When I arrive for my interview with Marco Oliver Tepoorten, Chiasso is deserted, the opposite of the Chiasso that the old freight forwarders remember, where trains arrived full of goods and the border town lived on trade. The streets were never empty and every family contributed to the success of a reality that was, at the time, extremely lively.

Excuse me, can you satisfy my curiosity: what are the origins of the surname Tepoorten?

"Actually, a lot of people ask that question. It's a surname of Dutch origin, even though my parents are German. My father, like many fathers, came to Ticino for work with my mother; he was a freight forwarder and he found me my first job."

So, you were born in Ticino…

«Yes, in Sorengo, on September 28, 1970. Initially I lived in Loreto, then we moved to Cassarate, Viganello and finally to Carabbia. I was a very dynamic child, I never sat still and when I could I went to Lugano. At that time we kids sold Topolini (a periodical magazine that publishes comic strips with Disney characters) and mineral stones on the street, so one day, I was in Via Nassa, my dad saw me... I didn't have the chance to reply and I found myself in boarding school, at Don Bosco in Maroggia. It was a very hard time, where unfortunately I completely lost the desire to study».

I imagine that for her, entering the world of work was a sort of liberation…

"I would rather speak of a new opportunity, also because, as I just said, it was my dad who found me the apprenticeship, right here at Franzosini in Chiasso. I was fifteen, today I am fifty-four and I have never changed jobs (satisfied)."

A career we could call American: from apprentice you became the owner of the company…

"It seems simple in two lines, but they were demanding years. I started as a customs declarant, I lived in Carabbia at the time and I woke up at dawn to get to the office. I have many pleasant memories, Chiasso was different, it was more liveable, there were many people connected to shipping, many transports were done on the tracks and I myself gained a lot of experience in rail transport. I did the last year of my apprenticeship in Ponte Tresa, they sent me there for convenience since I lived in Lugano, a sort of prize, but unfortunately I had met my future wife in Chiasso and so I found myself making a long trip anyway (fun)".

Freight forwarder, it seems like a job from the past, a job that is rarely talked about. Did you know at fifteen what your duties would be?

"Absolutely not, also because when my dad accompanied me I arrived as a "recommended" and therefore I had little to say, I just had to try to work well. I imagine that if I were to ask a boy: "would you like to be a freight forwarder", he would look at me with two wide eyes, because it is not the classic job that they offer you in the fourth grade, but in the past it was said that those who did an apprenticeship as a freight forwarder learned everything: from commerce to dealing with customers, it was a real school of life".

After his apprenticeship he obtained his professional diploma and began his climb…

"I would also add that I knew German, we spoke it at home, and this was a great help to me. It was in the wagon department that I discovered that I loved contact with customers, this encouraged me to look for new customers without anyone asking me. At that time the director was called Achille Groppi, he was from Rovio, he was a real person, a frontier man, a true freight forwarder who taught me everything he knew. When he saw my effort he gave me the opportunity to move to sales, I was twenty-two years old, at that time Franzosini had a van and a turnover of two million (at most). With my work we managed, in the space of eight years, to bring the company to a turnover of twelve million francs, increasing new traffic. Those were years of great growth, I went to German-speaking Switzerland every week, I looked for the best possible offers, I went to the customers myself. I have wonderful memories."

But will and work are not enough to buy an entire company, excuse my frankness…

"That's right, also because I didn't have the money to buy a company like this, but I had a good friend and so I'm happy to answer your question. This good friend of mine was a trustee from Lugano, his name was Renzo Forni and consider that when he was sixty-five, I was about thirty. He was one of those people who changed my life, because it is thanks to his trust, his foresight that today I can be sitting in this chair."

I didn't understand at what point he decided to buy Franzosini or rather what position he was in when he did it...

«To say that I decided to buy it is not entirely correct. When the old director left, a new one arrived who I did not get along with. In the morning I woke up with a stomach ache and so I decided to change my life and open my own company. When the old director found out, he asked me why I had made such a decision. I still remember how I answered him: “Achille, I would never have done something like that and I can even take a step back, but what I know is that I want to arrive at work with a smile”. I do not know if it was the honesty of my words or something else, but at that point Achille held out his hand and told me that he would sell me the company. I have already said it before, they were characters from another time, a handshake was worth more than any contract, that was how frontier men were. Instinctively I also held out my hand, at that moment I think I did not realize what he meant, and I answered him: “Okay”. I didn't know the price, I didn't know how I was going to pay it and that's when my best friend, the Lugano trustee, came into play."

Why didn't he change the name of the company?

"Because it had cost me a lot, the company name had an important, reliable value. The company had been founded in 1929 and I wanted to give it continuity."

Today the work of a freight forwarder has evolved, is working with private individuals still the order of the day?

«Absolutely yes, private individuals come to us when they need to clear customs, when they need to move or to import a purchase, be it a car or a new kitchen. We have many private individuals, even important names, I still remember when we had to send a book to Sophia Loren, she was in Geneva. That time we wanted to do something special, we delivered it in person, with white gloves. I also happened to have in my hands the list of all Cristiano Ronaldo's assets, when he had to move to Manchester United. Even among companies we collaborate with multinationals, for twenty years we distributed all Ikea furniture in Switzerland, Italy and Austria and also its catalogs, I still remember when we sent one hundred and fifty trucks to Germany to collect them, it was the most printed book in the world!».

Maybe it's time to clarify that Franzosini is not only in Chiasso, but you are an important group with several offices worldwide...

«We have the parent company, our Holding, which is called Tepoorten Group SA, under it we have the Franzosini Switzerland, Italy, Monaco, England and a company that deals with data for customs digitalization, Ezdatacenter SA».

You are the president and CEO of all the companies, how do you do it?

«I ask myself that too (laughs), in any case I have a CEO for Italy, an operations director here, and in England there is my son, who also takes care of the Monaco office».

So she has a son who has decided to give her a big hand in the family business…

«I have two sons, the youngest is studying at the Polytechnic in Lausanne, while the eldest started his apprenticeship here, like me. After finishing his apprenticeship he chose to work in sales, but Ticino was too small for him and he decided to leave. He did it out of the blue, without worrying about finding a job, he was even willing to work as a waiter. So he went to the French Riviera, did various jobs and there he met his wife, an American. He got married and I became a grandfather (satisfied). Now he takes care of Franzosini in Monaco and at the same time acquires international clients and follows the development of the English branch».

Since we are talking about your family and since you are already a grandfather, I imagine you met your wife very young…

"She was 16, I was 18 and a year later we were already living together, she's the woman of my life. I was lucky."

He worked a lot, traveled, how did he manage to reconcile all this with his family?

"We lived in Vacallo, so when the kids came home from school for lunch I always tried to be there. I was there in the evening too, of course this cost me a sacrifice, when they went to bed I went back to work, those were different times, there weren't all the connections we have today, so for convenience I went back to the office until late at night. I must say I had a lot of energy, I was thirty-two, I had a company, we had also bought a house, in short I said to myself: "If I have to fail, let's fail well", but this doesn't mean that for me it was an option, I wanted to make it".

More than once you have reiterated that people today are not like in the past, you yourself were friends with men older than you who you defined as from another time. What do you think of young people today?

"There are good guys, I'm sure of it, I've always wanted to have apprentices, we must have trained at least forty of them, but then, from one moment to the next, there was no more interest. They came here in the morning without enthusiasm, with dull eyes, they did badly at school... and so I decided not to hire them anymore. I'm not saying it's all their fault, we live in a society where young people spend most of their time glued to a screen..."

I feel you're worried...

"I am, I can't deny it, I'm worried about young people, because if they don't find a real guide, a positive example to follow, they're lost. They have to be careful, they have to be able to measure, dose certain technologies, especially now with artificial intelligence, which leads you to no longer use your head. I use it, it has incredibly sped up part of my work, but I do it now, after years of study and experience. If our kids already do it at school, what will remain in their heads? I repeat, I'm sure that there are smart young people, who will make the difference, it's just that I have a hard time finding them, they all seem to lack passion."

Was the passion for your work, for challenges, your driving force?

"Absolutely yes, I have always moved guided by passion, I have met people who have helped me, really helped me, my father, the old owner of this company and my trustee. They have been three guides, I thank them every day".

You are very attached to Chiasso, I imagine it breaks your heart to see what is happening…

"Do you mean it's becoming a ghost town? Of course it hurts me, just as it hurts me to see that oval eyesore near my offices abandoned, the potential is there, but the will to rebirth? I don't know, I think the momò are special, and I say this as a former Lugano citizen, they have an open character, I don't want to take anything away from the Lugano, Bellinzona or Locarno citizens, but those who live in Mendrisiotto understand me, just come to the Fiera di San Martino or the Sagra dell'Uva. During the week some people still go around, but the companies here are struggling, there is no real political leadership to promote our region. I know there are real problems, like the exchange rate, which hasn't helped trade, but all the cities have had to react and Chiasso could have done more."

Have you ever thought about going into politics?

"I have my contacts, with whom I share my thoughts, but for work reasons too I have never thought seriously about politics. Those who do a job like mine cannot expose themselves too much because they risk finding themselves in uncomfortable situations and putting their foot in both camps... it's not like me."

Looking to the future, do you think that the job of freight forwarder will continue to exist?

"Our company transports goods all over the world, I don't think there is a single company in Ticino that hasn't received an invoice from us. I don't fear the future, we work with the whole world, from America to Asia, our job is to get the goods to us as soon as possible and completely intact, without forgetting all the customs procedures both in Switzerland and abroad that we take care of... I remain positive." 

If you could say something, as an entrepreneur, to Ticino, what would you say?

"I don't pretend to give advice, but I think that Ticino is worth more, we should find the strength to get out of this place that I call the "factory" of Switzerland, where there are workers. We need to be more attractive, attract young people and to do that we should raise wages, not do the opposite. Yes, we have many cross-border workers, but also important companies, which could give a lot and attract new workers. Mine, therefore, is an appeal: pay more, do not speculate on wages, let's forget those sad years in which workers were paid half a day and worked full time".

Chiasso land of traffic, you yourself said that you don't go to Lugano during rush hour because it would take more than an hour...

"The situation will not improve, goods will not return to rail, not after the Swiss government authorized the transition to 40 tons, previously it was 28. A political choice that we are paying for and will continue to do so."

Are you telling me there is no way back?

"It's a problem at a European level, I don't want to imagine now that the Brenner motorway is one lane, due to the work related to the reconstruction of the gigantic Austrian viaduct... for the next five years we will have other trucks that will pass through Switzerland. The solution? We should find it upstream, but how is it possible if we are living in the era of unbridled consumerism that exponentially fuels traffic on the roads?"

There is no shortage of food for thought: who were these frontier men? Able to fight for the good of their employees and capable of keeping their word with a handshake?