Interview published in Ticino Welcome No. 085 – March / May 2025.
When I arrive for my interview with Marco Oliver Tepoorten, Chiasso is deserted — the opposite of the Chiasso remembered by the old freight forwarders, where trains arrived full of goods and the border town thrived on trade. The streets were never empty and every family contributed to the success of what was, at the time, an extremely vibrant community.
«Many people ask about that, actually. It's a surname of Dutch origin, even though my parents are German. My father, like many fathers, had come to Ticino for work together with my mother; he was a freight forwarder and he found me my first job».
«Yes, in Sorengo, on 28 September 1970. Initially I lived in Loreto, then we moved to Cassarate, Viganello and finally to Carabbia. I was a very dynamic child, I could never sit still and whenever I could I would go to Lugano. In those days we kids used to sell Mickey Mouse comics and mineral stones on the street, so one day, I was on Via Nassa, my father spotted me… I had no chance to argue and I found myself in boarding school, at Don Bosco in Maroggia. It was a very tough period, during which I unfortunately completely lost the desire to study».
«I would rather call it a new opportunity, also because, as I just said, it was my father who found me the apprenticeship, right here at Franzosini in Chiasso. I was fifteen years old, today I am fifty-four and I have never changed my workplace».
A career we could call American-style: from apprentice you became the owner of the company…
«Summed up in two lines it seems simple, but they were demanding years. I started as a customs declarant, at the time I lived in Carabbia and I would wake up at dawn to get to the office. I have many pleasant memories, Chiasso was different, more liveable, there were many people connected to the freight forwarding business, a lot of transport was done by rail and I myself gained considerable experience in railway transport».
«Absolutely not, also because when my father brought me in I arrived as a 'recommended' person and therefore had little to say — I just had to try to work well. I imagine that if you asked a teenager: 'would you like to be a freight forwarder', they would look at you wide-eyed, because it is not the typical career they suggest in secondary school, but in the past it was said that anyone who did an apprenticeship as a freight forwarder learned everything: from commerce to customer relations, it was a genuine school of life».
«I would also add that I knew German, we spoke it at home, and that was of enormous help. It was in the wagon department that I discovered my love for customer contact, which motivated me to seek new clients without anyone asking me to. At that time the director was called Achille Groppi, he was from Rovio, a genuine person, a man of the border, a true freight forwarder who taught me everything he knew. When he saw my effort he gave me the chance to move into the commercial department — I was twenty-two, at that time Franzosini had one van and two million in turnover. Through my work, over the course of eight years, we managed to bring the company to a turnover of twelve million francs, developing new trade flows. Those were years of great growth».
«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 am happy to answer your question. This good friend of mine was a fiduciary in 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 I can sit in this chair today».
«Saying that I decided to buy it is not entirely correct. When the old director had left, a new one arrived with whom I didn't get along. In the morning I would wake up with a stomach ache and so I decided to change my life and start my own company. When the old director found out, he asked me why I had made such a decision. I still remember how I replied: 'Achille, I would never have done such a thing and I can also take a step back, but what I know is that I want to arrive at work with a smile.' I don't know if it was the honesty of my words or something else, but at that point Achille extended his hand and told me he would sell me the company. Instinctively I extended mine too — at that moment I don't think I realised what it meant — and I replied: 'All right.' I didn't know the price, I didn't know how I would pay for it, and that is when my best friend, the fiduciary from Lugano, came into play».
«Because it had cost me a great deal, the company's name had significant value, it was reliable. The company had been founded in 1929 and I wanted to give it continuity».
«Absolutely yes, private individuals come to us when they need customs clearance, when they need to relocate or to import a purchase, whether it be a car or a new kitchen. We have a great many private clients, including well-known names — I still remember when we had to ship a book to Sophia Loren, who was in Geneva. That time we wanted to do something special, we delivered it in person, with white gloves. I also once had in my hands the list of all of Cristiano Ronaldo's belongings, when he was transferring to Manchester United».
«We have the parent company, our Holding, which is called Tepoorten Group SA. Under it we have Franzosini Switzerland, Italy, Monaco, England and a company dealing with data for customs digitalisation, Ezdatacenter SA».
«I have two sons: the younger one is studying at the École Polytechnique in Lausanne, while the elder one started his apprenticeship here, like me. After his apprenticeship he chose to work in the commercial department, but Ticino felt too small for him and he decided to leave. He did so on the spur of the moment, without worrying about finding a job — he was willing to work as a waiter if necessary. So he went to the French Riviera, did various odd jobs and there he met his wife, an American. He got married and I became a grandfather. Now he manages Franzosini in Monaco and at the same time acquires clients internationally and oversees the development of the British office».
«Our company carries out transport all over the world — I think there is not a single business in Ticino that has not received one of our invoices. I am not afraid of the future; we work with the entire world, from the Americas to Asia. Our task is to ensure that goods arrive as quickly as possible and completely intact, without forgetting all the customs formalities both in Switzerland and abroad that we handle… I remain positive».
«I don't claim to give advice, but I believe that Ticino is worth more. We should find the strength to move beyond this place that I call the 'factory' of Switzerland, where the workers are. We need to be more attractive, bring back the young, and to do that we should raise salaries, not do the opposite».