years ago 1884 founder karl elsener and nicholas elsener headquarters ibach canton of schwyz switzerland area served worldwide key people carl elsener jr. president ceo & chairman products swiss army knives cutlery watches travel gear apparel fragrances revenue chf 510 million 2014 1 number of employees 1 850 2014 2 divisions victorinox swiss army watch sa biel bienne switzerland victorinox travel gear ag ibach schwyz switzerland victorinox sa apparel llc new york usa victorinox swiss army fragrance ag ibach schwyz switzerland victorinox india pvt. ltd. 3 website www.victorinox.com global en victorinox v k t ri n ks 4 is a knife manufacturer 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 all made of highest quality swedish steel from sandvik . since its acquisition of rival wenger in 2005 it has once more become the sole supplier of multi purpose knives to the swiss army . it is the biggest manufacturer of pocket knives in the world ; in addition they have a substantial line of watches apparel and travel gear . contents 1 history 5 2 products 2.1 swiss army knife 2.2 swisscard 2.3 cutlery 2.4 professional knives 2.5 bayonets 2.6 timepieces 2.7 other 3 gallery 4 see also 5 references 6 external links history 5 edit a victorinox swisschamp one of the most functional swiss army knives the company was founded in 1884 . since 1891 the company has delivered knives to the swiss army . their famous emblem a cross in a shield has been used by victorinox since 1909 . that year the mother of founder karl elsener died and he named the company victoria in her honour . in 1921 with the introduction of inox ab . for acier inoxydable the french term for stainless steel into their products the brand and name of the company became the present victorinox victoria inox . in 1972 the forschner butcher scale company of new britain connecticut became the exclusive victorinox distributor for the united states . in 1981 the company went public and charles elsener president of victorinox acquired a significant percentage of its shares . in 1983 it was renamed the forschner group inc. in the 1980s forschner registered the swiss army name as a trademark in usa . in 1992 precise imports corp. u.s. and canadian importer of wenger knives sued and forschner retained the rights to use the trademark on its compasses timepieces and sunglasses while precise could use it in marketing other non knife items . in the mid 1990s forschner changed its name to swiss army brands inc. sabi . in 2001 victorinox teamed up with sabi to create an international watch company victorinox swiss army watch ag . in august 2002 victorinox acquired all remaining shares of sabi to gain control of the swiss army trademark . previously sabi had sold the swiss army branded watch in north america and under the license the victorinox branded watch outside north america . but afterwards the combined victorinox swiss army brand has been marketed worldwide . on 26 april 2005 victorinox acquired wenger the other official supplier of the swiss army knife 6 announcing that it intended to keep both brands intact . on 30 january 2013 victorinox announced that the company will integrate wenger s knife business to strengthen its competitive position internationally . in 2006 the company had a workforce of 900 employees and produced about 34 000 swiss army knives 38 000 multi tools and 30 000 household kitchen and knives per workday . approximately 90 percent of its production is exported to more than 100 countries . in 2012 the manufacturing of a swiss army knife was featured on a season six episode of the ultimate factories aka megafactories television series . victorinox has claimed never to have had to lay off an employee . to avoid this they set aside profits during boom periods to supplement recessionary periods as well as temporarily contracting employees to other companies as outsourced labour during recessions . 7 victorinox has licensed the swiss army brand and shield logo to companies producing watches writing tools luggage and clothing . products edit swiss army knife edit main article swiss army knife victorinox officer s watch basic design victorinox huntsman swiss army knife with knife chain and belt clip . the swiss army knife is the best known product by victorinox . originally the sole supplier victorinox has shared the contract with wenger since 1908 . a compromise between the two companies gave victorinox the right to advertise as the original swiss army knife while wenger laid claim to the title of genuine swiss army knife . victorinox took over wenger in 2005 . 6 swiss army knives are widely used outside the army . they are multi functional tools and many sizes and functional combinations are produced . nasa astronauts have a victorinox knife as standard equipment . 8 victorinox knives have also been taken to mt. everest and the arctic . the champion victorinox s model flagship prior to the introduction of the swisschamp in 1986 is in the new york museum of modern art s permanent design collection . 9 swisscard edit the swisscard is roughly the size of a business card typically with a small pair of scissors a short non folding knife a small file with a screwdriver point a plastic toothpick tweezers a slim ballpoint pen and a straight pin housed in a hard plastic case of 82 54.5 x 4.5 mm in size with an inch ruler on one side and metric measurements on the other . victorinox produces three types of swisscards the classic the quattro and the lite model . all three models differ in regard to the amount of functions they provide ranging from 10 classic to 13 functions quattro and lite . 10 cutlery edit victorinox has long produced other kitchen cutlery under their own name and the forschner brand name . in 2011 victorinox stopped using the forschner name and produces the same knives with the victorinox name . professional knives edit bread knife and standard cooks knife one of the products that victorinox make is an extensive range of chef s knives . they have been manufacturing chef knives for many years and have made significant advancements in there design over the years . they have a remarkable design for their standard cook s knife they use a soft metal which may go blunt quicker but this allows easy and quick sharpening of the knife . they are also are made very thin allowing a better cut through many large food items and minimises food splitting before it is cut . they also have no ricasso the flat section of the blade located at the junction of the blade and the heal . currently they have been making more ergonomic style design knives thus changing the way the user handles the knife and for comfort minimizing stress on the body . they are also using ceramic material as a blade on a range of their knives . victorinox also allow for a choice of handles on their knives you can choose between a plastic or wooden handle . 11 bayonets edit victorinox also produces the bayonet 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 . timepieces edit in 1989 victorinox entered the timepiece business in the united states under the brand name swiss army . 12 victorinox has various collections of watches which range from luxury dress watches to rugged dive watches . they feature mechanical and quartz movements . collections include infantry divemaster airboss i.n.o.x. etc. the timepieces are produced in switzerland and are praised for their quality . by whom other edit swisstools are victorinox s multi tools i.e. a pair of pliers with other tools folded into the grips . victorinox has licensed its name to trg group to produce branded travel gear and business accessories . 13 a number of emissive energy corps products have been redesigned and rebranded as victorinox led flashlights . most are available with a knurled aluminium body similar to swiss army knives . gallery edit soldatenmesser 08 as issued by the military of switzerland . stgw 90 bayonet as issued by the military of switzerland victorinox swisstool multi tool . victorinox knife pouch . see also edit wenger leatherman gerber multitool references edit the 100 biggest employers in central switzerland neue luzerner zeitung 22 . october 2014 1 victorinox launches airport security friendly laptop bags . indian express . retrieved 9 january 2016 . victorinox ag youtube ingram frederick c. ; stansell christina m. 2015 . victorinox ag . reference for business . advameg inc. retrieved 10 december 2015 . a b cut down . the guardian . www.theguardian.com . 5 july 2005 . retrieved 10 august 2014 . bbc 2012 04 06 . revealed the swiss army knife . bbc news . retrieved 2012 04 08 . nasa . nasa confirm use of victorinox knives pdf . retrieved 2006 12 11 . moma . victorinox swiss officers knife champion no. 5012 pdf . retrieved 2010 06 20 . swisscard the swiss army knife flat as a creditcard euromentravel.com . euromentravel.com . retrieved 2016 01 22 . victorinox watches knifes and travel gear . 2016 08 26 . retrieved 2016 08 26 . victorinox history swissarmy.com victorinox corporate website trg group . trg group about us . retrieved 2012 02 09 . external links edit wikimedia commons has media related to victorinox . official website v t e knives and daggers list of daggers list of blade materials types of knives aircrew survival egress knife athame balisong butterfly ballistic ballpoint pen knife bayonet boline bolo boning boot knife bowie bread knife cane knife cheese knife chef s knife cleaver clip point combat knife commander corvo cqc 6 deba b ch diving knife drop point electric knife fairbairn sykes fighting knife gerber mark ii ginsu grapefruit knife gravity knife gunong hunting knife jacob s ladder karambit k la kirpan kitchen knife kukri laguiole knife machete mandau mezzaluna misericorde mora knife multi tool nakiri b ch navaja neck knife nontron knife opinel knife palette knife pantographic knife parang penknife penny knife pocket knife putty knife puukko rampuri resolza sabatier sami knife santoku sark scalpel seax sgian dubh sharpfinger shiv sliding knife smatchet sog knife straight razor strider smf survival knife swiss army knife switchblade taping knife throwing knife tomato knife trench knife tumi ulu utility knife warrior knife x acto yanagi ba yatagan types of daggers anelace applegate fairbairn fighting knife arkansas toothpick bc 41 bagh naka baselard bichuwa bollock dagger cinquedea dirk ear dagger emeici fac n french nail hachiwara hunting dagger janbiya kaiken kalis kard katar khanjali khanjar kris mark i trench knife ocean edge knife parrying dagger poignard push dagger rondel dagger seme shobo sica stiletto 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