SPÄNI

SWITZERLAND (see also List of Individuals)

\

29.5.1916 Winterthur/CH - 3.5.1992 Winterthur/CH

\

Alois Späni graduated as a civil engineer from ETH Zurich in 1940. He was from 1941 to 1948 an engineer with Locher Company and contributed to the execution of Swiss hydropower plants. He was thus involved in the design of the Rupperswil-Auenstein scheme on Aare River and then in the execution of the Lavey power plant in Wallis Canton. After a stay in France, Späni returned in 1949 to Zurich as chief engineer of Electrowatt Engineering. He was for the following decade engaged for the Graubünden Canton in Eastern Switzerland, for projects of the Misoxer Kraftwerke, and for the Albula-Landwasser Kraftwerke besides works on the Rhine River.

\

In 1965, Electrowatt Engineering became independent from the mother house, with 800 engineers in the staff. Späni was appointed vice president and was a Member of the Executive Council. Shortly later in 1969, Späni took over as Director the largest engineering company of Switzerland, to step down only in 1981 when being retired. As for other European countries, hydro-electricity went through a large change during the 1970s, because of the 1973 oil crisis and environmental concerns. Späni, as many other leading individuals in this branch thus had to step from pure hydropower to more general engineering projects in order to survive with their companies. Späni thus expanded activities of Electrowatt Engineering and successfully launched in highway and tunnel projects with the Saint Gotthard as the key structure of the Swiss highway scheme inaugurated in 1980, and gas pipelines across his country for energy supply from the Mediterranean to Northern Europe. Späni thus had realized sufficiently before others that the expansion of business activities only made his company survive.

\

_{Billeter, H., Weber, G., Kim, C. (1998). Gedenkschrift Alois Späni. EWI: Zürich. P}

_{Späni, A. (1949). Die Fundation für Stauwehr und Wasserfassung des Rhonekraftwerkes Lavey. Schweizerische Bauzeitung 67(12): 169-173; 67(13): 184-188.}

_{Späni, A. (1958). Die Misoxer Kraftwerke. Wasserund Energiewirtschaft 58(4): 73-87. Späni, A. (1960). Projekt und Realisation der Misoxer Kraftwerke. Kraftwerkbau 5(11/12): 65- 84.}

_{Späni, A. (1963). Das Projekt der Engadiner Kraftwerke. Schweizerische Bauzeitung 81(13): 197-204; 81(14): 213-219.}

_{Späni, A. (1982). Louis Favre - Lebensbild eines schweizerischen Unternehmerpioniers.}

_{Technorama Publikation 3. Technorama: Winterthur.}