We continue our profiles of members of the 20 Year Club. Companies featured in this issue are the remaining 3 of the 6 Founding Members: Panzironi Art Transport (Italy; Welti-Furrer Art Ltd (Switzerland) & Zuest & Bachmeier S.A. (Switzerland).

Giuseppe Panzironi with Mark Starling

PANZIRONI ART TRANSPORT SRL (PAT) was created in 1973 thanks to the brilliant idea of its founder, Giuseppe
Panzironi.

There were few available resources at the time and the
logistics of moving works of art began to become more important.

First there was one van, then two, then three and methods of packing were still in the early development stage. By the 1980s Panzironi has grown to a staff of 10 people and an annual business volume of € 1,500,000.00.

The first client in 1973 was the Pinacoteca di Brera, with Prof.
Russoli entrusting the Venetian Art Exhibition in Tokyo to the newborn Panzironi Art Transport. Then came a wealthy private collector; an expert art dealer; the international auction houses asking for Panzironi services to the exhibitions of the day.

Our world has changed since then, the requests have changed, the customers have changed, the materials have changed, the transport methods have changed. Basically, everything has changed – except Giuseppe Panzironi!

The growth of the company has also seen an increase in experience and professionalism, a much wider range of services offered and everincreasing customer satisfaction.

The relationship between PAT and ICEFAT began in Amsterdam in 1977, where a young Giuseppe Panzironi was approached by the other Agents at this first meeting with the words “Who are you? What company do you work for?
Where is your father?” because he was the youngest attendee.

From the very beginning, much like today, ICEFAT was used as a communication point of knowledge and the exchange of ideas between members and also as a way of managing work projects, resolving accounting problems and so on.

The world was once a simpler place – people were less serious and conventions were more carefree, more playful. Today the world is more serious, more professional and PAT has fallen in step with the world, while still conserving its own deep-rooted personality.

In 2008 PAT founded Apice with our partners, coordinating our tried and tested synergy.

The new structure is enjoying the expected success and we are increasingly becoming involved in
always larger exhibition projects. Now, even more than before, we are able to offer our standards
throughout our nation, being able to guarantee widespread cover of Italy.

Preparations are in progress for the move to a new 2000 m² completely air conditioned warehouse, where we will be able to guarantee our clients improved services and the acquisition of the very latest generation of new vehicles to enhance our fleet even more.

The versatility and completeness of our range of service is one of our greatest qualities.

Sandro Klees with Mark Starling

Welti-Furrer Ltd was founded the late 1830’s and is the oldest moving company in Zurich. Welti-Furrer Group is part of Knecht Holding which also has a great history in transportation in Switzerland.

The various departments of Welti- Furrer are able to offer almost any kind of transport using their inhouse solutions.

Welti-Furrer Fine Art Ltd. offers a very high standard in warehousing and transportation. There are strongrooms along with many other storage choices, as well as show rooms for presentations or meetings.

Welti-Furrer Fine Art ist ISO 9001:2008 certified, which
guarantees that their standards in transportation, art handling, packing and warehousing are regularly verified.

“We are very glad and proud to be a founding member of ICEFAT. This allows us access to a large group of fine art companies which guarantee a high standard all over the world.”
said their Shipping Manager, Daniel Jermann. “It’s a good feeling to be part of this big “family“ - we know the members so well we can trust them like family - and we are looking forward to continued collaboration with the companies and colleagues.”

Zuest & Bachmeier S.A., Switzerland

Antonio Fasani with Mark Starling

Zuest & Bachmeier S.A. was founded in 1911 and over the years the company has expanded the range of services it offers – different ways of transport by road, rail, sea, air – of any kind of goods and some additional services such as customs clearance, transit formalities on the Swiss-Italian
border (Chiasso),warehousing and distribution.

“Our company is very proud to have been one of the founding
members of ICEFAT. Even though our company was started with the aim of handling the transport of many different types of goods, we hoped from the beginning that the fine art market traffic would have a special place in our future.” said Antonio Fasani, the President of Zuest & Bachmeier.“

“Thanks to being an ICEFAT member, we have become the
preferred shipping company for the masterpieces coming to Chiasso from all over the world.”

Mr. Giovanni Zuest, the former owner, was very fond of fine
arts and after his death, the heirs founded a permanent fine art
exhibition located at Rancate (near Lugano): the “Pinacoteca Giovanni Zuest”. The majority of artwork at the Pinacoteca is part of Mr. Zuest’s private collection.

Zuest & Bachmeier is now offering a regular service for fine arts, both in Switzerland and all over the world. Their lorries are well equipped with climate-controlled systems and security alarms and the companyis currently expanding into high-security
climate-controlled storage for fine art warehousing.

Originally Zuest & Bachmeier’s customers were mainly private collectors or galleries, but now
the company is also involved in exhibition logistics with the most important local museums and is
preparing for the next opening of a very important cultural center in Lugano.

Zuest & Bachmeier now has a new owner who intends to improve the fine art business and hopes to
celebrate the company’s “100 years” during the 2011 ICEFAT convention in the “right place” - Las Vegas.