Puma (knife manufacturer)
| PUMA GmbH IP Solingen | |
|---|---|
| legal form | GmbH |
| founding | 1769 |
| Seat | Solingen , Germany |
| management | Heinrich-Ernst Hiepass-Aryus, managing director |
| Branch | Cutlery |
| Website | www.pumaknives.de |
The Puma GmbH IP Solingen is a global German manufacturer of hunting , sports and work knives , based in Solingen .
Puma has been manufacturing knives for various areas of activity since the entry of the trademark into the Solingen knife maker role in 1769 .
Originally, the Puma factory in Solingen was a manufactory in which hair scissors and razors were made, but pocket knives , stilettos , sabers and hunting knives have only been made since 1876 . Today, the Puma company relies on a combination of industrial production technology using computer-controlled processing machines as well as traditional reidening and pleating by hand. Since 2003 Puma has had knives manufactured by international partners abroad under the brand name Puma IP (International Production) and Puma Tec (from 2008). The PUMA SGB and PUMA XP product series have also been offered since 2019. These emerged from the collaboration with a partner company in the USA.
history
Although Puma can look back on a long tradition and also advertises with it, it is no longer possible to speak of a continuous history in family hands. The company recorded several relocations of production facilities and changes of ownership in the 1990s.
Puma's reputation is based on innovative designs from the 1950s. Special knife shapes were not only developed in-house, but with the help of experts in other areas. For example, a number of knife shapes can be traced back to the then head of the Baden Forestry Office, Oberforstmeister Walter Frevert . From this collaboration z. B. the "universal hunting knife", the "woad knife" and the "woad cutlery", consisting of the woad leaf with a 22 cm long, broadly shaped and top-heavy blade and the narrower and significantly smaller Nicker . Cooperation with external consultants and designers set Puma apart from its competitors and was only taken up by other cutlery manufacturers much later.
In addition to the hunting knives already mentioned, the Puma "White Hunter" and the "German Expedition Knife" should be mentioned in particular. According to the manufacturer, the former was developed for the East African Hunting Organization and was also advertised in slightly modified versions as a car knife (universal knife in the car) and boat or diving knife. The German Air Force introduced a version of the White Hunter as a pilot and survival knife .
timeline
- 1769: Johann Wilhelm Lauterjung enters his trademark in the role of knife maker for the city of Solingen. In a Kotten on the Wupper, blades are ground on water-driven grinding wheels.
- 1855: Nathanael Lauterjung (1815–1865), great-grandson of the founder, moves the production company to Solingen.
- 1876: In addition to the existing factory, Ernst Otto Lauterjung (1855–1931) opens a factory in which pocket knives, stilettos, sabers and hunting hunters are made. First catalogs are created.
- 1900: Several Lauterjung production sites are combined to form the “Puma factory, Lauterjung and Son” and entered in the commercial register
- 1920: Puma opens another plant in Solingen
- 1936–1945: Puma manufactures bayonets , officer 's daggers , Hitler Youth travel knives and combat knives in war production . As early as 1946, a civilian product range was offered again
- 1953: Oswald von Frankenberg and Ludwigsdorf (1915–1986), husband of Renate Lauterjung, joins the company. As a result, he switched the production to hunting, fishing, sports and leisure knives.
- 1956: According to the manufacturer, the "White Hunter" is developed for the East African hunting organization
- 1964: Introduction of the PUMA number system. Each model receives its own test number with the year of manufacture, including a guarantee booklet.
- 1967: Renate von Frankenberg takes over the management
- 1986: Oswald von Frankenberg and Ludwigsdorf dies.
- 1991: The Puma plant is sold to the Hindrichs family in Solingen
- 1994: Relocation of the production facility and demolition of the previous plant
- 1998: Sale to businessman H. Hiepass-Aryus and another move
- 2003: Puma IP (International Production): Knife production by foreign partner companies
- 2008: Puma Tec : low-priced product line made abroad