Victorinox
Swiss maker of Swiss Army Knives, cutlery, watches and travel gear, based in Ibach since 1884.
Victorinox traces its origins to 1884, when Karl Elsener opened a cutler's workshop in Ibach, in the Swiss canton of Schwyz. In 1891 he and three fellow cutlers delivered the first Soldier's Knives to the Swiss Army, and in 1897 the "Original Swiss Officer's and Sports Knife" was patented, the knife now known as the Swiss Army Knife™.
The name joins Victoria, the first name of Elsener's mother, adopted as the brand name in 1909 together with the Cross & Shield emblem, and "Inox", for the stainless steel the company took up in 1921. The workshop became Victorinox AG in 1979. Since 2000, 90% of its share capital has been held by the Victorinox Foundation and the remaining 10% by the non-profit Carl and Elise Elsener-Gut Foundation, and the company is managed by a fourth-generation member of the Elsener family.
Alongside Swiss Army Knives and tools, Victorinox makes household and professional knives, watches and travel gear. It acquired the Swiss knife and watch maker Wenger in 2005 and integrated Wenger's knife business into the Victorinox brand in 2013. It produced its 500-millionth Original Swiss Army Knife™ in 2017, and the knife has been in the permanent design collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York since 1977.
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