NEWS FROM THE
WIEDERKEHR GROUP

We get things moving for you. Where do you need us? We plan, direct and supervise safe transportation for your recyclables – locally and nationally. This includes professional collection and delivery services as well as supplying skips with different container sizes. We offer contractual arrangements for regular quantities.

For more information, just get in touch – we’ll be happy to help: www.wierec.com/kontakt

Wiederkehr Recycling co-founded the Tara Namaste Foundation in 2010. ‘This is an initiative close to our hearts,’ says business owner Peter Wiederkehr.
The foundation is dedicated to children, elderly people and disabled people in Jhapa District, part of Koshi Province in Nepal. Through the foundation’s work, street children have seen their prospects in life improve after being given access to accommodation, food and education.

Would you like to know more? Detailed information about the Tara Namaste Foundation and its aid projects is available at: www.tara-namaste.com

Thanks to careful athletic training and intensive physiotherapy targeting the affected area, Joel Strebel’s knee is continuing to improve. This is good news. His 2024 season came to an abrupt end after tearing his cruciate ligament while competing in Stoos. However, he is not ready to step onto the sawdust again just yet. When it comes to competing, the timing depends on several factors, none of which Joel is willing to force. ‘Our goal remains to be ready for ESAF 2025. This is what is fuelling my focus right now,’ asserts Joel. We wish Joel all the best in his preparations for the season.

Sorting through the delivered material is essential before it is processed further. The crane operator who feeds the delivered material into the shredder has to be extremely focused on their work. A solid shaft or gas cylinder, for instance, could damage the shredder. It is also important to separate unwanted materials before further processing. These include Eternit panels, which could endanger the health of employees, or transformers with oil that could contain polychlorinated biphenyls. Shooting ranges also send their bullet casings for recycling. There is a risk that some of these may contain live ammunition, which could explode during subsequent processing at the smelting plant. For this reason, any live cartridges must always be sorted out from the casings by hand before further processing. With so many things to consider, experience is vital in this work.

Finding treasures
On the other hand, the mass of material could contain a pure aluminium plate. Throwing such an item in with the mixed materials would be a waste of money.

Now in its second year, this prize has been awarded to an exceptional trio of young people with special stories. One of them is Alex Egloff, who has gone back to school at the age of 39 and has successfully completed his initial training as a recycling professional at Wiederkehr Recycling. His family has supported him in this courageous step. Although his start to working life was not easy, following various odd-jobs and two years as a househusband, the father of four attended a total of 1,080 lessons and 17 days of vocational training. A determination to take responsibility and be a role model for his children motivated Alex to complete his apprenticeship. His enthusiasm for recycling began with a taster course. Today, he ensures that raw materials remain in the cycle in a sustainable way. “You can never give up, even when things aren’t going so well,” says Alex, who grew up in Wohlen. It’s never too late to achieve great things. Congratulations to Alex Egloff on completing his apprenticeship! We wish him continued success at Wiederkehr Recycling AG.

Every delivery is scanned: In order to rule out the possibility of radioactive waste being delivered, all shipments of material first undergo a check.

There were times when the digits of an alarm clock were brushed with radium to make them glow, radium was offered as a drinking cure in pharmacies, or in shoe stores the foot was placed in a box that used X-rays to show whether the shoe fitted. From the 1960s onwards, the use of radioactive substances/X-rays for such applications was banned. To this day, however, such slightly radioactive waste still occurs during disposal. In order to prevent this contaminated waste from ending up in a normal landfill, every truck and every rail freight first passes through a (measuring)sluice at Wiederkehr Recycling AG. This reacts very sensitively to any increase in radiation compared to the natural underground radiation (alpha rays cannot be measured, but are rarely alone) if there is corresponding material in the delivery. “Then the search for the needle in the haystack begins,” explains radiation protection officer Heiner Beer.

Specialized disposal
Once the trigger for the alarm has been found, the radiation source is stored in a special room and finally handed over to the Paul Scherrer Institute for disposal.

Joel Strebel wins the title of «Freiämter Sportsman of the Year» for the third time. We have great respect for his achievements and look forward to supporting him on his further journey as a sponsor. We wish him continued joy and success!

Wiederkehr Recycling is laying the foundations for a sustainable and successful future by selling three companies – Wiederkehr Recycling AG (Waltenschwil, Aargau), AVO Wiederkehr Recycling AG (Schwarzenbach, St. Gallen), SMV Wiederkehr Recycling GmbH (Lauchringen, Germany) – along with two other companies belonging to Wiederkehr Recycling – Wierec Trading AG (Hünenberg, Zug) and Wierec Services GmbH (Waltenschwil, Aargau) – to Thommen Group AG, which is based in Kaiseraugst, Aargau. The contracts have been signed and the operational handover will take place at the end of April 2025. Until that time, the companies belonging to the Wiederkehr Group will remain under the management of Peter Wiederkehr. ‘The sale is a strategic step that I have taken to secure the long-term future of our company,’ explains Peter Wiederkehr. ‘This is a conscious decision that was made with full confidence as to the outcome. The Thommen Group is a company that shares our values: a commitment to quality and sustainability, responsibility towards employees and partners, and the courage to take on new challenges.’ The sites and workforce of the Wiederkehr companies will be retained, and ‘Wiederkehr Recycling’ will continue to operate as an independent brand.

After signing the contract (from left to right): Philippe Scherer (CEO of Peter Wiederkehr Holding AG), Tobias Thommen (delegate of the Board of Directors of Thommen Group AG), Peter Wiederkehr (owner of Peter Wiederkehr Holding AG) and Pouyan Dardashti (CEO of Thommen Group AG).

Downloads

Press release in German

Press release in French

Press release in English

Contract signing image

A huge THANK YOU to everyone who took part in the competition. The lucky winners will soon be able to enjoy a stylish Wiederkehr SIGG water bottle – perfect for on the go.

We wish you lots of fun with it!

A commentary by Pilippe Scherer, CEO/Chairman of the Executive Board, Peter Wiederkehr Holding AG:

«We all bear responsibility for environmental protection and sustainability. Our goal is to extract 100% of the recyclable materials from the delivered goods and return them to the circular economy. We use innovative inventions and imaginative solutions to counteract not only the depletion of fossil resources, but also the finite reserves of raw materials.

We have been professionalizing recycling for 65 years. In doing so, we pay attention to environmentally friendly operations and, for example, promote delivery by rail
directly to the company premises. We also want to take care of our employees; they are the heart of Wiederkehr Recycling AG.

With our newsletters, we want to inform not only the population of Waltenschwil and our customers, but also our partners and all interested parties.»