Ninety per cent are for export to over 100 different countries and serve as ambassadors for Switzerland.

Carl Elsener, the company founder, wanted to create work in sparsely industrialized central Switzerland and counter the emigration spawned by unemployment. To go from hand-crafting to industrial production was at the time adventurous and required enormous determination. Today, this family business in Schwyz provides 950 jobs.

After the soldier's knife, which every recruit receives upon entering the army, Carl Elsener developed a new, elegant and light weight pocket knife, with six practical tools. He called this new model the "Officers and Sports Knife".

After an unparalleled success story around the world, the VICTORINOX "Swiss Army Knife" is even orbiting the earth as part of the standard equipment of the Space Shuttle Crew. The knife has also been successfully proven on expeditions: in the arctic ice of the North Pole; on the highest peak on earth, Mount Everest; in the tropical rain forests of the Amazon, and elsewhere. Time and again, it has been a life saver in situations of extreme danger and great need. The New York Museum of Modern Art and the State Museum for Applied Art in Munich have selected it for their collection of excellence in design, and, since Lyndon B. Johnson, US presidents present guests with VICTORINOX pocket knives.

Today, the "Officers' Knife" is available in over 100 different models. Each knife must undergo seamless quality controls before being released for sale.

ON THE WEB:
History on View
The Original Swiss Army Knife: 100 years of history
(URL: www.swissarmy.com/)
VICTORINOX
Official Web site of the Swiss Army Knife.
(URL: www.victorinox.com)
A Cut Above
Victorinox Keep Its Edges Clean Using the Innovative SAFE-TAINER System Story from Dow about Victorinox uses of its products.
(URL: www.dow.com/safechem/case/victorin.htm)
Swiss Army Histroy
Fom 1884 company founded through the world-wide operation of today.
(URL: www.victorinox.com/newsite/en/portrait/index.htm?facts/inhalt1.htm&facts/prodzahlen1.htm)

WHERE TO FIND:
Swiss Champ Pocket Knife
by Victorinox / ASIN: B00004YVAD / Less than $70.00
From the renowned company that created the Swiss Army knife a century ago comes this complete set of tools for campers, hikers, hunters, fishers, and working people of all trades--all neatly contained in a single implement that measures just 3-1/2 inches long.

DID YOU KNOW?:

• The largest model is the "SwissChamp" with 33 features. Over 450 steps are required in its manufacture.
• Over 34,000 of these pocket tools with the distinctive Swiss cross leave the factory in central Switzerland each day.
• Today, Carl Elsener III (the grandson of the founder) holds the reins and the small Victorinox cutlery became a large firm.
• In 1897, Swiss cutlery maker Carl Elsener patented his penknife, later to become known as the Swiss army knife.