At home with WALO

Dietikon, WALO works yard, sometime in the early 2000s. In the evening, when the workers have already finished work, a cat sneaks through the construction machinery and hides between the steel girders. Alessandra, known as Ale, was still a girl at the time. She's looking for the cat. A typical scene, as Ale practically grew up on the works yard. Today, she smiles when she talks about the past: "We lived in the flat above the depot, right at the entrance to the WALO works yard. My mother worked here as a caretaker and in the cleaning team. We lived here for around three years – my mum, my brother, our dog Unci and the cat – Stellina."

These are formative memories. "From the balcony, we could look out over the entire works yard – watch the machines, observe the workers. It was certainly very special for other children, but for us it was simply our home", says Ale. Not a run-of-the-mill home, and one that she still holds dear to this day. Ale associates WALO with far more than just a childhood memory. She herself now works in the road construction office, as do most of her family. Father, uncle, cousin. Three generations. All at WALO.

The first: Joaquim senior

In 1968, Joaquim Fernandes Sr arrived in Switzerland as a seasonal worker from Portugal. His family remained at home. He worked, sent money, returned home, and came back. Years later, he was joined by his sons – first Joaquim junior, followed a year later by his twin brother Manuel and then Hilario. The fourth brother, Agostinho, also followed, but eventually went back to Portugal, just like their father, going on to work occasionally as a seasonal worker at WALO.

Joaquim senior is almost a legend at WALO. "People still talk about Padre Elias today", laughs Manuel. His twin brother Joaquim explains: "Back then, it was a Sunday tradition for us to hold mass in the WALO canteen. If the priest was late – which was often the case – our father simply took over without further ado. He knew the texts by heart, having been an altar boy for years. At some point, people just started to call him 'Padre Elias'."

Forty years on the construction site

Manuel Fernandes joined WALO in 1986, and his twin brother Joaquim a year earlier. Both as civil engineers in road construction – and often on the same construction site. Around forty years at WALO, as a pair. What has changed during this time? "The system is better, the machines are more modern. More people in the past, more machines today", says Manuel. Their father had once described working at WALO to them as hard work, but honest work. A job for life. "He was right", says Joaquim, laughing.

What has remained the same? "The friendship. The community with colleagues." And of course: the twins themselves. As teenagers, they wore the same clothes, had the same hairstyle – and once even had the same girlfriend. Today, they work together, sit together at lunch and spend the weekends together. "Being twin brothers, we're very close. If he needs me, I'm there. When I need him, I can count on him", says Joaquim. "That doesn't change." The fact that their youngest brother Hilario works in the same department – and now also Hilario's son Nilson – makes it even better. "It's a privilege to work together as a family", emphasises Manuel.

From the works yard to the office

Ale also enjoys working with members of her family. "The special thing about it is that I get to see a completely different side of them", she says. Her decision to work at WALO was anything but a matter of course. After school, she was faced with the question: what now? "I would have liked to have gone into the cosmetics industry. But my family thought that commercial work would also suit me", says Ale. A taster week in the office was the deciding factor.

She began her commercial apprenticeship at WALO in 2012. And when she is rotated into the road construction department for six months, it's as if everything has come full circle. "My father, my uncles, my cousin – they all work here. And I suddenly knew what my goal was for when I finished my apprenticeship: the road construction department", says Ale. She's now been with WALO for almost 14 years. "No two days are the same – and it's precisely this variety that I like", she points out. Her friends find this remarkable. "We've even made bets on whether I'll stay as long as my father and his twin brother and retire at WALO", says Ale, laughing. "Let's see who wins the bet."

Father and son

When asked about his impending retirement, Manuel says: "I'm not actually looking forward to retirement. Because it means you're getting old." Joaquim smiles in agreement. And yet: 2027 is the year – for both of them. Hilario doesn't have this problem yet. He is a few years younger than his brothers and has been with WALO since 1998.

He followed his brothers to Switzerland – out of conviction. "Life in Portugal wasn't easy. The conditions were better here – and I wanted to be with my brothers", he says. He never took an employer like WALO for granted. "WALO is a secure company. To date, it's never disappointed us", says Hilario. The fact that his son Nilson is now following the same path makes him proud. "It's great that he is carrying on the family tradition. He listens well to the experienced employees and foremen, is respectful and does a good job. We also work well together."  

Nilson himself confirms this – and adds his own perspective. "I was nervous on my first day at WALO. I was expecting to be met with strangers. But as luck would have it, I was assigned to the same construction site as my father and my uncles. Of course, I immediately felt at home", he says. The fact that his father is a machine operator also proved to be a practical advantage: "During the lunch break, he showed me all the machines and I was allowed to try them out there and then." Today, he carries the ambition he developed during this time into foreman school. He has been in the thick of it since October 2025. His goal in ten years: to lead his own group.

The enduring factor

What keeps a family with the same employer for three generations? Ale thinks for a moment. "It's about togetherness", she says. "We help each other – and not just within the Fernandes family, but within the company as a whole. WALO has a special, warm feeling that you normally only get in a family."

The family-like togetherness is also evident after work, when everyone spontaneously gets together to have a barbecue. "Everyone will be there", says Ale. Including, of course, her father Joaquim, his twin brother Manuel, uncle Hilario and her cousin Nilson, alongside numerous other WALO employees. "They probably used to do it like this when my grandfather was still around. My hope for the future is that this family feeling never goes away at WALO."