Wenger

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This article is about the Swiss Army knife manufacturer. For the Arsenal F.C.
former manager, see Ars�ne Wenger. For other uses, see Wenger (disambiguation).
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Wenger SA
Wenger Logo URL.jpg
Type
Soci�t� anonyme
Predecessor Paul Bo�chat & Cie
Wenger & Co. S.A.
Founded 1893; 126 years ago
Founder Paul Bo�chat
Headquarters Del�mont, Canton of Jura, Switzerland
Products Swiss Army knives, cutlery, watches, travel gear
Number of employees
150
Parent Victorinox AG
Website www.wenger.ch

A Wenger Swiss Army knife

Wenger is one of two companies that have manufactured Swiss Army knives. Based in
Del�mont, Wenger was acquired by rival Victorinox in 2005.[1] Since 2013, Wenger
Swiss Army knives are integrated in the Victorinox collection (as the "Del�mont
collection"); the brand Wenger remains for watches and licensed products.[2]

Contents
1 History
1.1 Company origins
1.2 Crisis and restart
1.3 Rebranding after acquisition
1.4 Product lines merging
1.5 Recent developments
2 Products
2.1 Genuine Swiss Army Knife
2.1.1 Special editions
2.2 Wenger Watches
3 Other products
4 Gallery
5 See also
6 References
7 External links
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 Del�mont 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.[3] 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[3] (later renaming
the company Wenger et Cie.).[4] One of Wenger's first acts was to acquire a
manufacturer of spoons and forks which he moved to a rented factory in Del�mont.

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.[3] 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.[5] In 1929, after Theo Wenger's death, Kaspar
Oertli gained majority share in the company.

In 1988, Wenger started producing watches, one year before Victorinox.[6]

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.[7] 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".

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,[8] Wenger started to cooperate with individuals such
as Ueli Steck and Mike Horn acting as their brand ambassadors providing each of
them with a suited multi-functional tool adapted to their specific challenges.[9]
Additionally Wenger cooperated with Alinghi providing the sailors with a suited
multifunctional tool.[10] Most recently Wenger supports the Patagonia Expedition
Race.[11]

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 Del�mont 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. Wenger's watch and licensing business will continue as a
separate brand.[12]

Recent developments
On March, 2016, during the Baselworld 2016 expo, Victorinox relaunches Wenger as a
brand with Swiss values at a reasonable price. After this event, Wenger started
using the slogan "A Swiss Company Since 1893" leaving behind the previous slogan
"Maker of the genuine Swiss Army Knife" which was used for decades.[13]

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 Del�mont, 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.[14]

Genuine Swiss Army Knife

Most of the traditional products produced by Wenger are Pocket Knives with a body
size of about 3" to 5" and blades of about 2" to 4" accompanied with a varying set
of additional functional features like can openers etc. in a red or black colored
case.[15]

Special editions

The Giant
The Giant

The Swiss Army knife is famous for integrating different tools into one knife.
Wenger integrated all of these 87 tools performing 141 functions into one knife and
called it The Giant. Integrating 87 functions, The Giant made it into the book
Guinness World Records.[16]

Heritage

Based on the original plans of the Swiss Army knife of 1908 Wenger introduced the
limited edition line called Heritage.[17]

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.[18]
For the Swiss Americas Cup participant Alinghi Wenger developed an easy to use
knife for sailors.[19] As the main sponsor of the Wenger Patagonia Expedition Race,
Wenger created a knife suited to the challenges the participants of the race have
to face.[20] For the adventurer Mike Horn Wenger released a knife in 2009.[21]

Wenger Watches
Wenger Watches are made in Switzerland. The company's head office is located in
Del�mont 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.[22]

Other products
Furthermore, Wenger also creates wallet type notepads. These are in the shape of a
wallet and can function as a wallet, but may most appropriately be used as a
miniature notepad because it has a small writing pad on the inside of the wallet
(which is a twofold).

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

Ranger 73
RangerGrip 75

Stgw 90 bayonet

See also
Leatherman
Gerber multitool
Multi-tool
References
"LUXURY WATCHES NEWS : Victorinox acquires rival Wenger", Europa Star
WorldWatchWeb, 4 May 2005.
(in French) "Victorinox absorbe les activit�s de coutellerie de Wenger", Le Temps,
mercredi 30 janvier 2013.
"Company history".
"Company history".
Company history, Wenger
Company history extended, Wenger
Victorinox takes over Wenger, Wenger
"Re-branding press release" (PDF).
"Brand ambassadors".
"Cooperation with Alinghi".
"Cooperation with Patagonia Expedition Race".
"Victorinox joins forces and integrates Wenger knife business" (PDF).
"Victorinox relaunches the Wenger brand - Press release". web.archive.org.
Retrieved 25 April 2018.
"Wenger cutlery".
"Wenger Swiss Army Knives".
"Industry News - Wenger Giant Swiss Army Knife Becomes Musical Hit - Outdoor
Industry Association". 6 April 2012.
"SOSAK Online has moved to SwissArmyKnights.com". www.sosakonline.com.
"Brand Ambassador Ueli Steck".
"Alinghi cooperation".
"Patagonia Expedition Race cooperation".
"Brand Ambassador Mike Horn".
"Wenger International - Wenger Homepage". Wenger.