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.

History

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

Company origins

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.

Wenger (disambiguation)

Wenger is one of two companies that have manufactured Swiss Army knives.

Wenger may also refer to:

People with the surname