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As other companies struggle to survive, Hamilton’s sales at Bonaduz GR skyrocket. The fan maker is benefiting from the Corona crisis. Its products are in demand all over the world. The greatest demand is currently coming from South America, the Arab region and India.
The robots with which the corona tests are evaluated are also popular. “We have seen a massive increase in this area,” says Hamilton CEO Andreas Wieland (65) of “Southeastern Switzerland.” Production has more than doubled since March. “But we have relatively long lead times because we can’t keep up with orders.”
The result: “We will definitely double sales compared to the previous year,” said Wieland. And: “We are looking for around 300 new employees.”
Foreign employees
Hamilton has just increased his staff. For around 1450 employees. But that is far from sufficient. Hamilton is looking for assembly workers to build the fans, as well as engineers and biologists.
When looking for employees, care is taken to recruit locals, Wieland explains to the newspaper. People from the EU area are also important. “It is extremely difficult to find employees in Graubünden. The unemployment rate is low and certain professions are not well represented in Switzerland, ”said the mechanical engineer.
Right now, people from Germany and Italy in particular are supporting the company. That works very well. But assuming travel restrictions are reintroduced, we really face a challenge. “
Lost son
And what happens when one day a vaccine is available? Will there then be massive unemployment? “I guess this topic will be with us for a while,” says Wieland.
Words have weight. The Hamilton CEO has been on the company’s navigation bridge for two decades. He grew up the son of a farmer in Prättigau, graduated from high school and went to college. Like a true Bündner, he worked for the Rhaetian Railway in the 90s and spent three years as a tourism trader in Japan.
Wieland lost one of his three children in 2007. The grief sometimes continues to this day. “Difficult situations in particular change people,” Wieland said in an interview a few weeks ago. “This pandemic will change us humans as well.” (ise)
