NEWS FROM THE
WIEDERKEHR GROUP

On the morning of Wednesday, 3 July 2024, a fire broke out on the Wiederkehr Recycling AG site in Waltenschwil. It is believed that a lithium-ion battery ignited itself and triggered the fire in a pile of electronic waste. The fire was quickly put out by the fire brigade. No one was hurt.

Batteries and rechargeable batteries are included in most electronic devices. If they are empty or have exceeded their service life, they must be disposed of as hazardous waste. If this is not done professionally, safety risks can arise even in recycling companies. Lithium-ion batteries are characterised by high energy density and high performance. If damaged, they can cause short circuits, which can lead to overheating, spontaneous ignition and ultimately to fire.

Safety measures at Wiederkehr Recycling
Wiederkehr Recycling has implemented comprehensive security measures to prevent incidents of this type as far as is possible. The safety concept includes regular risk analyses, the constant review and adaptation of safety precautions, raising awareness among employees and training them, training on the correct handling of hazardous materials, fire monitoring and quality checks when pollutants are removed, and the careful removal of batteries from electronic waste. Unfortunately, despite these measures, incidents can still occur.

Recycling electronic waste
The recycling of electronic waste is a demanding task and must be carried out by specialised companies. As one of the largest and most modern recycling companies in Switzerland, Wiederkehr Recycling AG takes this responsibility seriously and does everything it can to continuously improve safety standards through innovative approaches in order to prevent such fires from occurring in the first place.

Swiss-style wrestler Joel Strebel is a key partner and ambassador for Wiederkehr’s sponsoring commitments. We’re delighted that he has already clocked up some major successes. On 4 June 2023, he took another crown at Aargau Cantonal Wrestling Festival 2023 in Möhlin, where he bagged four wins and two drawn rounds. We would like to congratulate Joel Strebel and wish him all the best for his upcoming wrestling events. These will be further milestones towards his big goal – the Swiss wrestling festival ESAF 2025 in Glarus.

True to our corporate values, the Wiederkehr Group is heavily involved in sponsoring. See our overview to find out about our amazing sponsoring partners.

We report on Joel Strebel’s events and success stories on a separate web page: Joel Strebel – The Road to Glarus 

We are delighted to celebrate long-serving employees’ work anniversaries, as they have contributed to our success. Mark Berger has achieved 10 years of loyalty and experience. He joined in 2013 at the Waltenschwill site, and 10 years later, he’s now an expert on the material handler. He also operates the crane excavator to load the shredder. However, it doesn’t matter which powerful machine he is operating: his work is always reliable and of high quality. Maik Berger is a strong team player who prefers to avoid the limelight himself, and instead sent in a photo of his machine, the material handler.  Of course, the Wiederkehr Group Management Board extends its congratulations on the anniversary and its thanks for his loyalty to the company in person.

Every year, our commitment to the environment is reflected in SBB Cargo’s emissions report, among others. In 2022, we saved an impressive 6,116 lorry journeys by deliberately opting for rail instead of road for a significant portion of our transportation needs. This reduced our emitted pollutants by a remarkable 852 tonnes of CO₂.

We are delighted to be able to press ahead with our commitment to protecting the environment by taking these kinds of proactive measures. You can read more about the action we’re taking on sustainability here.

The new year sees the start of our collaboration with successful Swiss wrestler Joel Strebel as part of an official sponsorship deal. Having already played an important role as a key sponsor of the Aargau Cantonal Wrestling Festival in July 2022, Wiederkehr Recycling AG is taking its support of Swiss wrestling to the next level in the form of this sponsorship deal with Joel Strebel. Based in Aristau, Freiamt’s Athlete of the Year 2021 works as a landscape gardener in his parents’ business and has strong links to our region. Dynamic and down-to-earth, his pleasant and authentic air reflects our values: ‘traditional and modern’. Joel Strebel has already taken the crown at various events on numerous occasions and is working towards the 2025 Swiss Wrestling and Alpine Festival in Glarus. Wiederkehr Recycling AG is delighted to support Joel Strebel on his journey to the next ESAF – we wish him the very best of luck!

More about Wiederkehr Group’s sponsorship campaign

Wouldn’t it be great to give enthusiastic school children a taster of what it’s like to be a Recyclist? We were delighted to open the doors to our Waltenschwil site to do just that in celebration of National Future Day! A varied programme of activities wowed groups of young visitors again and again and made the day educational and diverse: equipped with helmets, high-visibility vests and safety shoes, they started the tour through our head office and the scrap yard, which is the biggest in Switzerland. Our 3,000 hp shredder was a particular highlight for the crowd of students – not surprising considering it holds the record for being the biggest in the country. They then had fun testing their knowledge: is it aluminium, brass, steel, zinc or copper? Who knows the difference? How many aluminium cans are there in our Alucube recycled product? They had lunch with their parents, and site manager Daniel Friedrich and head of production Naim Emini gave the children the opportunity to ask questions and discuss what they’d seen and discovered with their peers. Their interest in our Recyclist apprenticeships was sparked on National Future Day. More information is available to anyone on our careers website, whether they attended the National Future Day or not.

Expertise and experience are important factors behind the success of our business, so we’re delighted we can count on so many longstanding employees. Arben Krasniqi at our Waltenschwil site is one of them, having joined our company 15 years ago on 1 November 2007. Arben works on the sink-float system, where he is responsible for the specific operations performed there, and is highly valued as a reliable, versatile member of the team, who is always happy to help. To mark his 15 years at the company, Arben received congratulations and a thank-you gift from Waltenschwil Site Manager Daniel Friedrich (left) and Health & Safety Officer Christoph Vögele (right). The Wiederkehr Group Management Board would like to congratulate Arben on his 15 years at Wiederkehr Recycling and thank him for his loyalty to our company, which we greatly appreciate.

On Saturday, 8 October 2022, a number of vintage trucks gathered at the AVO Wiederkehr Recycling AG site in Schwarzenbach to be marvelled at. The various vehicles from yesteryear attracted many curious visitors.

On 1 September 2022, Remo Luongo was congratulated on his 20-year career at Wiederkehr Recycling AG. Remo is a qualified recyclist with a Swiss certificate of proficiency, and as a company employee and plant manager, he acts as deputy team leader of Produktion Leicht. He has also undertaken further training to become a radiation protection officer and works as an apprentice mentor. The tasks and responsibilities assigned to Remo alone demonstrate how reliable, motivated and ambitious an employee he is. For that reason, he is highly regarded among the entire team and his superiors. Wiederkehr Recycling is proud to be able to celebrate an extremely experienced and multifaceted expert on his enduring commitment and loyalty to the company. Site manager Daniel Friedrich (left) passes on the best wishes of the Executive Board to Remo Luongo (right).

We are very proud to congratulate Ujjwal Pokhrel und Hans Rüsch on successfully completing their three-year apprenticeship as Recycling Operators with EFZ (federal VET diploma) and are delighted that they will continue working for our company after their apprenticeships, contributing their energy and up-to-the-minute knowledge. We would also like to thank Mr Remo Luongo, our apprenticeship supervisor, for supporting and encouraging our apprentices in their practical work.

The Wiederkehr team