Walo Bertschinger AG
Construction is our passion, satisfied clients our goal - hence our focus on quality, precision, and expertise. Other key concerns of ours include safety and sustainability. We aim to put our expertise and reliability at your service. Our company combines stability with innovation and is constantly seeking forward-looking concepts. Our broad portfolio of services means we can offer optimal solutions to complex challenges in almost all aspects of the construction process.
Company details
Find locations served, office locations
- Business Type:
- Service provider
- Industry Type:
- Construction & Construction Materials
- Market Focus:
- Internationally (various countries)
- Year Founded:
- 1971
About Us
Tradition is good. So is innovation.
A traditional family company managed by the fourth generation – that is WALO. For more than 100 years, WALO has been committed to combining consistency and innovation.
We are lucky and privileged to be a Swiss company that primarily conducts its business in Switzerland. The stability, security and prosperity of our country have guaranteed unique framework conditions for a number of decades. On the other hand, levels of competition are just as intensive in Switzerland as they are abroad. In this environment, we have always been and remain acutely aware of what we are capable of and what we stand for. This is also the reason why we, the WALO family, are looking to the future with pragmatic optimism and working to ensure that our company’s economic existence can and will be secure in the long term. The key requirements here are as follows: customer loyalty, experience, solidarity, stability, tradition, innovation, courage, a willingness to take risks and luck.
Customer loyalty
Ensuring good buildings and thus satisfied customers are our primary concerns. This necessitates precise construction in every respect. We can provide precisely this thanks to our quality, expertise, reliability and highly-motivated employees.
Experience
The transfer of know-how across generations, a feel for the environment, a sense for technological advancements and entrepreneurial achievements have served to sharpen WALO’s focus when it comes to future developments in the construction industry both in Switzerland and abroad.
Solidarity
Our approximately 2,400 employees and those who worked at the company before them have helped to shape the WALO story – often also originating from the same family across different generations. They think and act in accordance with the following principle: “Build the future instead of waiting for it, keeping both feet on the ground and reaching for the stars”.
Stability and tradition
Nowadays, many may view a company that will soon be managed by the fifth generation of the same family as being an outdated business model. We couldn’t disagree more. Whether as an employer or as a contractor – WALO has endeavoured for generations to be straightforward, consistent and predictable and will continue to do so.
Innovation, courage and a willingness to takes risks
The world’s markets and construction markets are in a permanent state of flux and are sometimes also exposed to crises. In this sector, opportunities and risks are closely linked. In order to prevail in a world of intensive competition and technological change, it is necessary to combine experience and innovation and thus constantly establish advantages in terms of expertise and a competitive edge. In this environment, WALO will always enjoy success, as we tackle these challenges in a direct, dynamic and flexible manner.
History
Excellence in innovation and tradition.
The WALO-Group is a traditional family business now in its fourth generation. Walo Bertschinger laid the foundations in 1917 with his Zurich-based railway and roadworks firm. One of the company’s first big contracts was to build tram tracks along Zurich’s prestigious Bahnhofstrasse. The second generation took the reins at the end of the 1930s and expanded into underground engineering and tunnel construction. Subsidiaries were added all throughout Switzerland.
In the 1960s the company began operating in Europe under the leadership of the third generation of the Bertschinger family. Today the WALO-Group is active in many countries.
Since day one, the company has focused primarily on surface constructions. WALO has continually grown its range of services, thanks to ongoing product development designed to accommodate new requirements and applications. The company’s surface construction services now include all kinds of asphalt and concrete paving for road construction, asphalt sealing for dams and landfill sites, industrial flooring and decorative surfaces, as well as floor systems for indoor and outdoor sporting facilities. Over the last few years the Group has continued to expand its areas of expertise to include building construction, specialized underground construction, concrete rehabilitation, melted asphalt, sealing for buildings, as well as soundproofing and hydraulic engineering. Since the 1990s, the WALO-Group has also operated as a full service general contractor for infrastructure projects.
This combination of experience and innovation has made the company a modern, reliable family business that is well equipped for the challenges of tomorrow.
Quality Management
Integrated Quality Management (IQM) at the WALO Group is rooted in its corporate philosophy. Its IQM policy is reflected in the approach it takes to Occupational Safety and Environmental Protection, Customer Satisfaction, and Operational Efficiency.
Integrated Quality Management (IQM) at the WALO Group takes its cue from the company's corporate philosophy. It is reflected in the following working principles (arranged hierarchically):
1. Occupational Health and Safety:
Safety at work and environmental protection are of utmost importance for all products and services of the WALO Group. The group ensures that it complies with all applicable statutory regulations and other requirements. In order to prevent occupational accidents and diseases as well as environmental pollution, the group organises training courses, issues internal instructions, and ensures that the latter are followed. The group aims at all times to improve on its efforts as regards occupational safety at work and environmental protection.
2. Client Satisfaction:
Client satisfaction is understood to mean achieving the best possible fit between the requirements of the client and the service delivery of the group. Through steady improvement of its products and services, the WALO Group strives to provide the best possible quality and to surpass the expectations of its clients.
3. Operational Efficiency:
All group activities must comply with the principle of operational efficiency. This requires the optimal preparation and implementation of all processes and procedures.