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How much do you know about GF?

1. Which products did GF make in the 1950s that gained cult status and are still collector’s items today?

Lösungen des Quiz sind am Ende dieser Seite zu finden!

a) Enamel cookware

b) Colorful porcelain collector’s cups

c) Metal advertising signs

2. Which hero’s movies have featured products from GF and Uponor?

a) Indiana Jones

b) Sherlock Holmes

c) James Bond

3. What do employees at GF headquarters in Schaffhausen (Switzerland) affectionately call their canteen?

a) Hombi

b) Homey

c) Hansi

4. What do GF employees at various sites around the world do once a year for a good cause?

Über 20’000

Mitarbeitende hat GF nun mit den neuen Kolleginnen und Kollegenen von GF Uponor.

a) They collect plastic in a local park to raise awareness about littering.

b) They walk 2 kilometers with a full bucket of water to raise awareness on the journey that millions of people in some parts of the world have to make every day to get access to clean drinking water.

c) They visit schools and spend a day reading to children. The objective is to demonstrate the importance of books and learning to read.

5. What inspired the two crosses in the GF logo?

a) The bond between Georg Fischer I and his son, who continued to run the company

b) A Christian cross

c) An important GF product

Find the quiz answers at the bottom of this page!

Schnitzel with fries ...

… This is one of the most popular dishes in the canteen at GF headquarters in Schaffhausen (Switzerland). Raclette, a traditional Swiss cheese dish, is a favorite in winter.

Terms and abbreviations you should know:

→ GFCC

is short for GF Corporate Center, the GF headquarters in Schaffhausen (Switzerland).

→ Me@GF

is the platform that brings together all key HR processes, such as those relating to employee development and business impact. Find out more at We@GF!

→ Culture Movement

is the name of the cultural initiative launched in 2021 to spread GF’s values within the company across the globe. Find out more on We@GF.

We train the champions

Who would have thought the big GF family included a real-life soccer star? Roberto di Matteo was born in Schaffhausen (Switzerland) in 1970. His father was a crane operator at the GF steel foundry, which is why Roberto decided to start his working life as an apprentice at GF. His passion, however, was soccer. He pulled the strings in midfield. From the Swiss champions FC Aarau, he played his way up to the Lazio team in Rome, capital of Italy, his home country. Eventually, Roberto moved to Chelsea and in 1998 won the UEFA Cup Winner‘s Cup with the London club. In 2008, he become a coach, and led Chelsea to victory in the 2012 UEFA Champions League.

CULTURAL BAROMETER

Degrees of politeness

In Switzerland, it is customary to start off by asking “How are you?” before getting to the heart of the matter

In many parts of China, people even make a small bow. It is considered polite to lower your head slightly and not look directly into the other person’s eyes. In commercial meetings, the business card is presented like a gift, using both hands.

While in the US and most parts of Europe people tend to shake hands and seek direct eye contact, in France you may even plant implied kisses on the cheek – but only if a certain level of trust has already been established.

More than 20’000

Current number of GF employees.

ROYALTY AND POLITICS: High-profile visits

In 1814, Tsar Alexander I honored GF founder Johann Conrad Fischer. Princess Margaret of England visited a GF factory in her own country in 1982. Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel visited the GF site in Leipzig (Germany), and the former Swiss Federal Councilor Doris Leuthard inaugurated a GF plant in China.

Ahead of our time

Milk in plastic bottles? This was unheard of around 50 years ago. GF believed in the new type of packaging and in 1969 acquired a license from a US company to make machines that produced plastic bottles. However, customers in Switzerland and Europe continued to prefer milk in glass bottles. As a result, GF only sold a few machines.

QUIZ ANSWERS

Question 1

^{Answer: a. From 1933 to 1968, GF produced enamel cookware to cater more to customer needs as a response to low demand in the 1930s.}

Question 2

^{Answer: c. The futuristic Ball Chair by designer Eero Aarnio, which Asko Oy launched on the market in 1966, appeared in several James Bond movies, among others. A magnesium panel from GF Casting Solutions is installed in the cockpit of the Defender from Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) featured in the Bond movie “No Time to Die” (2021).}

Question 3

_{Answer: a. Hombi is short for Hombergerhaus, which is the full name of the restaurant.}

Question 4

^{Answer: b. “Walk for Water” is an initiative supported by the GF Water Foundation at various GF locations around the world.}

Question 5

^{Answer: c. Georg Fischer II began}