Chairman
Andreas Weber
Head of Sales & Marketing
Heberlein Fiber Technology Inc.
Sales department
Bleikenstrasse 11
CH-9630 Wattwil, Switzerland
Phone +41 71 987 44 02
Fax +41 71 987 44 45
Email mailto:andreas.weber@heberlein.com
61st TI Meeting Swiss Section
The 29 th Annual General Meeting (61 st semi-annual meeting) of the TI Swiss Section was held on 23 rd January 2008 in Näfels, Canton of Glarus, at the location of Landolt Ltd., a renowned producer of non-woven fabrics. 32 TI members and friends of the TI attended the meeting and the subsequent factory tour.
With 12 TI Members of the Swiss Section and 20 friends of the TI, the event was already considered a great success right from the beginning. Andreas Weber, Chairman of the TI Swiss Section, welcomed all the participants to the meeting. A special welcome was extended to Dr. Hans Locher, former TI World President and former Chairman of the TI Swiss Section, to Dr. Herbert Stalder, former TI Swiss Section Chairman, to Rainer Lorenz, Chairman of the TI German Section, and to the host Joseph Schittly, CEO of Landolt Ltd.
Right at top of the agenda stood the presentation and discussion of the results of the earlier conducted survey on the TI Swiss Section activities. The goal of the survey was to clarify if the activities and information offered by the TI Swiss Section fit the requirements of the attendees in respect to type of activity, frequency, timing, location and financial aspects. 182 questionnaires had been mailed to members and persons who had participated at TI Swiss Section events. With 19.2% the rate of response can be considered to be very good. The feedback came 40% from TI members and 60% from non-TI members. It turned out that the way the current activities are organized, carried out and the venue is conform to the attendee’s needs. Also the communication, mostly via e-mail, complies with the expectations. The efforts of the TI Swiss Section Secretary, Andreas Hellwig, to keep the members informed is highly appreciated.
Regarding the time of the year, the request of many was to shift the winter meeting to spring, and the summer meeting to autumn. Taking a look back at the two previous winter meetings, with snowy and icy traffic conditions, the desire to shift the meeting is comprehensible. Therefore, the next meetings will be held in autumn and spring.
Dr. Roland Seidl, Honorary Treasurer, presented the figures of the TI Swiss Section’s finances. Due to the fact that the only proceeds come from the participating non-TI members, it was not really a surprise that expenses were higher than the revenues. The auditor Dr. Herbert Stalder thanked Dr. Seidl for the orderly and transparent accounting.
A very lively discussion came up because the TI Swiss Section members were astonished to find out that all their annual fees are kept at the TI headquarters. Unanimously the attending TI members voted that a significant amount of their TI membership fees must be transferred to the TI Swiss Section to fund the section’s activities.
Before closing the meeting, the TI Swiss Section Chairman extended thanks to Mr. Joseph Schittly for hosting this assembly. Mr. Schittly on his part welcomed the participants on behalf of Landolt Ltd. and expressed his pleasure to greet so many textile professionals.
The interesting presentation that followed made a short tour back in history. Landolt was founded in 1864, initially ropes were produced, latterly the company changed to a spinning mill. This part of the history is still present in the company’s logo which is prominently displayed on the buildings. In the early 60’s the first steps into the new non-woven technology were made. Since 1981, 100% of the production at Landolt is non-woven fabrics which are utilized in indoor, outdoor and technical applications. As one of the outstanding, innovative products Landolt’s protective cover, for preserving the snow on the departure ramp to the Gurschen glacier throughout the year, was intensively presented.
At the production site in Näfels, Switzerland, three production lines produce non-woven fabrics in widths up to 5 meter and up to 6 meter with a weight of up to 250 g/m2. The filaments for the non-wovens are also produced at this location. Landolt operates a further two production lines at another production site in France. The majority of the produced non-woven fabrics are delivered to customers in Western Europe.
During the following plant visit an excellent picture was given by being able to follow the production of Landolts’s non-woven fabrics. Starting from silos filled with the pellets to the extrusion of the filaments to cables for crimping. Then from needle punching the web and marking the non-woven with the brand name to forming, finishing and packing the rolls according to the customer’s requirements.
After the extensive tour with a long walk in the factory and an occasional glimpse of the picturesque mountains surrounding the city of Näfels everybody reunited in the conference lounge. Here our host offered beverages and typical specialities of the Canton of Glarus. Andreas Weber gave thanks for the hospitality extended by Mr. Schittly and Landolt Ltd. and presented to our host and tour guide a typical speciality from the city of Wattwil.
Again, as many times before, the semi-annual meeting was an excellent platform to meet friends and professionals from the textile industry.
After this very well attended meeting the committee members of the TI Swiss Section relocated for the committee meeting. Thanks to the dedication of Othmar Forster, Deputy Treasurer, we will be able to hold the 62 nd semi-annual meeting on 29.10.2008 again at a company that produces technical textiles at a top level, namely Habasit Ltd. in Reinach.
For the TI Swiss Section Committee
Uwe Nick
Committee member
For more information on Landolt Ltd.
www.landolt.com
