Sparrow tents & repairs

Logo on a tent

Spatz Zelte & Repairen AG , until 2016 Spatz Camping & Outdoor AG , is a Swiss tent manufacturer.

history

Spatz Camping & Outdoor

The Spatz company was founded in 1935 by the tent pioneer Hans Behrmann (1912–1999) in Zurich. Behrmann had already sewn his first tent in 1931 as head of the tent assembly group of the scout train "Sparta". He and his colleagues called themselves »Sparta-Zelt-Fabrik«, or Spazefa for short, and even then they called the tents they made Spatz. With the stock of Spazefa, which he acquired for 200 francs, Behrmann founded his own tent manufacture. In 1941 he invented the double-roof tent with an inner and outer tent. The company developed into the most successful manufacturer of group tents in Switzerland.

In the 1980s, Behrmann began to issue shares to the workforce. This continued the business after Behrmann's death in 1999. In 2012 the company was advertised for sale and taken over by Marc Jansen. In 2014 the company was restructured, production and headquarters were relocated to Wallisellen and a shop was opened there. Due to insufficient sales at the new location, Spatz went bankrupt on January 21, 2016 .

Sparrow tents & repairs

After the bankruptcy, the newly founded Spatz Zelte & Repairs AG auctioned the Spatz-Manufaktur from the bankruptcy estate and thus ensured the continuation of the Spatz brand. In addition to private individuals, the “sailing clinic” in Wädenswil and “Transa Backpacking AG”, a Swiss provider of outdoor products, which is owned by the German Globetrotter Versicherung GmbH, are also involved. Cotton tents and accessories are made by former Spatz employees in Wädenswil. The Spatz repair service will also be retained.

Sparrow tents

A sparrow-twelve tent

Inside of a tent of eight

In Switzerland, Spatz is primarily known throughout the country for its large group tents, which are used by families, schools and youth organizations such as scouts . The traditional triangular tents are handcrafted from Behrmann's hand-drawn original plans using Swiss materials. The aluminum poles from Alu Menziken are ground into tent poles in the in-house workshop, while the cotton is woven in Niederurnen by Jenny Fabrics AG.

Spatz tents are characterized by a good indoor climate: in the morning no condensation drips from the tent roof, it doesn't get as hot as in synthetic tents and the air inside is better. The tents are considered Swiss workmanship like Swiss watches or the pocket knife .