Tonwerk

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TONWERK LAUSEN –
BUILT ON CLAY AND FIRE
Tonwerk Lausen AG has been in business for over 130 years. During that time the
company’s progress has been marked by entrepreneurial vision, innovative ideas, original
solutions and the courage to see changes through whenever necessary. Clay and fire
have always provided the starting point for every process in this tradition-steeped business.
Text: Tobias Landau, Interview: Patricia Heyne
Tonwerk Lausen traces its origins back to
the production of ceramic goods: the company
was already making bricks and fireproof
stones from a clay-based brick earth
well over 130 years ago. The earth was
excavated locally and worked predomin -
antly by hand. In time, Tonwerk also
branched out into the manufacture of
glaz ed, fireproof tableware. The working
conditions back then were far from easy:
the fine ceramic dust and the heat off the
kilns made life very difficult for the em ployees.
Probably one of the reasons why
Tonwerk Lausen was one of the best customers
of the nearby Ziegelhof brewery.
The European market transformed
The 60s and 70s saw a huge boom in
the production of stoneware floor slabs and
fireproof stones. All was well until the early
80s, when cheap imports from southern
Europe flooded the market. Tonwerk re -
sponded with an immediate restructuring
programme, but even that was not enough
to save the floor slab production business.
A further setback came in the 90s with
the gradual opening-up of Eastern Europe,
which prompted many customers to transfer
their energy- and cost-intensive pro duction
operations abroad. Once again, Ton -
werk had to muster all its innovative ideas
and business flair to stay competitive in this
fast-paced market.
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A group photo of the hand-moulding team, 1917
Cutting-edge technology
and years of know-how
Having always concentrated on the
production of fireproof stones and the art
of making the most efficient use of the
energy that can be extracted from flames,
Tonwerk Lausen AG had acquired an
impressive core of know-how which would
now be brought to bear on the process of
reorienting the company’s business operations.
The existing infrastructure, some of
which was lying idle, also came in for
scrutiny in an effort to exploit resources to
maximum effect. And as luck would have
it, the Swiss designer team, GAAN, and
Dr Basso Salerno, a wood fuel specialist,
happened to be working right then on a
novel type of stove designed to store heat
in a stone core for subsequent dissipa tion
via radiation, the most comfortable me -
thod of heating. At the time, they were
looking for a partner with expertise in
fireproof materials and the necessary re -
sources in terms of production infrastructure.
The three parties sat down together in
the early 90s and in less than a year they
had come up with an outstanding product:
the Tonwerk heat storage stove TOPOLINO.
Swiss quality on target for success
Following the runaway success of the
TOPOLINO, the team has developed several
other Tonwerk Storage Stoves, each incor-
Staff at work, circa 1925
The Tonwerk Lausen premises, circa 1920
porating further design and technology
innovations. In just five years, Tonwerk
Storage Stoves have become the company’s
leading product. Initially marketed
in Switzerland and neighbouring countries,
over 50% of these storage stoves are
now exported to countries as far afield as
Japan. In German-speaking countries, Ton -
werk has become the market leader in the
premium storage stove segment. Despite
such success with storage stoves, manufacturing
fireproof products for industrial
customers and trading in high-temper a -
ture insulating materials will also remain
Tonwerk Lausen specialities, even after
over a hundred years in the business.
Tonwerk today: an interview with
Peter Brogli, Managing Director
of Tonwerk Lausen AG
Mr Brogli, what was the greatest
challenge facing the company when
you took over as head of Tonwerk
Lausen AG in 2000?
In my view, the greatest challenge was
transforming the company from being
purely a supplier to trade and industry to
becoming a manufacturer and vendor of
premium designer products. Achieving
that change was our way of responding to
the market situation, and was something
we had been planning for since a turnaround
operation launched in 1996.
What do you think is the secret of the
success of Tonwerk Storage Stoves?
Tonwerk stoves are absolutely unique
because there is no equivalent product on
the market today. Which is not surprising,
because Tonwerk Lausen is the only
manufacturer of heat storage stoves with
the necessary expertise in fireproof cer amics.
It is our know-how and drive for
innovation combined with GAAN’s vision -
ary thinking and Dr Basso Salerno’s technical
combustion expertise that make the
development of such special products
possible in the first place.
How do you manage to reconcile design
and functionality when developing
new products?
Well, I personally believe that good
design should never take precedence over
functionality – which is certainly not the
case with any of the Tonwerk stoves,
thanks to our close partnership with GAAN
and Dr Salerno. In fact, the excellent
design of our stoves has often led to
added benefits in terms of their perform -
ance or ease of operation. And we now
work together as such a good team that
design, technology and production all
combine perfectly in any new development.
Can you really heat a whole house with
a Tonwerk stove, or is that just a dream?
Of course you can! All the heating in my
home is provided by a T-LOFT PLUS, and
my family likes it snug and warm. Years
ago, everyone used to heat with wood- or
coal-fired stoves until central heating
came along. Wood then went out of
fashion for a long time, but with modern,
low-energy construction techniques and
the resultant reduction in fuel requirements
it’s making a comeback as a
genuine alternative – even as the sole
source of heating.
Is Tonwerk Lausen working on a new
stove at the moment? If yes, what kind of
innovations can we expect to see this
time?
We’re always working on new ideas! In
fact, we’ve just launched an absolutely
new style of stove: the T-EYE. The T-EYE is
designed to appeal to lovers of round
forms and people with little room to
spare. Height wise in particular, the T-EYE
is beautifully compact and will even fit
under a sloping roof. The spherical shape
also makes great sense from a heating
point of view because it optimises the
stove’s heat radiation capacity. And apart
from all that, the T-EYE is such a cutelooking
chappie to have in the family!
Any plans to develop a completely new
product in addition to storage stoves?
Well, we’re currently looking at the market
viability of various studies and preli m -
inary projects. But whatever comes of
that, we certainly won’t be resting on our
laurels: our aim is to set new standards
with each and every one of our products.
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