Textile industry in Luino

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The textile industry was an important branch of the economy in the northern Italian city of Luino from 1868 to 1978.

history

The station on the lake of the narrow-gauge railway Ponte Tresa - Luino (photo after 1885)

The textile industry developed in Switzerland at the beginning of the 19th century . She had also found a good sales market for her products in Austrian Italy. Since the protective tariffs of the newly created nation state made this export more and more difficult and in order to expand the business in young Italy, the company Hüssy from Safenwil founded a subsidiary in Italy in 1868. The decisive factor for the Luino location was hydropower, which it was able to acquire on the Tresa with an "perpetual water right" . Rodolfo Hüssy operated a cotton weaving mill on 125 Honegger looms. In 1875, August Hüssy and his cousin Emil Steiner founded the Tessitura (ribbon weaving mill) Hüssy-Steiner, which later became Tessitura Steiner. In order to become independent of the yarn suppliers, Filatura (spinning mill) Hüssy & Co. was founded in 1882 together with the companies Votsch, Rieter and Sulzer . In the neighboring municipality of Germignaga , Stehli Seiden took over the existing Bozzotti silk weaving mill around 1883. This resulted in the further company Bodmer & Gelpke in 1897.

The textile industry, which is in Swiss hands, has created over 1000 jobs in a short period of time and has supplied sales markets all over the world with its products. The favorable environment with a secure energy supply, recruitment opportunities for workers throughout the region and the connection to the public transport network contributed to the success of this development.

The companies had an exemplary organization of social welfare from the start. Inexpensive living space was created not only for technicians and employees, but also for workers, land was made available for workers to have their own vegetable garden, their own welfare fund opened and weak children sent to the sea. A particular concern of the entrepreneurs was the training of their employees and their relatives, which then led to the establishment of the Swiss School Luino .

Settlement of service companies

In the course of the industrialization of the region, various service companies such as B. the forwarding company Danzas , the Banca Popolare di Luino e Varese etc. From the formerly small town on the lake an up-and-coming town had emerged. After World War II, the Onken Institute found an Italian filing system ( Istituto tecnico di Svizzera ) under the direction of its director Josef Kraft.

Changes in the textile industry

In the early years, the textile industry benefited from the fact that Italy had a lot of catching up to do. In the course of time, however, local competition arose, which was favored with tax privileges. Furthermore, the textile industry was relocated to low-wage countries. In this way, a displacement battle arose at the expense of the companies based in Luino. The Tessitura Steiner closed its doors in 1968. The Cotonificio followed in 1972. The last one to cease operations in 1978 was the spinning mill. For their part, the entrepreneurs returned to Switzerland and the remaining German-speaking cadre followed them.

The architectural heritage

The presence of the Swiss colony for more than 100 years has left its mark on the townscape of Luino. For example, the Filatura systems were taken over in 1985 by the IMF ( Impianti macchine fonderia ) group, which specializes in foundry machines , and two large residential silos were built on the Cotonificio site. The former residential complexes built by textile entrepreneurs for their employees and workers are also impressive and in some cases still exist. The Villa Hüssy on Via Creva became a center for cultural events, the Centro Parco Hüssy . The city library is housed in another villa of the Hüssy family in the center of the village and the Art Nouveau building on the lake, also formerly owned by Hüssy, now houses the Hotel Camin.

Literature and Sources