Wenger SA
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| Société anonyme | |
| Predecessor | Paul Boéchat & Cie Wenger & Co. S.A. |
| Founded | 1893 |
| Founder | Paul Boéchat |
| Headquarters | Delémont, Canton of Jura, Switzerland |
| Products | Swiss Army knives, cutlery, watches, travel gear |
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Number of employees
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150 |
| Parent | Victorinox AG |
| Website | wenger |
Wenger is one of two companies that have manufactured Swiss Army knives. Based in Delémont, Wenger was acquired by rival Victorinox in 2005. Since 2013, Wenger Swiss Army knives are integrated in the Victorinox collection (as the "Delémont collection"); the brand Wenger remains for watches and licensed products.
The history of Wenger S.A. is strongly linked to the history of the Swiss Army knife.
Founded 1893 at Courtetelle in the Delémont valley in the Canton of Jura, the industrial cutlery house of Paul Boechat & Cie (the future Wenger) 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 USA, 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 spoons and forks which he moved to a rented factory in Delémont.
In 1900, a new 18,000-square-foot (1,700 m2) facility was built. Both the utensil operations and the Courtetelle 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, 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. In 1988, Wenger started producing watches.
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 to maintain its own production and branding of Swiss army knives and watches. Wenger knives are advertised as the "Genuine Swiss Army Knife" and Victorinox as the "Original Swiss Army Knife".
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Wikipedia