World(s) of colour

The painters at Swiss company Farbwelt Landolt (World of Colour Landolt) are masters of their craft.

They say that in Switzerland the fields are simply greener, the sky is bluer and the mountain tops are a bit whiter than anywhere else. That may well be true. Maybe that's the reason why Swiss people are rather more reserved when it comes to the colours within their own four walls and on their facades because there's no point trying to compete with the rich blaze of colours around them. At least, that's what Jürgen Klawitter thinks. Maybe it's a bold assumption for a German living in Switzerland. But he has been living and working here in Winterthur for 17 years now. In the meantime, he has become Managing Director at Farbwelt Landolt AG. And his master business, as will become quickly clear, makes playful use of the Swiss countryside's radiant colours.

Colour design and masterful execution

As we sit with him, his business partner Daniel Jung, and Project Manager Peter Schneider in the showroom, not only do the colours light up, so do their eyes. They leaf through fine sample books with floral and ornamental wallpapers and they combine them with wide-ranging colour charts. This is what puts a smile on the men's faces, and even more so if they can get their clientele excited about it too. Daniel Jung discusses the almost unlimited possibilities of colour design, while Peter Schneider talks about the technical finesse required to precisely apply these pattern wallpapers onto walls. All three of the men try to pass on this enthusiasm to their colleagues so that the workers can ultimately and skilfully execute this type of challenging painting work. That's what really matters, after all!

"We've got incredible colleagues here who enable us to set ourselves apart from the competition as a painting company. And they're of the highest level."

Jürgen Klawitter, Managing Director of Farbwelt Landolt AG

"We've got incredible colleagues here who enable us to set ourselves apart from the competition as a painting company. And they're are of the highest level," emphasises Jürgen Klawitter. When he talks about added value, he doesn't mean competing for prizes in a competition, he's talking about the value of the work done by his team day after day. This includes flexible working hours and other perks that make a career in painting attractive. One part of this is the enjoyment that comes with repeatedly trying new things. For example, junior employees can benefit from the expertise and skills that experienced colleagues have acquired over decades. Farbwelt Landolt currently has eight trainees. Last year, Sabrina Bosshard, a former trainee, won a silver medal for the Swiss national team at EuroSkills. What is striking, in the most positive sense of the word is the very high proportion of women in Farbwelt Landolt's team. Without them, the painting company would only be half as good – and not just in terms of numbers!

Well polished on construction sites

We see for ourselves that this is all not just for appearance's sake and our positive impression is confirmed when we make a very early start the next morning during a normal working day. Dominik Göldner was Farbwelt AG's first employee and Jürgen Klawitter has known him from an early age from Paderborn, Germany. Göldner ensures that the teams at construction sites have everything they need. The organised hustle and bustle stops when the employees hit the road. Not all of them start from the workshop, some go straight to the construction site from their homes.

Beat Ramseier, an old hand with particular expertise in wallpapering pattern wallpapers, is driving to the construction site with trainee Andrea. His van is immaculate and well organised. You could literally eat off the floor. His main work today is sanding. He has already prepared the RO 90 and RO 150, including the extractors, for sanding off the underside of the roof overhang and parts of the facade at the customer's premises. "Actually," he says, "I only need two machines for my work – the large and the small ROTEX models. With those, I've got everything I need."

"Actually, I only need two machines for my work – the large and the small ROTEX models. With those, I've got everything I need."

Beat Ramseier, Farbwelt Landolt AG employee

Fabienne Preussinger is travelling on her own today. She takes us into the "artisan district", a residential area of small but elegant workers' houses dating from the 1920s. One of the small three-storey houses where Fabienne is working is being completely refurbished and modernised. There's little space inside and we go upstairs until we are standing below the open roof truss. The PLANEX long-reach sander is just the right tool for the job of finely sanding plaster in pitched roofs.

In the meantime, back in the workshop, paint and material samples for the next few orders are already being produced to demonstrate as vividly as possibly to customers what the painting company can conjure up. "Needless to say, all of our customers have their own ideas, but it is and always will be our mission to show them the entire range of colour schemes available in the industry," emphasises Jürgen Klawitter. Hopefully, Swiss people will also increasingly embrace vibrant colours within their own four walls.