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Article edit: addition of historical information

Hello! After talking to the user Bonadea, he/she told me to propose an update of TESTEX's article in Wikipedia on the talk page. I created an article which is based on a publication by three historians about the company's history from 1876 to 2021. The latest article I created was this one. Please let me know if there are any problems with my edit. Best regards --Gotthard175 (talk) 09:29, 14 June 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Edit request

I wish to replace the first three sections of the History section with this newly composed text. The current text describes the silk industry, but it doesn't emphasise the article's topic. Also note that the founding section doesn't cite sources for the majority of its sentences, which is something that I fixed in my draft. I have based most of my draft on Kirsten Bröcker; Friederike Witek; Till Wagner (2021). Neumann & Kamp Historische Projekte (ed.). 175 Years. From Zurich Silk Conditioning Institute to Testex AG (1846 - 2021). München: August Dreesbach Verlag.

OCLC 1294509541., which is a monograph on the topic. Best regards, --Gotthard175 (talk) 12:11, 20 July 2022 (UTC)[reply
]

New text

1846-1869 Foundation of the silk conditioning institute

Present-day Testex AG was founded as the Zurich Silk Conditioning Institute in 1846. The initiative to establish the silk conditioning institute came from representatives of the Zurich silk industry.[1] Unlike the institutes in Lyon or Turin, the Zurich silk conditioning institute was not founded as a public institute, but as a public limited company instead.[2] In the case of the silk conditioning institute, the shareholders were a small group of people from the silk industry who were known to one another – merchants, bankers and manufacturers.

The reason for founding the silk conditioning institute was the intent to combat silk fraud, which was a common practice at the time.[3] Silk conditioning institutes had previously been established in both Turin and in Lyon, which had an active silk trade.[4] Especially for an expensive raw material such as silk, there was a lot of interest amongst manufacturers and merchants alike in developing a reliable standard for determing the actual dry weight. The founders of the silk conditioning institutes and Zurich’s silk industry benefited in many respects from the experiences of the existing silk conditioning institutes, for example with regard to the company’s operational processes or technical equipment.

The silk conditioning institute in Lyon had been working on improving the drying procedure since the 1820s, under pressure from the Chamber of Commerce. Joseph Léon Talabot’s numerous trials represented a real breakthrough for silk drying.[5] The silk industry in Zurich followed these technical innovations, and the silk conditioning institute began using them soon thereafter.[6]

On 1 July 1847, the silk conditioning institute started its operations. In spite of the technical retrofitting, the silk conditioning institute scarcely managed to satisfy demand. The Talabot system had significantly reduced the drying time in comparison with earlier methods. However, drying still took several hours. Furthermore, the conditioning institute frequently had to determine the commercial weight for the Basel ribbon industry. In order to relieve the pressure here at least, a branch was opened in Basel on 1 October 1849.[7] Therefore, the news of a technical refinement of the Talabot apparatus was met with great interest in the middle of the 1850s. The new apparatus, which was known under the name “Talabot-Persoz-Rogeat apparatus” met with both approval and scepticism in specialist circles.

The silk industry usually required a lot of manpower and employed thousands of people. The silk conditioning institute, on the other hand, only employed a few people. In spite of the new machine technology, the procedure was not the same in all silk conditioning institutes.[8]

By the middle of the 1850s, the institute’s core business was determining the commercial weight of raw silk.[9] In the course of the ongoing industrialisation and the development of new trading centres and markets, the Zurich silk conditioning institute faced new tasks. Unfamiliar or new procedures for the production of fibres were a constant source of new challenges for merchants and manufacturers. The idea of the "Zurich Silk Industry Association" (ZSIG) of adding a silk testing institute, i.e. an institute for textile testing, to the existing silk conditioning institute greatly extended the field of activity. In view of the increasing shortage of space in Talgasse, these plans were shelved for the timing being. This project was only taken up again in the 1870s.

Old text

The Silk Industry in Zurich

As early as 1237, raw silk was documented to be brought to Zurich from Como via Walenstadt. At that time, shipments were transported in primitive vehicles on poorly paved roads, narrow bridle paths, and dangerously labile, unstable footbridges.[10] Back then, transporting silk was much more laborious and hazardous than it is today. To reach Chur and adjacently Walenstadt, traders were forced to pass the Septimer Pass and the old imperial road. From there, the goods were transported to Zurich by boat. Upon arrival, the silk was unloaded near the Helmhaus Bridge and sold in a store near the Fraumünster.[10]

Silk Drying

The drying ovens of the "Seidentrocknungsanstalt Zürich" around 1918

To determine the curb weight of silk, it must be completely dry. However, this process is heavily influenced by the atmospheric humidity, since the material absorbs moisture from the air and thereby increases in weight[11] This property of raw silk makes it difficult to accurately determine its weight, which created the need for independent "weighing institutes". These institutes were established to dry all traders’ silk according to a standardized method and thereby ensure a fair silk trade. Per definition, a silk conditioning institute is "a neutral authority whose test results are recognized as binding by both contractual parties."[12]

The first silk conditioning institute opened on April 8, 1724, in Turin.[12] It would remain the only institution of its kind until Jean-Louis Rast-Maupas opened a similar institution with improved procedures in Lyon in 1779. During the French Revolution, Rast-Maupas's "Condition" was closed for nearly two years. During this time, three similar institutes opened in Lyon, setting off a fierce competition. In 1805, Napoleon granted the Lyon Chamber of commerce the exclusive right to dry silk, resulting in the establishment of a state institution in 1814.[13] Following the establishment of institutions in Turin, Lyon, and Milan, others quickly followed in Elberfeld, Krefeld, Saint-Étienne, Vienna, Zurich, and, finally, in New York City, Yokohama, Kobe, Shanghai, and Guangzhou.[12]

FoundingThe silk industry experienced a considerable boom around 1846. It became obvious that it would be disadvantageous to remain dependent on foreign silk conditioning institutions, a "provisional committee" decided to establish a silk drying institute in Zurich. On September 22, 1846, the constitutive assembly approved the statutes. Nearly 50 silk experts gathered in the "Zunfthaus zur Zimmerläuten" to elect a board of directors for the newly founded institute. Colonel Heinrich von Muralt-Stockar was elected chairman of the board,[14] and Lord Schwarzenbach-Imhof was appointed as director. Three days later the board met for the first time, and operations began on June 1, 1847. At that time, they did not yet have any practical experience in silk drying.[15]

Three individuals were primarily responsible for the founding of the Silk Drying Institute in Zurich. They became aware of silk drying while travelling abroad and wanted to establish the practice in Switzerland to make the local silk trade less dependent on foreign entities. All three were politically active and well known throughout the city.

Colonel Heinrich von Muralt-Stockar served as chairman of the board for 14 consecutive years, he was the son of Hans Conrad von Muralt, the former mayor of Zurich. At the age of 27, he took over his father's silk business "Heinrich de Daniel Muralt" and served as president of Zurich's "Baukollegium", and the "Dampfschifffahrtsgesellschaft".

Cavalry Captain Conrad Bürkli, a senior commander of the fire brigade, was a close friend of von Muralt's. He had been the proprietor of the Johann Georg Bürkli silk trading company since 1811, as well as a member of the city council.

Johann Heinrich (Henry) Bodmer-Pestalozzi was a member of the Bodmer zur Arch family and owner of the family's eponymous silk production company. The company was among the first in Switzerland to produce silk gauze.

References
  1. ^ Bröcker, Kirsten, Witek, Friederike and Wagner, Till:175 years. From zurich silk conditioning institute to Testex AG. Munich: August Dreesbach Verlag 2021, p. 8.
  2. ^ Bröcker, Kirsten, Witek, Friederike and Wagner, Till:175 years. From zurich silk conditioning institute to Testex AG. Munich: August Dreesbach Verlag 2021, p. 17.
  3. ^ Bröcker, Kirsten, Witek, Friederike and Wagner, Till:175 years. From zurich silk conditioning institute to Testex AG. Munich: August Dreesbach Verlag 2021, p. 14.
  4. ^ Fuchs, Konrad: Die „Seidenstädte“ Krefeld und Lyon. Versuch eines Vergleichs. in: Deutschland und Frankreich in der frühen Neuzeit. R. Oldenbourg Wissenschaftsverlag, München 1987, p. 590.
  5. ^ Bröcker, Kirsten, Witek, Friederike and Wagner, Till:175 years. From zurich silk conditioning institute to Testex AG. Munich: August Dreesbach Verlag 2021, p. 25.
  6. ^ Bröcker, Kirsten, Witek, Friederike and Wagner, Till:175 years. From zurich silk conditioning institute to Testex AG. Munich: August Dreesbach Verlag 2021, p. 27.
  7. ^ Bröcker, Kirsten, Witek, Friederike and Wagner, Till:175 years. From zurich silk conditioning institute to Testex AG. Munich: August Dreesbach Verlag 2021, p. 27.
  8. ^ Bröcker, Kirsten, Witek, Friederike and Wagner, Till:175 years. From zurich silk conditioning institute to Testex AG. Munich: August Dreesbach Verlag 2021, p. 28.
  9. ^ Bröcker, Kirsten, Witek, Friederike and Wagner, Till:175 years. From zurich silk conditioning institute to Testex AG. Munich: August Dreesbach Verlag 2021, p. 30.
  10. ^ a b Jenny, Hans (1946). Hundert Jahre Seidentrocknungs-Anstalt Zürich, 1846–1946 (in German). Zurich: Orell Füssli AG. p. 4.
  11. ^ Jenny, Hans (1946). Hundert Jahre Seidentrocknungs-Anstalt Zürich, 1846–1946 (in German). Zurich: Orell Füssli AG. p. 19.
  12. ^ a b c Jenny, Hans (1946). Hundert Jahre Seidentrocknungs-Anstalt Zürich, 1846–1946 (in German). Zurich: Orell Füssli AG. p. 24.
  13. ^ Jenny, Hans (1946). Hundert Jahre Seidentrocknungs-Anstalt Zürich, 1846–1946 (in German). Zurich: Orell Füssli AG. p. 22.
  14. ^ Jenny, Hans (1946). Hundert Jahre Seidentrocknungs-Anstalt Zürich, 1846–1946 (in German). Zurich: Orell Füssli. p. 28.
  15. ^ Jenny, Hans (1946). Hundert Jahre Seidentrocknungs-Anstalt Zürich, 1846–1946. Zurich: Orell Füssli AG. p. 29.

@Gotthard175  Done with a few m=very minor tweaks. Cheers. Duke Gilmore (talk) 03:58, 29 December 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Edit request 18.01.2023

Hello, I'm now making another edit request. I would like to replace the

original research and covers aspects not related to the topic. The "The War and Post-War Eras" section is misleading at best, if not totally false. First of all, it is described from a very generic point of view (i.e. it doesn't describe the Zürich Silk Conditioning Institute, but the entire Silk industry), and the cited source dates back to 1946. Present-day historians who discuss the Zürich Silk Conditioning Institute describe that the industry suffered war losses; the alleged record sales are a legend. @User:Duke Gilmore, Best regards, --Gotthard175 (talk) 09:53, 18 January 2023 (UTC)[reply
]

===1870-1919 Heyday of the silk industry=== The years of high industrialisation between 1870 and 1919 were an eventful time for the silk conditioning institute in Zurich. The tightened competition in Switzerland and abroad increased the pressure on the companies to be profitable. From 1872, the institute not only checked the moisture and the weight, but also the fineness and the strength of the silk fibres.[1]

Another pillar of the Zurich silk conditioning institute evolved with expansion of the shipping service, i.e. the transportation of freight, and the expansion of the warehouse business. The increased competition in the Canton of Zürich initially brought the silk conditioning institute a rising order volume.[2] The constant growth in the production volume was made possible not least by the mechanisation of the textile industry. From the start of this period of expansion at the beginning of the 1870s, the silk conditioning institute headed into financial difficulties and soon needed a new managing director.[3]

The silk conditioning institute was also represented on a supraregional level at conventions and annual meetings of the European silk conditioning institutes. There, it primarily advocated a standardisation of the procedures and measures. Work was rationalised in the Zurich silk conditioning institute by the advancing industrialisation. The management and the administrative board pushed the continuous development of the technical facilities.[4]

Shortly before the First World War, the Zurich silk conditioning institute was the conditioning institute with the fourth highest turnover, behind Lyon, and the Milan "Società anonima Cooperativa" and "Stagionatra seta Oriani" institutes.[5] The most important export market for the Zurich silk conditioning institute at the time was England. Between 1895 and 1913, the major part of the goods had been sold on the London market, which was a very important trading centre due to the size of the British Empire.[6]

In general, the First World War triggered a large number of transformations and changes, which also had an effect on the Swiss silk industry. As a neutral state encircled by warring powers, Switzerland and its economy were dependent on trading relationships with the states that were directly involved in the war. The political events had a direct influence on the institute’s business.[7] The Swiss economy benefited temporarily from the war. But the increasing inflation of the European currencies and difficulties with regard to sales, trade and communication that were caused by the war still led to losses. There were significant cuts in the profits due to war taxes. The war had both a social and a political effect. Due to the shortage of young men on the labour market, the proportion of women employed by the institute rose significantly during the war.[8] Gotthard175 (talk) 09:53, 18 January 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Hi Gotthard175 I have reviewed this request and you are approved to go ahead and make the proposed change. Best, SpencerT•C 05:03, 25 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]

References

  1. ^ Bröcker, Kirsten, Witek, Friederike and Wagner, Till:175 years. From zurich silk conditioning institute to Testex AG. Munich: August Dreesbach Verlag 2021, p. 38.
  2. ^ Bröcker, Kirsten, Witek, Friederike and Wagner, Till:175 years. From zurich silk conditioning institute to Testex AG. Munich: August Dreesbach Verlag 2021, p. 42.
  3. ^ Bröcker, Kirsten, Witek, Friederike and Wagner, Till:175 years. From zurich silk conditioning institute to Testex AG. Munich: August Dreesbach Verlag 2021, p. 44.
  4. ^ Bröcker, Kirsten, Witek, Friederike and Wagner, Till:175 years. From zurich silk conditioning institute to Testex AG. Munich: August Dreesbach Verlag 2021, p. 48.
  5. ^ Bröcker, Kirsten, Witek, Friederike and Wagner, Till:175 years. From zurich silk conditioning institute to Testex AG. Munich: August Dreesbach Verlag 2021, p. 51.
  6. ^ Bröcker, Kirsten, Witek, Friederike and Wagner, Till:175 years. From zurich silk conditioning institute to Testex AG. Munich: August Dreesbach Verlag 2021, p. 50.
  7. ^ Bröcker, Kirsten, Witek, Friederike and Wagner, Till:175 years. From zurich silk conditioning institute to Testex AG. Munich: August Dreesbach Verlag 2021, pp. 51
  8. ^ Bröcker, Kirsten, Witek, Friederike and Wagner, Till:175 years. From zurich silk conditioning institute to Testex AG. Munich: August Dreesbach Verlag 2021, p. 53.

Edit request 22.03.2023

Hello Spencer, I would like to replace the current World War II section. It cites a 1946 source which, as previously described, has a very generic point of view, and doesn't specifically discuss the subject of this article. Sadly, the history section leaves out the 1950s and 1960s, which I would like to add to the article.

===1920-1945 Wartime economies and the reorientation of the silk conditioning institute===

In the late 1910s, the silk conditioning institute in Zurich came under the new leadership of Gustav Siber. The recession at the start of the 1920s, a result of the switch back to peace economy, impacted not only the silk industry, but the whole Swiss economy.<ref>Bröcker, Kirsten, Witek, Friederike and Wagner, Till:''175 years. From zurich silk conditioning institute to Testex AG''. Munich: August Dreesbach Verlag 2021, p. 59.</ref> After the post-war recession had been overcome, the silk conditioning institute experienced a period of economic stability in the second half of the decade. The Swiss silk industry became increasingly international, a process that had started at the turn of the century, but that had been interrupted by the war. The silk companies had to adapt their operational processes to the faster pace of the fashion world. Artificial silk in particular was increasingly in competition with silk. Thus, artificial silk became important for the Zurich silk conditioning institute at that time. In addition to the subject of artificial silk, the testing of crêpe yarns was a topic of discussion in the mid-1920s. <ref>Bröcker, Kirsten, Witek, Friederike and Wagner, Till:''175 years. From zurich silk conditioning institute to Testex AG''. Munich: August Dreesbach Verlag 2021, p. 65.</ref>

At the large silk conferences, not only were research findings discussed. The conditioning institutes were repeatedly encouraged to establish uniform and practicable testing methods and customs for the problems in the industry. The Zurich institute, just like the institutes in Milan, Lyon, Elberfeld and Krefeld, had a laboratory which allowed it to perform quantitative analyses on crêpe silks. In the 1920s, the Zurich silk conditioning institute obtained a "seriplane machine", which significantly improved the institute's testing ability.<ref>Bröcker, Kirsten, Witek, Friederike and Wagner, Till:''175 years. From zurich silk conditioning institute to Testex AG''. Munich: August Dreesbach Verlag 2021, p. 66.</ref> The broad stabilisation of the silk market in the mid-1920s was interrupted by the global economic crisis in 1929 and the subsequent [[Great Depression]], which also affected Switzerland. The Zurich silk conditioning institute was significantly affected, because it largely relied on an export economy.<ref>Bröcker, Kirsten, Witek, Friederike and Wagner, Till:''175 years. From zurich silk conditioning institute to Testex AG''. Munich: August Dreesbach Verlag 2021, p. 68 f.</ref>

It was during this period that the Zurich silk conditioning institute moved to Gotthardstrasse 61.<ref>Bröcker, Kirsten, Witek, Friederike and Wagner, Till:''175 years. From zurich silk conditioning institute to Testex AG''. Munich: August Dreesbach Verlag 2021, p. 70.</ref> Between the end of the Great Depression and World War II, the institute established a welfare foundation in 1939.<ref>Bröcker, Kirsten, Witek, Friederike and Wagner, Till:''175 years. From zurich silk conditioning institute to Testex AG''. Munich: August Dreesbach Verlag 2021, p. 76.</ref>

Whilst the silk conditioning institute – like the entire silk industry in Zurich – was still struggling with the consequences of the global economic crisis, it had an advantage over its competitors at the beginning of World War II in Europe, as it had switched over to mixed production and had shown to be open to artificial silk. More than a few companies managed, in spite of the import and export restrictions, to remain profitable. The silk conditioning institute in Zurich only benefited slightly from the improved margins that the companies were able to achieve thanks to the [[Wartime economy|wartime economy]].<ref>Bröcker, Kirsten, Witek, Friederike and Wagner, Till:''175 years. From zurich silk conditioning institute to Testex AG''. Munich: August Dreesbach Verlag 2021, p. 77.</ref>

===1946-1970 New markets and new challenges for the silk industry===

The Zurich silk conditioning institute's business went comparatively well after the end of World War II. It soon managed to resume relations with its old European contacts. For the silk industry, the 1950s were characterised by an environment of liberalised markets and their effects on competition, and by attempts to respond to the changing conditions.<ref>Bröcker, Kirsten, Witek, Friederike and Wagner, Till:''175 years. From zurich silk conditioning institute to Testex AG''. Munich: August Dreesbach Verlag 2021, p. 86.</ref> When in 1954 the ZSIG celebrated the hundredth anniversary of its foundation, the general situation of the silk industry had nonetheless changed immensely since its foundation.<ref>Bröcker, Kirsten, Witek, Friederike and Wagner, Till:''175 years. From zurich silk conditioning institute to Testex AG''. Munich: August Dreesbach Verlag 2021, p. 81.</ref> In spite of the fact that the turnover in the silk industry largely stagnated from 1952 and fell again from the 1960s, the Zurich silk conditioning institute managed to remain profitable. This was not least because other yarns were also weighed, conditioned and tested in increasing quantities.<ref>Bröcker, Kirsten, Witek, Friederike and Wagner, Till:''175 years. From zurich silk conditioning institute to Testex AG''. Munich: August Dreesbach Verlag 2021, p. 82.</ref>

Completely synthetic fibres experienced a rapid rise at the time, especially nylon fibres. Unlike artificial silk, which had a semi-synthetic origin, nylon belonged to the polyamide family and was thus a completely synthetically produced fibre. Polyamides were now also used for other items of clothing, parachutes, balloons, sails, technical textiles or ropes. They could be spun into threads and were elastic, temperature-resistant and easy to clean. In conjunction with other fibres such as wool, fabrics with special properties could be produced. The cotton industry was also able to use new finishing processes to produce materials of a high quality, which it was able to bring onto the market at a reasonable price. “At the present time, silk is not cheap. A silk dress costs several times the amount of dresses made of artificial silk, substitutes or cotton. (…) Our major competitor, the cotton industry, has made significant progress in recent years. It brings fabrics onto the market that are equivalent to our silks in terms of style”, the president of the Zurich silk conditioning institute summarised the new situation in 1958.<ref>Bröcker, Kirsten, Witek, Friederike and Wagner, Till:''175 years. From zurich silk conditioning institute to Testex AG''. Munich: August Dreesbach Verlag 2021, p. 83.</ref> The silk industry attempted to counter this competition with broad advertising campaigns aiming to reach a more affluent clientele. The gradual shift towards high-priced niche products could also be observed in the Swiss silk industry. The conditioning institute placed its hopes in these efforts to increase the popularity of silk.<ref>Bröcker, Kirsten, Witek, Friederike and Wagner, Till:''175 years. From zurich silk conditioning institute to Testex AG''. Munich: August Dreesbach Verlag 2021, p. 85.</ref> Nonetheless, the popularity of silk was still declining, which, in the conditioning institute, gradually led to a reorientation.<ref>Bröcker, Kirsten, Witek, Friederike and Wagner, Till:''175 years. From zurich silk conditioning institute to Testex AG''. Munich: August Dreesbach Verlag 2021, p. 86 f.</ref>

At the beginning of the 1960s, the Zurich silk conditioning institute faced numerous restructuring processes. In addition to some changes in the administrative board, the most permanent change in those years was the transfer of a large package of shares to the Zurich Silk Association, which thus became the largest shareholder. The members of the administrative board decided that the ZSIG should have a textile testing institute.<ref>Bröcker, Kirsten, Witek, Friederike and Wagner, Till:''175 years. From zurich silk conditioning institute to Testex AG''. Munich: August Dreesbach Verlag 2021, p. 96.</ref> The transfer of shares was reflected by the name change to "Testex AG".<ref>Bröcker, Kirsten, Witek, Friederike and Wagner, Till:''175 years. From zurich silk conditioning institute to Testex AG''. Munich: August Dreesbach Verlag 2021, p. 100.</ref>
Gotthard175 (talk) 09:56, 22 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]

WP:PROPORTION, consider shortening the text since the relatively large amount of text is based on just a single source. Throast {{ping}} me! (talk | contribs) 16:47, 22 June 2023 (UTC)[reply
]
Hello Throast. I have implemented the requested changes myself. Thank you and all the best! Gotthard175 (talk) 08:08, 5 July 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Edit request 05.07.2023

Hello Throast, thank you for your reply. I have one additional edit request. I would like to replace the "Present" section with the following sections. Best regards, --Gotthard175 (talk) 08:12, 5 July 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Extended content

1970-1981 Transformational processes

The Zurich silk conditioning institute was able to achieve a comparatively good overall result in the first year under its new name Testex AG, however, the growthshrinking process continued. Testex soon found itself on a way from an institution of the silk industry to a cross-sectoral institution and managed to comprehensively extend its portfolio in the 1970s. At the end of the 1970s, the Board of Directors aimed to expand the development work and by the beginning of the 1980s, Testex's structure and management had undergone lasting changes.[1]

1981-1993 Focus on textile testing

At the start of the 1980s, Testex was operating at a loss, in spite of the modernisation measures.[2] The Testex administrative board initially continued to struggle to keep its technical operations going and decided to undertake further personnel restructuring. That is why the decision was made to continue to invest in silk research, in public relations and advertising and in the expansion of the laboratory operations in the following years. Various measures were initiated in the 1980s with the aim of raising the profile of the company beyond the silk industry.[3] The goal was to win over potential customers from outside the Swiss silk industry and to establish Testex as an independent, neutral Swiss textile testing institute. To secure this aspiration, Testex invested large sums in cotton testing. At that time, it was already possible to test the fineness of fibres with a micronaire tester. In 1983, in collaboration with the Winterthur-based machine works “Rieter AG”, a yarn round robin test was also set up.[4]

Today, Testex also offers round robin tests for colour fastness, for fabric properties and for function. Testex’s workforce grew constantly from 1983. In the mid-1980s, Testex’s range of tests covered fibres, yarns and textile fabrics such as materials, finished products and semi-finished products made from a variety of raw materials. They could be tested at Testex according to national and international standards. The steady expansion of the testing operations and the acquisition of a lot of new equipment meant that the premises at Gotthardstrasse 61 were increasingly short of space. In view of this, Testex’s management planned a project in 1989: with an initial estimated budget of more than one million francs, the renovation of the property was to be continued and the laboratory was to be radically redesigned.[5]

At the beginning of the 1990s, Testex also developed and opened up the field of testing for harmful substances, which, in retrospect, would prove to be a ground-breaking decision.[6] Public interest in the issues of environmental and health protection have been increasing since the 1970s. The textile industry was not exempt from these processes. The use of chemical substances was integral to modern textile production. The “OEKO-TEX Association” was established in March 1992 as a response to the increased public interest and people’s desire for safe textile products. In the meantime, Testex`s management had established good relations with other textile testing institutes, not least as a result of the silk research projects.[7]

1994-2006 Entering the new millennium

In the 1990s the decision to join the OEKO-TEX Association was to pay off in the years to come. However, doing business with the other countries in Europe proved more and more difficult. In 1996 Testex marked ist 150th anniversary.[8]

In the 1990s, Testex was still achieving its highest turnover in Switzerland, followed by Europe, but a strong shift towards the Asian market began from this time onwards.

Asian region
. Product certifications were on trend. End consumers and companies called for reliable and standardised testing systems carried out by Testex AG.

From the mid-1990s, attention was no longer concentrated solely on the textile itself. Instead, the focus was increasingly on the conditions under which the textile was produced. The “OEKO-TEX Standard 1000”, which was introduced in 1995, now incorporated additional parameters into the assessment.[11]

To manage the volume of orders, the company needed to increase the staff. At the turn of the millennium, Testex was already employing 32 people, both full-time and part-time.[12] Therefore, Testex adopted a new organisational structure at the turn of the millennium. The work increased at a fast rate. A modern infrastructure was just as important for the competitiveness of Testex as qualified staff. Testex also invested large sums in the expansion of the IT systems and in digitisation.[13]

The consistent expansion into the Far East was a key element of the corporate strategy in the early 21st century. Asia had proven to be a profitable market. As early as 2006, it became clear that Testex had taken a successful path. The growing profits endorsed the corporate strategy.[14]

2007-2021 Economic boom and global expansion

Testex is focussed on profitable growth markets. The Asian market continued to be of vital importance.[15] The Effects of the 2007 financial crisis was not as heavily reflected in Testex's business figures as it was expected.[16]

The OEKO-TEX certifications became Testex’s most important business and they focused a major part of their resources on this core business. One reason for this growth was due to increasing interest in sustainability over the 2010s.[17]

The large growth experienced by the Testex Group after the turn of the millennium placed new demands on the company management. In order to manage the increasingly high workloads and responsibilities, Testex fostered the competence and social skills of the employees. The administrative board is still the centre of strategic decision-making. To this day, Testex holds on to the distribution of responsibilities amongst the members of the Testex administrative board.[18] Large sums have continuously been invested into the modernisation of the laboratory and office premises, and the infrastructure. Another focus of the company in recent years was on the further development of the IT structures. Testex’s growth following the turn of the millennium gave another powerful boost to the development from the former silk conditioning institute to a globally operating testing and certification company.[19]

While Testex has its headquarters at Gotthardstrasse 61 in Zurich to this day, for 175 years now, Testex has grown into a group of companies who have 27 branches throughout the world in addition to the headquarters in Switzerland. Since 2010, new branches have been opened every year. The national and international expansion in the 1990s triggered a strong growth for the company and provided a basis for further important investments. The establishment of the first branch in Hong Kong can be referred to as an important step. As has already been highlighted, the automation of the testing operations and the optimisation of the processes through an extension of the laboratory capacity are still an important element of the company’s strategy. Space was needed to manage the raising order volume. As the tests still took place exclusively in Zurich and Vienna, former warehouse space in Zurich was gradually extended and converted. Finally, the renovation of the laboratory in 2010 gave Testex an extra 160 square metres of usable space in Zurich.[20] The company, which was formerly managed top down, has by now become an elevated horizontal integrated group of companies.[21]

Testex Today

Today, little remains of the silk drying institute. Testex AG is one of the largest textile testing companies in the world, and has experienced significant growth since the turn of the century. At the end of 2006, Testex AG had 66 employees,[22] whereas in 2021 the company has employed over 300 people in 30 locations worldwide.[23]

Bibliography

  • Bröcker, Kirsten, Witek, Friederike and Wagner, Till:175 years. From zurich silk conditioning institute to Testex AG. Munich: August Dreesbach Verlag 2021.
  • Fuchs, Konrad: Die „Seidenstädte“ Krefeld und Lyon. Versuch eines Vergleichs. in: Deutschland und Frankreich in der frühen Neuzeit. R. Oldenbourg Wissenschaftsverlag, München 1987.
  • Hans Jenny, Hundert Jahre Seidentrocknungs-Anstalt Zürich. 1846–1946, Zürich: Orell Füssli AG 1946 (German).
  • van de Kerkhof, Stefanie: Textilindustrie. in: Marcel Boldorf (Hrsg.): Deutsche Wirtschaft im Ersten Weltkrieg De Gruyter Oldenbourg, Berlin 2020.

References

  1. ^ Bröcker, Kirsten, Witek, Friederike and Wagner, Till:175 years. From zurich silk conditioning institute to Testex AG. Munich: August Dreesbach Verlag 2021, p. 107 ff.
  2. ^ Bröcker, Kirsten, Witek, Friederike and Wagner, Till:175 years. From zurich silk conditioning institute to Testex AG. Munich: August Dreesbach Verlag 2021, p. 119.
  3. ^ Bröcker, Kirsten, Witek, Friederike and Wagner, Till:175 years. From zurich silk conditioning institute to Testex AG. Munich: August Dreesbach Verlag 2021, p. 125.
  4. ^ Bröcker, Kirsten, Witek, Friederike and Wagner, Till:175 years. From zurich silk conditioning institute to Testex AG. Munich: August Dreesbach Verlag 2021, p. 127.
  5. ^ Bröcker, Kirsten, Witek, Friederike and Wagner, Till:175 years. From zurich silk conditioning institute to Testex AG. Munich: August Dreesbach Verlag 2021, p. 128.
  6. ^ Bröcker, Kirsten, Witek, Friederike and Wagner, Till:175 years. From zurich silk conditioning institute to Testex AG. Munich: August Dreesbach Verlag 2021, p. 132.
  7. ^ Bröcker, Kirsten, Witek, Friederike and Wagner, Till:175 years. From zurich silk conditioning institute to Testex AG. Munich: August Dreesbach Verlag 2021, p. 133.
  8. ^ Bröcker, Kirsten, Witek, Friederike and Wagner, Till:175 years. From zurich silk conditioning institute to Testex AG. Munich: August Dreesbach Verlag 2021, p. 139.
  9. ^ Bröcker, Kirsten, Witek, Friederike and Wagner, Till:175 years. From zurich silk conditioning institute to Testex AG. Munich: August Dreesbach Verlag 2021, p. 142.
  10. ^ Bröcker, Kirsten, Witek, Friederike and Wagner, Till:175 years. From zurich silk conditioning institute to Testex AG. Munich: August Dreesbach Verlag 2021, p. 143.
  11. ^ Bröcker, Kirsten, Witek, Friederike and Wagner, Till:175 years. From zurich silk conditioning institute to Testex AG. Munich: August Dreesbach Verlag 2021, p. 144 f.
  12. ^ Bröcker, Kirsten, Witek, Friederike and Wagner, Till:175 years. From zurich silk conditioning institute to Testex AG. Munich: August Dreesbach Verlag 2021, p. 146.
  13. ^ Bröcker, Kirsten, Witek, Friederike and Wagner, Till:175 years. From zurich silk conditioning institute to Testex AG. Munich: August Dreesbach Verlag 2021, p. 149.
  14. ^ Bröcker, Kirsten, Witek, Friederike and Wagner, Till:175 years. From zurich silk conditioning institute to Testex AG. Munich: August Dreesbach Verlag 2021, p. 150.
  15. ^ Bröcker, Kirsten, Witek, Friederike and Wagner, Till:175 years. From zurich silk conditioning institute to Testex AG. Munich: August Dreesbach Verlag 2021, p. 158.
  16. ^ Bröcker, Kirsten, Witek, Friederike and Wagner, Till:175 years. From zurich silk conditioning institute to Testex AG. Munich: August Dreesbach Verlag 2021, p. 158 f.
  17. ^ Bröcker, Kirsten, Witek, Friederike and Wagner, Till:175 years. From zurich silk conditioning institute to Testex AG. Munich: August Dreesbach Verlag 2021, p. 160.
  18. ^ Bröcker, Kirsten, Witek, Friederike and Wagner, Till:175 years. From zurich silk conditioning institute to Testex AG. Munich: August Dreesbach Verlag 2021, p. 166.
  19. ^ Bröcker, Kirsten, Witek, Friederike and Wagner, Till:175 years. From zurich silk conditioning institute to Testex AG. Munich: August Dreesbach Verlag 2021, p. 171.
  20. ^ Bröcker, Kirsten, Witek, Friederike and Wagner, Till:175 years. From zurich silk conditioning institute to Testex AG. Munich: August Dreesbach Verlag 2021, p. 176.
  21. ^ Bröcker, Kirsten, Witek, Friederike and Wagner, Till:175 years. From zurich silk conditioning institute to Testex AG. Munich: August Dreesbach Verlag 2021, p. 177 f.
  22. ISSN 0376-6829
    . Retrieved August 14, 2017.
  23. ^ "About Us". Testex. Retrieved 2022-04-04.

Gotthard175 (talk) 08:12, 5 July 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Reply 5-JUL-2023

  Edit request declined  

  • Per
    WP:DUE
    . The requested text is dominated by the Bröcker, Witek and Wagner source. The quantity and depth of detail from only one source argues against its inclusion.
  • I have serious reservations about the text that Spencer had approved for you to add to the article, including text from your previous request which appears to have been implemented by you in contravention to what the COI reviewer suggested, which was that the text from only a single source should be shortened. Additionally, the headings that you've implemented in the article do not follow sentence case, per
    MOS:HEADCAPS
    .

Regards,  Spintendo  08:50, 5 July 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Edit request 27.07.2023

Hello Spintendo, I have reworked the text, could you please have another look? Best regards, --Gotthard175 (talk) 09:39, 27 July 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Extended content

Historical overview

1846-1919 Foundation of the Silk Conditioning Institute and early development

Testex AG was founded as the Zurich Silk Conditioning Institute in 1846[1] to combat silk fraud, which was a common practice at the time.[2] As silk can contain a high percentage of water without seeming wet – which leads to fluctuation in weight – drying the material and determining its actual weight was necessary to set prices.[3]

On 1 July 1847, the Silk Conditioning Institute started its operations.[4][5] In addition to silk, the institute also started to determine the commercial weight for the Basel ribbon industry.[6][7]

In 1870, the institute started testing the quality of the silk as well as the weight.[4]

Shortly before World War I, the Zurich Silk Conditioning Institute was the conditioning institute with the fourth highest turnover, behind Lyon, and the two Milan institutes.[8][relevant?]

During World War I, profits were low due to inflation of the European currencies and difficulties with regard to sales, trade and communication as well as war taxes.[9]

1920-1980 World War II and transformation

The recession of the 1920 affected the institute, however, after the post-war recession had been overcome, the second half of the decade was a period of prosperity.[10] In 1932, the Zurich Silk Conditioning Institute moved to Gotthardstrasse 61.[8][3]

Since the turn of the century, artificial silk was increasingly in competition with silk, making it necessary to develop new quality testing methods.[4] After the end of the Second World War, the Zurich Silk Conditioning Institute managed to remain profitable by including other yarns in their testing process.[11]

At the beginning of the 1960s, the Zurich Silk Conditioning Institute faced numerous restructuring processes. A new administrative board decided that the Zurich Silk Association (ZSIG) should have a textile testing institute, and a large package of shares was transferred to the ZSIG, which thus became the largest shareholder.[12] As the importance of silk was declining, the institute changed its name to Testex AG in 1970.[1][4]

1981-2006 Shift of strategy and expansion

At the start of the 1980s, Testex was operating at a loss, in spite of the modernisation measures. As a consequence there were personnel changes and the company shifted its focus towards textile testing outside of the silk industry, for example cotton.[13]

At the beginning of the 1990s, Testex also progressed into the field of testing for harmful substances.[14]

In 1993, Testex joined the Öko-Tex Association.[1][15] In the 1990s, Testex was still achieving its highest turnover in Switzerland, followed by Europe.[relevant?] In addition, the business expanded into the Asian market, where the demand for Öko-Tex tests was high,[3] opening the first branch abroad in Hong Kong in 1995.[4]

From the mid-1990s, testing focused less on the textile itself, but rather on the conditions under which the textile was produced. The “Öko-Tex Standard 1000”, which was introduced in 1995, incorporated additional parameters into the assessment.[16]

1999 a branch was opened in Shanghai.[13]

2007-today Economic boom and global expansion

In 2012, Testex took over ÖTI Wien, an Austrian textile testing institute.[13]

At the end of 2006, Testex AG had 66 employees,[3] whereas in 2021 the company had employed over 300 people in 30 locations worldwide.[17]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Seidentrocknen in Zürich. Die Testex feiert ihr 150jähriges Bestehen", in: Neue Zürcher Zeitung, October 19, 1996. Retrieved July 5, 2023.
  2. ^ Bröcker, Kirsten, Witek, Friederike and Wagner, Till: 175 years. From zurich silk conditioning institute to Testex AG. Munich: August Dreesbach Verlag 2021, p. 14.
  3. ^
    ISSN 0376-6829
    . Retrieved August 14, 2017.
  4. ^ a b c d e Benno Gasser: "In Zürich lässt die Welt ihre Textilien auf Echtheit prüfen", in: Tagesanzeiger, June 9, 2007. Retrieved July 7, 2023.
  5. ISBN 9780259156963
    .
  6. ^ Jenny, Hans (1946). Hundert Jahre Seidentrocknungs-Anstalt Zürich, 1846–1946 (in German). Zurich: Orell Füssli AG. p. 33.
  7. ^ Bürkli-Meyer, Adolf (1884). Geschichte der Zürcherischen Seidenindustrie vom Schlusse des 13. Jahrhunderts an bis in die neuere Zeit (in German). Zurich: Orell Füssli. p. 228.
  8. ^ a b "160 years Testex", in: Melliand International No. 01, March 14, 2007. Retrieved July 5, 2023.
  9. ^ Rossfeld, Roman and Straumann, Tobias: Zwischen den Fronten oder an allen Fronten? Eine Einführung, in: eidem (Ed.): Der vergessene Wirtschaftskrieg. Schweizer Unternehmen im Ersten Weltkrieg, Zurich 2008, p. 38 – 45.
  10. ^ Bröcker, Kirsten, Witek, Friederike and Wagner, Till:175 years. From zurich silk conditioning institute to Testex AG. Munich: August Dreesbach Verlag 2021, p. 59.
  11. ^ Hermann Müller, minutes of the general meeting of the Zurich silk conditioning institute, 26/09/1950, p. 2, StAZH, W I 99.88.
  12. ^ Bröcker, Kirsten, Witek, Friederike and Wagner, Till:175 years. From zurich silk conditioning institute to Testex AG. Munich: August Dreesbach Verlag 2021, p. 96.
  13. ^ a b c Zeno Geisseler: "Von der «Siidetröchni» zum Oeko-Tex-Label", in: Neue Zürcher Zeitung, September 22, 2021. Retrieved July 7, 2023.
  14. ^ Bröcker, Kirsten, Witek, Friederike and Wagner, Till:175 years. From zurich silk conditioning institute to Testex AG. Munich: August Dreesbach Verlag 2021, p. 132.
  15. ISBN 9783034884211
    .
  16. ^ N.N.: 10 Jahre ÖKO-TEX Standard 1000 – ein Label, das Sicherheit und Vertrauen schafft, in: Mittex 115 (2008), issue 1, p. 14 – 15.
  17. ^ "About Us". Testex. Retrieved 2022-04-04.

Gotthard175 (talk) 09:39, 27 July 2023 (UTC)[reply]

@Gotthard175: I think this is a bit too much detail, and marked a couple of sentences that I think can be removed for not really being relevant. The other information doesn't seem too controversial, despite the sources not being easily accessible to us. If nobody else objects, I'll make the changes tomorrow. STEMinfo (talk) 21:01, 27 July 2023 (UTC)[reply]
 Done @Gotthard175: I made the changes, except for the two sentences of questionable relevance that I mentioned earlier. I also think the section should be called History per standard convention. STEMinfo (talk) 00:35, 29 July 2023 (UTC)[reply]
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