Talk:Testex

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)

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


 * New text


 * Old text


 * References

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

Edit request 18.01.2023
Hello, I'm now making another edit request. I would like to replace the Facilities, The Zurich Silk Industry in Its Prime, and The War and Post-War Eras sections with a newly-written section. The reason for that is that the "Facilities" section is not in chronological order with any other sections, and it also covers content already covered in other sections. The "The Zurich Silk Industry in Its Prime" section is 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)

Gotthard175 (talk) 09:53, 18 January 2023 (UTC)
 * Hi I have reviewed this request and you are approved to go ahead and make the proposed change. Best,  Spencer T• C 05:03, 25 February 2023 (UTC)

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.

Gotthard175 (talk) 09:56, 22 March 2023 (UTC)
 * , seems to have abandoned this request. Judging from the previous edit request, which was accepted, you may integrate this request as well. In keeping with WP:PROPORTION, consider shortening the text since the relatively large amount of text is based on just a single source. Throast  {  { ping }} me! (talk &#124; contribs) 16:47, 22 June 2023 (UTC)
 * Hello Throast. I have implemented the requested changes myself. Thank you and all the best! Gotthard175 (talk) 08:08, 5 July 2023 (UTC)

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)

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.

1981-1993 Focus on textile testing
At the start of the 1980s, Testex was operating at a loss, in spite of the modernisation measures. 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. 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.

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.

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. 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.

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. 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. However, the investments appeared to pay off, further offices in Asia followed. The test jobs were handled exclusively in Zurich. Consequently, there was also a very rapid rise in the number of people employed there. The demand for OEKO-TEX tests was, and still is, consistently high - and even growing - in the 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.

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. 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. 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.

2007-2021 Economic boom and global expansion
Testex is focussed on profitable growth markets. The Asian market continued to be of vital importance. The Effects of the 2007 financial crisis was not as heavily reflected in Testex's business figures as it was expected. 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. 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. 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. 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. The company, which was formerly managed top down, has by now become an elevated horizontal integrated group of companies.

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, whereas in 2021 the company has employed over 300 people in 30 locations worldwide.

Reply 5-JUL-2023
Regards, Spintendo  08:50, 5 July 2023 (UTC)
 * 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.

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)

1846-1919 Foundation of the Silk Conditioning Institute and early development
Testex AG was founded as the Zurich Silk Conditioning Institute in 1846 to combat silk fraud, which was a common practice at the time. 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. On 1 July 1847, the Silk Conditioning Institute started its operations. In addition to silk, the institute also started to determine the commercial weight for the Basel ribbon industry. In 1870, the institute started testing the quality of the silk as well as the weight. 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. 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.

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. In 1932, the Zurich Silk Conditioning Institute moved to Gotthardstrasse 61. Since the turn of the century, artificial silk was increasingly in competition with silk, making it necessary to develop new quality testing methods. 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. 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. As the importance of silk was declining, the institute changed its name to Testex AG in 1970.

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. At the beginning of the 1990s, Testex also progressed into the field of testing for harmful substances. In 1993, Testex joined the Öko-Tex Association. In the 1990s, Testex was still achieving its highest turnover in Switzerland, followed by Europe. In addition, the business expanded into the Asian market, where the demand for Öko-Tex tests was high, opening the first branch abroad in Hong Kong in 1995. 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. 1999 a branch was opened in Shanghai.

2007-today Economic boom and global expansion
In 2012, Testex took over ÖTI Wien, an Austrian textile testing institute. At the end of 2006, Testex AG had 66 employees, whereas in 2021 the company had employed over 300 people in 30 locations worldwide.

Gotthard175 (talk) 09:39, 27 July 2023 (UTC)
 * 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. STEM info  (talk) 21:01, 27 July 2023 (UTC)
 * ✅ 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.  STEM info  (talk) 00:35, 29 July 2023 (UTC)