Wenger

The industrial cutlery house of Paul Boéchat & Cie was founded in 1893 at Courtételle in the Delémont valley in the Canton of Jura. It 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 US, joined the company and it was renamed Wenger et Cie. In 1908, the Swiss Army decided to split the contract, with half going to Victorinox and half to Wenger. In 1988, Wenger started producing watches. After the September 11 attacks, changing airport security regulations diminished sales of Swiss Army knives at duty-free shops. The crisis led to acquisition of Wenger by competitor Victorinox in 2005. In 2013, Wenger and Victorinox announced that the separate knife brands would be merged into the Victorinox brand, while Wenger's watch and licensing business continues as a separate brand. In 2016, Victorinox relaunched the Wenger brand with new marketing, changing the slogan to 'A Swiss Company Since 1893'.