Rheinfelden. A spontaneous idea turns into a veritable jewel: an FCB tank wagon! At the end of a successful season the wagon was dedicated by Adrian Knup.
Even if it's not as fast as a racing car, the twin-axle freight wagon is at least just as good looking. And: it travels around Switzerland, thus carrying the colours of FC Basel throughout the entire country. The wagon was dedicated by WASCOSA in Rheinfelden, where it had been customised, in the presence of the FCB Vice President Adrian Knup (former international (numerous international matches, numerous goals for Vfb Stuttgart and Karlsruhe SC)) and the Marketing Manager Numa Frossard, right on time to mark the end of the season for FC Basel, which was crowned by the 16th Swiss championship, the fourth in succession.
During the dedication of the wagon, Adrian Knup, the Vice President of FC Basel, said: «This is a great substitute for our FCB racing car; we should fill it with beer and drive it to the stadium the next time we celebrate the championship …»
WASCOSA is amongst the ten biggest rental companies for freight wagons in Europe and over the past few years it has slowly but surely climbed up the rankings. Philipp Müller, Delegate of the Board of Directors and initiator of the project, has this to say: «There are a lot of similarities between us and FC Basel – we have both developed successfully on the international front over the past 10 years and, like the FCB, are gradually climbing up the European rankings with a strong team.»
The FCB tank wagon of the firm of WASCOSA AG has been leased to the firm of Brenntag Schweizerhall AG in Basel and is used mainly to transport methanol.
The wagon regularly travels from the port of Birsfelden to various Brenntag customers in Visp, Pratteln, Dottikon, Schweizerhalle, Avenches.
The wagon was dedicated in Rheinfelden, on the premises of the firm of Josef Meyer Rail AG in Rheinfelden, an important maintenance workshop for freight wagon. The company customised the wagon perfectly and also made a generous contribution to the project. José Del Rio, the Managing Director, said: «A large number of our firm's employees identify with FC Basel, one reason why we were delighted to be part of this unusual project.»
The project of the Lucerne-based company with the tank wagon in FC Basel's red and blue colours came about through Philipp Müller's background and his connections with the Basel region and football. When Philipp Müller told Bernhard Heusler, who he has known since his time at university, about his idea he spontaneously agreed. Philipp Müller has appointed himself as the number one promoter of FC Basel in Central Switzerland and explains: «People in Lucerne are envious of FC Basel's success and the club's good management, but they also acknowledge this to the same degree. Our season tickets as sponsors of FC Basel are very popular with our employees, so you could say we are constantly helping develop the FC Basel fan base in Central Switzerland»
Adrian Knup, Vice President of FC Basel and Numa Frossard, Head of Marketing & Merchandising, set the FCB tank wagon rolling. © WASCOSA AG
Dedication of the wagon (left to right): Philipp Müller, Delegate of the Board of Directors of WASCOSA AG, Numa Frossard, Head of Marketing & Merchandising of FC Basel, Adrian Knup, Vice President of FC Basel, Urs Suter, Head of Service/Maintenance at Josef Meyer Rail AG in Rheinfelden and José Luis Del Rio, Managing Director of Josef Meyer Rail AG in Rheinfelden. © WASCOSA AG
The FCB tank wagon of WASCOSA AG in Lucerne. © WASCOSA AG