Heinrich Alfred Gautschi

Heinrich Alfred Gautschi known as Alfred Gautschi (March 10, 1871 - March 21, 1955) was a Swiss industrialist and pioneer of aluminium technology. Gautschi founded Gautschi & Jequier initially in Fleurier, then in Gontenschwil, ultimately becoming Alu Menziken Group, a leading Swiss steel concern which was sold to Debrunner Koenig Holding in 2005, respectively to Montana Tech Components in 2007.

Early life and education
Gautschi was born March 10, 1871, in Menziken, Switzerland to Heinrich Gautschi, a factory foreman, and Maria Anna Sommerhalder. After completing the local public schools, he completed an apprenticeship as a mechanic.

Career
In 1897, he took-over a mechanical workshop in Fleurier, in which he produced metal products for saw mills and the watch industry. In 1899, after discovering the new material aluminium, he began to develop and research the product and produced pulleys for the watch industry. He soon received assignments to produce for the growing vehicle industry and opened an aluminium foundry. He began to specialize in aluminium and moved his company to Gontenschwil, a village near Menziken were he grew up. In 1905, he turned the former general partnership Gautschi & Jequier in a stock corporation now called Aluminiumfabrik Gontenschwil AG On April 15, 1905, he patented the so-called paper or book rolling process for aluminum foil. The process basically consisted of rolling a thin aluminum sheet, then dividing it in two halves, which were then stacked and rolled again. The process was repeated until a pack of 64 sheets of film was reached. The new type of foil was initially used primarily for packaging, replacing the tinfoil that had been used for a long time, i.e. rolled tin. The first major order included the monthly delivery of 1.6 million packs of snuff and came from Germany. The company founded by Gautschi still exists today and is part of the Alu Menziken Group, of which the Gautschi family was the majority shareholder until 2007. In 2007, the Gautschi family sold the majority of the Alu Menziken Group to Montana Tech Components AG.

Personal life
In 1897, Gautschi married Marie Louise Humbel, who was from Boniswil and was the daughter of a cattle merchant.

Literature

 * Gautschi, Alfred: Die Aluminiumindustrie. Zürcher volkswirtschaftliche Forschungen 5. 120 S. und 5 Tafeln. Rechts- und staatswissensch aftliche Dissertation Universität Zürich. Rascher & Cie., Zürich. 1925
 * Gautschi, Alfred [Hrsg.]: 50 Jahre Aluminium Menziken. Festschrift zur Feier des fünfzigjährigen Bestehens der Aktiengesellschaft 1905–1955. 142 S. zahlr. Abb. Aargau. 1955.
 * Schuh, Günther, Thomas Friedli u. Michael A. Kurr: Prozessorientierte Reorganisation. 204 S. Carl Hanser Verlag, München/Wien. 2007. ISBN 978-3-446-40720-6
 * Portmann, Paul Ferdinand: AG Sigg, Metallwarenfabrik, Frauenfeld. In: Thurgauer Jahrbuch 56:92-98. Huber Frauenfeld. 1981.
 * Bahnmüller, Martin u. Peter Siegrist: 100 Jahre ALU Menziken – ein Jahrhundert Oberwynental : 1897–1997. 103 S. Menziken : ALU Menziken Holding. 1997. ISBN 3-9521405-0-3