchwil. Never heard of it? Probably not, it is a small village but was a growing village: many apartment blocks are mostly inhabited by the workers in various factories in the village.

The photo shows the Sulzer factory; a large machine manufacturing company. One of their well-known products were weaving machines, used in the Swiss embroidery industry which is centred in the town of St. Gall. As time passes, the world changes and this factory was no longer profitable. It was closed in Zuchwil and the production was transferred to a more economic location, meaning that many jobs were lost for the local population.

However, the company Scintilla was still there. Scintilla had been taken over by the company Robert Bosch in Germany many years ago. They were known for the manufacture of Robert Bosch electric Drills and Saws, as well as producing vacuum cleaners for a well-known Swiss chain (Migros). Their claim to fame was the manufacture of the Scintilla Vertex Magneto which was fitted into The Spirit of St. Louis, the aircraft that Charles Lindbergh piloted on a non-stop flight from New York to Paris in 1927. If you visited the company there was a plaque on the wall somewhere announcing this historic achievement and it was something to be proud of in a small village somewhere in Switzerland.

I worked in the Scintilla many years ago, met my Mr. Swiss there, and due to a baby bump I left the company for family life. Mr. Swiss stayed there a while longer and eventually also left. We knew many people that worked there, and in spite of leaving the company still met many in the local town and contact remained. The village of Zuchwil was proud to have this company and many worked for the company. Over the years many retired, but the new generation of engineers and workers continued the work: a vital organisation in the area; When Sulzer closed even more so.

This week we read in the local newspaper that approximately half of the company Scintilla in Zuchwil will be closed. It was no longer economic and part of the production will be transferred to Hungary where the wages are lower. We ask what happens in Hungary when their wage level rises, will it again be transferred to another cheaper country? This is the way of life today. If it is too expensive, it makes no difference whether perhaps the standards are not so high, or families will be left without an income, just close it down and move.

It is the Christmas season, just the right time in the year to tell the people, sorry you have to work elsewhere. Apparently they are going to find a solution for those men at an age where a new job will be impossible to find. We can only hope that the younger generation, family fathers, find work in the area. Zuchwil is now becoming a ghost town. The apartments and houses are, of course, still there and the people still live there. During the day there is no work in Zuchwil. Either the workers find a job in another town or village or they just have to hope that life will go on somehow.

Yes it is a sad time for the village and having worked and lived there myself. It hurts to see what has happened.

Below a photo of the Scintilla/Robert Bosch as it is today (but will soon be half empty).

MULTIPLY I dare you: Local Park

The village I live in is surrounded by forests and green fields. The near bye town of Solothurn also has its shares of green areas. I decided to visit another village, the village of Zuchwil which is about a five minute car journey from where I live on the other side of the River Aare. When I first arrived in this area I was working for a company in Zuchwil, part of the Robert Bosch concern. It was there I met my husband. We got married and moved into the town. It was then that Zuchwil started developing. More apartments were built, a swimming pool was made on the bank of the river together with a large sports ground and ice rink. Eventually one of the largest gardening centers moved in. As well as building a restaurant they made a large gardening center open to the public. It is a wonderful place to relax and just walk through seeing all the various flowers and trees. There is also a lake with ducks. Here are some photos of the park.

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I Dare You

Back in the Past a bit

Not that far back in the past really, just around 38 years ago. That was when I moved to a small market town called Solothurn from the big city of Zürich. I decided it was either time to go home (to England) or move on in Switzerland. By coincidence there was a job advertised for an English speaking secretary at the company Robert Bosch, I applied and got the job. I think most know Robert Bosch because of their electric drills etc. which they make (made). Actually the company was called Scintilla (Italian for spark) and was a subsidiary. Their main fame was for making the magneto in the "Spirit of St. Louis", Lindbergh's plane on the first flight over the Atlantic in 1927.

At the time I was working there they were making vacuum cleaners for a Swiss chain store and the electric homeworker appliances such as drills etc. I quite enjoyed the work, being responsible for all english correspondence. In those days you didn't have a computer, and had to rely on a typewriter and shorthand if you could do it (I could, Pitmans, and still can, but not needed any more). As said I was working for all the departments and one of the workers spent quite a long while dictating his letters and I somehow needed more time to write them. Anyhow nearly 40 years later he doesn't dictate letters anymore but helps me with the housework and shopping and looking after my 3 cats.

At the moment I am off work and my other half had some business to do in the village of Zuchwil where the company was and still is. Built a lot over the years and modernised, but it is still there. Of course most of the people I knew have either moved on or are retired. The company has a small shop where you can get electric appliances at a special price so we were there. I took a couple of photos. The one above is of the main road with the factory.

Now I know this picture does not really look very impressive. It was on the opposite side of the road where the company Sulzer was at the time I worked for Bosch. They made weaving machines for the material industry. I did not actually remember this part of the factory, but my husband told me something interesting. Him growing up in the place he knows a bit more history than I do. Apparently this unused building was originally an arms factory, one of the dark sides of Switzerland during the war. It seems it is now waiting for its removal from the landscape.

It was one of those hot summer days and I was not feeling up to moving around so Mr. Swiss suggested having something to drink. There was a restaurant near by with a gardening place attached and the nurseries so that was where was landed. The photo is taken from the restaurant looking North. Another factory, that is our waste disposal place. All the rubbish collected from the Swiss households in the plastic bags is taken there to be burnt. Even a fairytale land like Switzerland has refuse.

We took a short walk around the park, although I remained in the shady bits and took a couple of photos. Actually we had our drink, it was towards midday so the restaurant started filling up with people having their meals. I was surprised at the amount of elderly ladies sitting together all dressed nicely and obviously meeting for a nice meal. I wonder if I will be one of those one day. I just don't think so - it all seemed so sort of senior citizen style. Anyhow here is one more picture of the flower beds at the garden center. Afterwards we went home, I cooked a meal and had my midday sleep.