YES. We’re celebrating 50 years of passion for colours.
Since early summer 2021, anyone driving the country road through the Rhine Valley will see from afar an impressive banner of around 100 m2 at the CHT dyestuff warehouse. It is divided into halves, one showing a historic photo and the other a current image of the site. Prominent lettering spells out ‘1971/2021’ and ‘50 YEARS PASSION FOR COLOURS’.
From my office window, I have an excellent view of this anniversary banner, and of the nearby mountains in which I will go hiking in the coming weeks again. I wonder how the presence of this company has left its mark on the region – not only architecturally, but especially in human terms. How many individual lives and even whole families have been, are and will be connected with the development of this site.
Recalling many shared moments
From my own experience, I can say that, as an employer, CHT doesn’t just help shape your life journey: beyond work itself, it also creates many moments that you simply enjoy looking back on. And the colleagues with whom you share these moments play a special role in this.
Beyond the banner on the outside, you encounter lots of further references to the company’s 50th anniversary year inside of the buildings. But how do you celebrate such an important event under the particular circumstances that have influenced everyday life since early 2020 (Switzerland)? How do we celebrate what we’ve thus far accomplished, as well as this special day and the future we’re striving for? In times of a pandemic, not at all, you might think.
Creative ideas for exceptional times
And yet, with a great deal of preparation, a small team accomplished a great feat overnight. With the involvement of numerous CHT employees, they made a short film whose final cut was known only to a small inner circle right up to the end. A small cinema specially for this film and an exhibition with hundreds of photos and several exhibits were created. The entrance area was festively decorated for the anniversary as well. In addition, a compilation of many warm, humorous and creative messages of greeting from other CHT companies and departments were shown in the cinema. It was an all-round success! In the greetings, I noticed repeatedly the references made to the long history of the location and the personal memories of individual colleagues from Germany. This begs the question: why in Switzerland, why in exactly this place?
Decades of successful growth
What led to the founding of CHT Switzerland and why at exactly this geographic location? It’s known that ‘the CHT’ was founded as CHT R. Beitlich GmbH in Tübingen, Germany. What happened next? I discussed this with one of our longest-standing colleagues, Roland Wörnhard, Head of Business Unit Dyestuffs and a member of our company management. From our conversation, I learned that the origin of CHT Swirtzerland AG is in nearby Austria, as the Swiss location began as a consignment warehouse for CHT Austria.
The Rhine Valley has a long tradition as a textile region, but only a small number of companies have survived here up to the present. In his day, Anton Walser, the first MD of CHT Switzerland, still personally loaded the barrels and took care of deliveries to the customers. The firm’s business originally included specific textile auxiliaries for the local market. Over time, however, the area of dyes proved more promising, so the company’s focus shifted step by step. BEZEMA, as CHT Switzerland was called until 2017, thus developed from an ‘outpost’ into a member of the CHT Group – indeed, into a ‘worldwide competence centre for dyestuffs’ in the Group. It is this inspiring success story that we’re celebrating together this year!
