Wenger was a Swiss cutlery manufacturer that exists today as a line of once rival

Victorinox Victorinox () is a knife manufacturer and watchmaker based in the town of Ibach, in the Canton of Schwyz, Switzerland. It is well known for its Swiss Army knives. The Swiss Army knives made by Victorinox are made of a proprietary blend ste ...

, and a brand name for watches and licensed products owned by it. Founded in 1893, it was best known as one of two companies to manufacture Swiss Army knives. Based in

Delémont Delémont (; fc, D'lémont; german: Delsberg, ) is the capital of the Swiss canton of Jura. The city has approximately 12,000 inhabitants . History The area of the municipality was already settled in the middle Bronze Age. Fifteen urn buria ...

, Wenger was acquired in 2005 by Victorinox and partially absorbed."LUXURY WATCHES NEWS : Victorinox acquires rival Wenger"
''Europa Star WorldWatchWeb'', 4 May 2005. Since 2013, Wenger Swiss Army knives are integrated in the Victorinox collection as the "Delémont collection".

History

The history of Wenger S.A. is strongly linked to the history of the Swiss Army knife.

Company origins

The industrial cutlery house of Paul Boechat & Cie (the future Wenger) was founded 1893 at Courtételle in the Delémont valley in the

Canton of Jura The Republic and Canton of Jura (french: République et canton du Jura), less formally the Canton of Jura or Canton Jura ( , ), is the newest (founded in 1979) of the 26 Swiss cantons, located in the northwestern part of Switzerland. The capital ...

. It received a contract from the Swiss Army to produce knives as the second industrial cutlery manufacturer of Switzerland. In 1897 Theodore Wenger, a minister who had served in the US, was returning home to Switzerland and was hired by the group of entrepreneurs that had bought Boechat & Cie two years earlier (later renaming the company ''Wenger et Cie.''). One of Wenger's first acts was to acquire a manufacturer of

spoon A spoon is a utensil consisting of a shallow bowl (also known as a head), oval or round, at the end of a handle. A type of cutlery (sometimes called flatware in the United States), especially as part of a place setting, it is used primarily f ...

s and

fork In cutlery or kitchenware, a fork (from la, furca 'pitchfork') is a utensil, now usually made of metal, whose long handle terminates in a head that branches into several narrow and often slightly curved tine (structural), tines with which one ...

s which he moved to a rented factory in Delémont. In 1900, a new facility was built. Both the utensil operations and the Courtételle cutlery production were incorporated into the new plant now called Fabrique Suisse de Coutellerie et Services. In 1908 the Swiss Army decided to split the contract, with half of the order going to Victorinox, in the German-speaking canton of

Schwyz The town of Schwyz (; french: Schwytz; it, Svitto) is the capital of the canton of Schwyz in Switzerland. The Federal Charter of 1291 or ''Bundesbrief'', the charter that eventually led to the foundation of Switzerland, can be seen at the ' ...

, and the other half to Wenger in the French-speaking part of the canton of Bern. In 1929, after Theo Wenger's death, Kaspar Oertli gained majority share in the company.

Between 1929 and 2005

In 1988, Wenger started producing watches, one year before Victorinox.

Crisis and restart

After the 9/11 attacks all air traveling and related industries were facing a severe crisis. This was also the case for the Swiss Army knife manufacturers especially Wenger S.A. Changing airport security regulations which precluded the carrying of pocket knives diminished the sales of Swiss Army knives at duty-free shops. The crisis led to the acquisition of Wenger by its competitor Victorinox in 2005. With the backing of Victorinox, Wenger was able for a time to maintain its own production and branding of Swiss army knives and watches. Wenger knives had been advertised as the "Genuine Swiss Army Knife" and Victorinox as the "Original Swiss Army Knife".

Rebranding after acquisition

After being acquired by Victorinox, in 2005 Wenger S.A. started to develop new products. In the process of rebranding itself as a provider of multifunctional tools for outdoor adventures, Wenger started to cooperate with individuals such as Ueli Steck and

Mike Horn Michael Horn (born 16 July 1966) is a South African-born Swiss professional explorer and adventurer. Born in Johannesburg, South Africa, he currently resides in Château d'Œx, Switzerland. He studied Human Movement Science at Stellenbosch Un ...

acting as their brand ambassadors providing each of them with a suited multi-functional tool adapted to their specific challenges. Additionally Wenger cooperated with Alinghi providing the sailors with a suited multifunctional tool. Most recently Wenger supports the

Patagonia Expedition Race The Patagonian Expedition Race is an annual endurance adventure race that takes place in the remote wilderness of Chilean Patagonia, run to help protect and raise awareness about the fragile environment in this region. Known as the 'Race to the End ...

Product lines merging

On January 30, 2013, Wenger and Victorinox announced that the separate knife brands were going to be merged into one brand: Victorinox. The press release stated that Wenger's factory in Delémont would continue to produce knives and all employees at this site will retain their jobs. They further elaborated that an assortment of items from the Wenger line-up will remain in production under the Victorinox brand name. Wenger's U.S. headquarters will be merged with Victorinox's location in

Monroe, Connecticut Monroe is a town located in eastern Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 18,825 at the 2020 census. Monroe is largely considered a bedroom community of New York City, New Haven, and Bridgeport. History On May 15, 1 ...

. Wenger's watch and licensing business will continue as a separate brand.

Recent developments

On March, 2016, during the Baselworld 2016 expo, Victorinox relaunched the Wenger brand with marketing emphasising Swiss values at a reasonable price. Wenger changed its slogan to "A Swiss Company Since 1893" from "Maker of the genuine Swiss Army Knife", which was used for decades. In 2017, Victorinox released a Swiss Army Knife model named “Wenger Red”. This knife has the Wenger logo and the Wenger brand name in the scale of the knife. This knife is delivered in a box with the Victorinox logo and brand name. This part number is produced in Delémont, Switzerland. This is the only Swiss Army Knife with the Wenger logo and brand name that is being produced and sold as today.

Products

The two main product lines of Wenger S.A. are the "Genuine Swiss Army Knife" and Wenger Watch. Additionally Wenger S.A. makes kitchen cutlery under the brand names of Swibo, Grand Maitre.

Genuine Swiss Army Knife

Most of the traditional products produced by Wenger are pocket knives with a body size of about 65 mm to 130 mm (2.5" to 5") and blades of about 50 mm to 100 mm (2" to 4") with features like can openers and screwdrivers in a red- or black-coloured case.

Special editions

The Giant The Swiss Army knife is famous for integrating different tools into one knife. Wenger integrated 87 tools with 141 functions into one knife called The Giant, which was featured in ''Guinness World Records''. Heritage Based on the original plans of the Swiss Army knife of 1908 Wenger introduced the limited edition line called Heritage. TitaniumLine, Alinghi Sui 1, Mike Horn Knife & Patagonia Expedition Race All three are multifunctional knives developed in cooperation with the individuals and organizations involved suited to their specific challenges. The Titanium Line is a product suited to the challenges a speed climber like Ueli Steck faces. For the Swiss Americas Cup participant Alinghi Wenger developed an easy to use knife for sailors. As the main sponsor of the Wenger

, Wenger created a knife suited to the challenges the participants of the race have to face. For the adventurer

Wenger released a knife in 2009.

Wenger Watches

Wenger Watches are made in Switzerland. The company's head office is located in Delémont Switzerland. Wenger watches are supposedly related to the basic ideas and concept of the Swiss Army Knife, having a multifunctional outdoor focus. Additionally Wenger produces several watches focusing only on elegance.

Other products

Wenger also makes notepads that can function as a twofold wallet. Wenger produced bayonets for the Swiss Stgw 90 assault rifle. The bayonet has an overall length of 310 mm and a muzzle ring diameter of 22 mm. The 177 mm long blade is single-edged and it has no fuller. The bayonets were manufactured exclusively for the Swiss Army by Wenger and Victorinox (before the two companies merged). In North America, licensed products using the Wenger and SwissGear trademarks are owned independently from Victorinox SA, and are used to market camping equipment (particularly tents, backpacks and sleeping bags), luggage, backpacks and office/business needs.

Gallery

File:Ranger 73.JPG, Ranger 73 File:Ranger Grip 75.JPG, RangerGrip 75 File:Bayonet SG550.JPG, Stgw 90 bayonet

References

External links

Official global company websiteOfficial US company websiteDedicated UK fan websiteWenger Backpacks
{{Portal bar, Companies, Switzerland

watch brands A watch is a portable Clock, timepiece intended to be carried or worn by a person. It is designed to keep a consistent movement despite the motions caused by the person's activities. A wristwatch is designed to be worn around the wrist, atta ...

Knife manufacturing companies Multi-tool manufacturers Victorinox Watch brands Manufacturing companies established in 1893 Swiss companies established in 1893 2005 mergers and acquisitions Watch manufacturing companies of Switzerland Tool manufacturing companies of Switzerland