 This helped turn the area into an important industrial center of the Canton of Ticino.Around 1910, Swiss and German businesses opened in the community, including "Diamant" (grinding materials), the "Gotthardwerke" (metal alloys), the chemical plant "Nitre" (production of nitrogen derivatives) and two carbide factories.These industrial firms, which employed more than 1,000 workers (including many Italians), flourished thanks to the production of explosive materials during World War I.