The secret behind seventeen generations of Sandoz success

Thanks to a uniquely long-lived collection - and the passion of one of its own - the family of Neuchâtel “Montagnons” has been able to piece together a fascinating history in which the talents of artists and entrepreneurs blossom far beyond the canton's borders.


Neuchâtel has no shortage of great families, and the fact that there are now four thousand Sandoz families worldwide is not in itself exceptional. Yet the publication of their family saga in a sumptuous 464-page book is quite an event.

Why is this so? Gilles Attinger has never before published a book so rich in content and form. What's even more remarkable is the longevity (seventeen generations), memory and energy of this Neuchâtelois mountain family, whose every stage has been marked by one or more remarkable destinies.

You only have to look at the story from the end to see the first example. Filmmaker, scriptwriter and producer Jaques Sandoz, 58, has filmed from the USA to Burundi, chronicling the cultural revolution of the 60s. He is the real keystone of the project. Anecdotally, his younger brother Laurent was the Arlevin at the last Fête des Vignerons, another, Yves, heads the international law division at the ICRC, and one of his sisters, Geneviève, is a well-known milliner in Ticino...

“What convinced me to take the plunge in the first place was the conviction that there was a single source of the family in Le Locle”, says Jaques Sandoz. The story goes back - for the time being - to a Lambert Sandoz born before 1297, and confirms that the Sandoz family has long developed within a well-defined territory: Le Locle, La Brévine, Les Ponts-de-Martel and Dombresson. But this story would not have been possible without the existence of a unique instrument: the Sandoz Fund, with its meticulously kept records dating back three centuries!

Long before the advent of social insurance, the Fonds, whose existence can be traced back to 1658, was a tool of family solidarity. A “communet” (small plot of land), to which donations and bequests were added over the generations, served as a dividend to help the clan's needy. Far from having fallen into disuse, the Fund still finances scholarships today, such as the one that recently enabled a Sandoz man from La Lance in Concise (VD) to obtain a pilot's license in Canada.

Artists and entrepreneurs

As “mountain people”, the Sandoz family knows how to pull together in times of need. Another family characteristic is their highly selective choice of location: one branch is exiled to France, another to Nebraska and Louisiana. Very few, on the other hand, settle in Italy or Germany.

A Jonas Sandoz bought the underground mills at Col-des-Roches in 1666. Abram-Louis (1712-1766) accompanied his son-in-law Pierre Jaquet-Droz on an incredible (and dangerous) journey to sell automata to the Spanish court, before becoming a clockmaker himself. And then, of course, there's Edouard-Constant Sandoz, who in 1886 founded a dye factory in Basel that was to become the multinational chemical company we know today.

Before the latter was merged into Novartis, his boss Marc Moret was asked to support the Sandoz book project, but dismissed the request out of hand. Industrial giants don't always know how to cultivate their roots. In the end, at Nicole Landolt-Sandoz's personal instigation, the family foundation (see box) financed the project in its entirety. The project was launched just in time for the next Sandoz quinquennial meeting, to be held on Whit Monday, with 300 participants, including 30 from the USA.

“The Sandoz. From the Middle Ages to the third millennium, a Neuchâtel family conquers the world”. Thirty contributors, scientific director: Jean-Pierre Jelmini. Layout: Pierre Neumann. Editions Gilles Attinger, 464 p., 120 frs by subscription, 160 in bookshops. From June 9 to November 17, Valangin Castle presents an exhibition on the family's history.


source:https://www.letemps.ch

Jean-Claude Péclet
Published Thursday June 1, 2000