Chairman of the Board of GLATZ AG.
«When my great-grandfather Albert Glatz opened the doors of his shop in Frauenfeld for the first time on 1 April 1895, he probably never thought...»
It shows that success only comes when we consistently work to our own strengths and consistently reorient ourselves towards the market. Experience 125 years of Glatz
He achieved his initial successes with his wife Christine Luise Lätsch, who was actively involved in the business as a dedicated umbrella seamstress after the wedding in 1898.
After the birth of Albert junior in 1899, six more siblings came into the world. With a completed apprenticeship as an umbrella maker, Albert accepted the firstborn’s responsibility for the family business.
A year after his wedding to Frieda Spahn, Albert Jr. purchased the “Friedheim” factory and residential building at the Schlossmühle in Frauenfeld in 1927. While Frieda was responsible for the store and the accounting and worked with the French and Italian merchants, Albert Jr. concentrated on streamlining the production, on the development of additional types of umbrellas and on technical perfection.
The family grew with the arrival of their children Heini (born 1927), Rosemarie (born 1928), Dölf (born 1931) and Peter (born 1939). All four of the children eventually joined the company. Dölf later became Managing Director after he had completed his business education and technical training.
Albert developed a multiple adjustable and foldable gear joint of extremely resistant nickel-plated brass. This invention set new standards in umbrella making at the time, and is still a component in the classic Alexo umbrella design today.
The Swiss Sample Fair in Basel was an excellent platform to present innovations such as to demonstrate the advantages of garden sunshades, including the Alexo chair sunshade with ball-and-socket joint, and later the Alexo Sun Guard and the Alexo Sun Roof, the Pendalex free-arm sunshade, and the Pergola and Palazzo giant sunshades to a large audience.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Near the end of World War II there were supply shortages for German suppliers. As a result, Albert Glatz-Spahn ventured into a risky project and built a costly strut profiling, tempering and processing facility and added manufacturing equipment and much more.
Thanks to having its own mechanical facility, special kinds of sun protection products could be conceived. The “Alexo Sun Guard“ was one of them, to provide shade for balconies. With a straight panel of fabric and two spring profiles provided on a support pole with the Alexo gear joint.
Before the wedding, Dölf’s future wife thoroughly prepared herself for her future role in the Glatz company – amongst other things as a secretary at the Federal Insurance Company (Eidgenössische Versicherungsgesellschaft). Equally, her priority was the family and the couple’s children, Markus (born 1958), Brigitte (born 1959) and Yvonne (born 1966).
The magic of Glatz: the company launched the Pendalex, the first seemingly floating free-arm sunshade without middle pole. It took Glatz years to explain and demonstrate until this type of umbrella became established on the market. At the same time, the Pendalex was the company’s primary cost unit and a door opener for international exports.
Under the leadership of Dölf Glatz, the production of hand-held umbrellas for women and men was discontinued, and the retail store at Felsenburg in Frauenfeld was closed. From then on, Glatz concentrated fully on the development and manufacture of garden and giant sunshades.
The company continued to grow and the product range was expanded model by model. With demand and name recognition rising, the production increased, both in volume and in time. The workforce also grew. The company moved into Neuhofstrasse 12, lock, stock and barrel.
The name of the company was changed, and it was transformed into a stock corporation with a share capital of CHF 700,000. Albert Glatz-Spahn was Chairman of the Board of Directors. Dölf Glatz acted as Delegate of the Board of Directors. Other members of the Board included Heini Glatz-Fritzsche, Peter Glatz-Rutishauser and Walter Zurbuchen.
With the giant sunshade models from Pergola to Palazzo, Glatz broke into a new market segment and obtained international patents for the sophisticated opening and closing mechanism. This ground-breaking mechanism has so far been integrated into the models Castello, Fortero and Fortino.
The sunshade professional perfected the shading with this model, which was made from elements of waterproofed wood, with a multilevel, extendable support arm and a 360° turnable base.
With a degree in Business Management in the bag from Kaderschule Zürich (KSZ) and practical experience in the financial industry, Markus Glatz joined the family business as Head of Sales and Finance. In the same year he married Christa Maurermeier, a trained Business Economist who later joined the accounting department of the company. In 1993, he took over the reins from his father Dölf and became CEO, taking the company into the 4th generation.
A new warehousing facility, the expansion of the offices and the construction of the Hummel production plant were completed in 1981, 1985 and 1989. The opening of “Hummel” was celebrated in 1989 to the great pleasure of all involved.
Its reputation as a leading sunshade manufacturer was preceding Glatz far beyond the Swiss borders. In addition to the focus on design, functionality and Swiss quality, international patents and protected designs are proof of it. Not to mention the company’s own sales in Germany, Austria and the Benelux countries and importers in France, Italy, Spain and Great Britain.
With the Palazzo giant sunshade family, the sunshade manufacturer meets every need a hotel or restaurant may have. Each model has its own attractive features and can optionally be equipped with a multitude of extras. In the same year, the “Glatz France” subsidiary was opened in Lyon.
It is not only the materials that were used, e.g. the powder-coated, silver-coloured stainless steel and aluminium components, but the multiple layers of special lacquer that make the Aura in XL format exceptional. The latter optimally highlight the eucalyptus wood.
Glatz faces the challenges of time. Glatz already manufactures in a resource-friendly way, keeps transport routes short, obtains materials from neighbouring countries and uses durable materials. In the anniversary year, Glatz not only presents the new models Ambiente Nova and Fortano. Rather it surprises with a fantastic magazine that examines 125 years and illustrates that: Nothing is as constant as change. What remains is the alternation of sun and shade – and sunshades by Swiss sunshade professional.
If the ALEXO® could talk, what would he say to us? We have worked hard on the responses from our golden icon, and we hope you enjoy reading them.
Every Dog has its day
Portrait with Georg Mayer
Daring to take the plunge
Interview with Marino Simione
The clothes make the person
Portrait with Liliana Hinder
The ALEXO®, our design icon made of varnished ash, is available with a diameter of 200 or 220 centimetres, with or without flounce. Its toothed gear joint is made of nickel-plated brass. The joint allows the sunshade to be tilted to various settings.
This is a robust sunshade made of natural maple wood. It brings a romantic touch to summer and provides you with plenty of shade. Even though it has a timeless design and is very ergonomic, the PIAZZINO still shines in terms of price.
With precious materials such as teak and leather, the TEAKWOOD lends ambience and charm to any space and entices you to stay. Thanks to the robustness of its tropical wood, the TEAKWOOD stays young. The same can be said of the sunshade’s timeless design.
The ALU SMART is perfect for narrow balconies or balconies with many nooks and crannies. The ergonomic, slim slider makes it easy to open and close the canopy. The stable aluminium frame subtly reflects the colours of its surroundings.
The ALU TWIST perfectly combines aesthetics and comfort. The canopy opens easily thanks to a crank handle and tilts smoothly thanks to a rotary mechanism. The ALU TWIST is perfect for outdoor areas with many nooks and crannies, or for balconies.
The SUNWING® C+ is made of natural anodised aluminium and combines ergonomics with design. The canopy opens with a self-locking crank drive. It can be tilted by up to 90° on both sides with the integrated tilting rod and it rotates by 360° around its pole.
The SOMBRANO® S+ is pure flexibility: not only can you use the area under the canopy freely, you can also tilt the canopy by up to 54° on both sides. Furthermore, the SOMBRANO® S+ can be easily rotated by 360° around its own axis.
The PENDALEX® P+ impresses with materials such as aluminium, fibre-reinforced FIM plastic and galvanised struts. Its gas spring allows for easy height adjustment. The canopy can be smoothly tilted to any angle in all directions and rotated by 360°.
The AURA is made to last many summers. This free-arm sunshade made of wood has a stabilising aluminium core, allowing it to withstand wind speeds of 45 km/h. When the sun is low, the AURA can be tilted against the pole and turned by 360° around the pole.
The AMBIENTE NOVA with a new design: the lighting provides both direct and indirect light in the canopy, with individually controlled, dimmable lights. The additional LED strip on the pole ensures a visually inviting ambience.
The FORTANO® combines robustness with practicality – it can easily withstand gusts of up to 60 km/h. It has a stable construction that matches its clear design and ease of use. When opening, the canopy floats at a height of 80 centimetres.
The wind-resistant FORTINO® impresses with natural anodised aluminium and a two-part profiled pole. The servomechanism makes it ergonomic and easy to use. Simply pull the tensioning lever downwards and hook it into the slider.
The FORTERO® can withstand gusts of up to 70 km/h, so it provides generous, reliable shade for large spaces and terraces. Options for securing it include flexible bases, as well as various options for permanent attachment.
The FORTELLO® is stable in the wind, but still easy to transport. This sunshade can easily withstand winds of up to 100 km/h, which makes it the perfect choice for large, exposed spaces. The FORTELLO® is also available with an Osyrion light.
For day and night: the FORTELLO® LED comes with LEDs that bathe the garden in warm, white light in the evening. It shares all of its other good points with its brother, the FORTELLO®: easy to use thanks to a servomechanism and very wind-resistant.
The CASTELLO® shines thanks to its robustness, design and counter-rotating telescopic opening mechanism: sliders and a tensile design make the canopy easy to put up and take down. An opening at the top provides ventilation so it never gets too hot.
The PALAZZO® Noblesse has it all: elegance and robustness. It can withstand wind speeds of up to 95 km/h, and is simple to use. It only takes 12 crank turns to open it. Unless you opt for the version with an integrated motor, that is.
The PALAZZO® Royal was designed for the hotel and restaurant sector and has a diameter of eight metres. The natural anodised aluminium works perfectly with the graphite-grey surfaces, and it has all the optional accessories you could want.
Simply more shade
Small effort
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