DMLA
FULL MEMBER
- Joined
- Feb 13, 2010
- Messages
- 641
- Reaction score
- 0
India may hand Swiss Army Knife to its 1.3m troops - Times Online
Victorinox, the maker of the Swiss Army Knife, is returning to its roots by focusing on supplying knives to armies.
The company, which supplied the original knife to the Swiss Army in 1891, has produced a prototype, built according to specifications supplied by the Indian Army, that it hopes will lead to an order to supply the 1.3 million-strong force.
Constructed from matte-black steel, it contains 12 tools, many of which perform two or three functions. The Indian Army, which has to operate from the freezing peaks of the Himalayas to the deserts of Rajasthan, insisted on two: a saw to cut metal and a marlinspike, used to untangle knots.
The company, though, would rather you did not call it a knife. Knife is not really the correct term, Anish Goel, managing director of Victorinox India, a subsidiary of the Swiss parent company, said. Its not a bayonet or a dagger. Its a little toolkit.
has diversified in a quest to become a lifestyle brand. It started making wristwatches two decades ago. Luggage and clothing followed. Last year it unveiled an aftershave.
All the while, the privately held group had produced knives for military clients, from Germany to Nigeria, but the proportion of revenues accounted for by army sales had shrunk dramatically. The Swiss Army, for example, recruits 40,000 soldiers a year: each gets a knife, but that is enough to account for only half a days output at Victorinox.
The situation changed radically after 9/11. Victorinox was no longer able to sell its pocket knives at duty-free shops in airports or on aircraft, previously two of its most important earners. Nor were travellers allowed to carry them on flights. Overnight, sales slumped by a third. Wenger, the only other company licensed to produce Swiss Army Knives, went bankrupt and was bought by Victorinox. The credit crunch and cheap Far Eastern fakes delivered further blows.
A retail version of the real thing would cost about £60, but the Indian Army can expect a substantial bulk-order discount. Mr Goel is waiting for feedback and to learn whether he will win the contract of a lifetime.
The little toolkit
Victorinox makes at least 100 versions of the original do-anything tool
One recent model includes a USB drive and a Bluetooth connection, plus a fingerprint scanner that allows only the owner to access data
There is also a special equestrian version for getting the stones out of horses hooves
Last edited:
