Wilkinson Sword

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Modern Wilkinson razor Quattro Titanium Energy
Razor blades, with and without packaging
German headquarters in Solingen

Wilkinson Sword is a British manufacturer of razor blades , cutlery and garden tools. He has belonged to the US company Edgewell Personal Care since 2015 .

The company was founded by Henry Nock in 1772 . The German headquarters are in Solingen , a plant with around 500 employees (as of 2016). Another plant is located in Teplice in the Czech Republic .

Company history

The founder, Henry Nock, trained as a pistol maker in Birmingham and was an innovative inventor. After settling in London , he worked as a manufacturer of firearms for the military and sports .

In 1804 Nock was appointed gunsmith Georges III. the beginning of the business relationship between Wilkinson Sword and the English royal family , which continues to this day. After Nock's death that same year, his son-in-law and former apprentice James Wilkinson took over the business. The company grew under Wilkinson's son Henry and, after moving within London, expanded the range, which until then had included bayonets and firearms, to include swords . In 1877 the company moved again, this time to larger premises in Chelsea . In 1879 a company was founded under the name The Wilkinson Sword Co Ltd.

From the 1890s onwards, the company continuously expanded its range, and by the turn of the century it had grown to over 5000 products - from bayonets and typewriters to razor blades and the safety razors introduced in 1898 . Later came bicycles , motorcycles and cars added. While armaments made up the main part of production in the First World War , Wilkinson Sword continued the production of the razors, which had been suspended during the war, and also added garden tools to its range. During the Second World War , the focus of production shifted back to essential war goods such as anti-aircraft guns and bulletproof vests. Metal shortages have delayed the return to razor manufacturing.

The turning point for the company came in 1956 when it launched the first double-edged stainless steel razor blade. This and the Teflon-coated Super Sword Edge 1961 proved to be a breakthrough in the market, and the market share grew from two percent in 1961 to fifty percent in 1970. During this time, Wilkinson Sword also took over the long-established Solingen company Osberghaus, which had around 200 employees was one of the largest blade manufacturers in town, and is now one of the largest employers in the center of the German cutlery industry. In 1971 Wilkinson brought out the world's first system razor, Bonded . In 1992, the Protector, the first razor with blades protected by wires, came out. Since then, Wilkinson and Gillette have been in fierce competition for market share, and both equip the devices with ever more blades, moisture strips and more sophisticated mechanics.

Over the years, Wilkinson Sword has been bought and sold several times. In the twentieth century, the company merged with the company of the inventor of the electric razor - the American Jacob Schick - to form Schick-Wilkinson Sword. This company was later bought by the pharmaceutical company Warner-Lambert and was transferred to the pharmaceutical company Pfizer Inc. in 2000 when they merged . Pfizer in turn sold Schick-Wilkinson Sword to Energizer Holdings, Inc. (known from the battery manufacturer Energizer ) in early 2003 .

In addition to the well-known area of ​​shaving accessories, Wilkinson Sword also manufactures shaving care, manicure and pedicure products and was active in the eponymous segment, the manufacture of swords, until September 2005.

Schick-Wilkinson Sword razors are sold under the Schick brand in the North American, Australian, Asian and South African markets and under the Wilkinson Sword brand in other markets .

Vehicle production

Automobiles

The company manufactured the 24 HP model between 1903 and 1904 . This was a licensed production of the model 24/30 CV of De Cosmo . The four-cylinder engine was mounted in the front of the vehicle and powered the rear axle via a cardan shaft . The transmission had three gears.

After a break of several years, the next model, the 7 HP , did not appear until 1912 . The water-cooled four - cylinder engine of this small car came from the Wilkinson motorcycle and had a displacement of 848 cm³ . Only a few copies were made until 1913. Deemster took this model as the basis for its own automobile production.

motorcycles

Wilkinson motorcycle from 1910

Between 1903 and 1916 the company also manufactured motorcycles with one , two and four-cylinder engines.

literature

  • GN Georgano : cars. Encyclopédie complète. 1885 à nos jours. Courtille, Paris 1975. (French)
  • S. Ewald: Encyclopedia of the motorcycle. Bechtermünz Verlag, Augsburg 1999, ISBN 3-8289-5364-6 .

Web links

Commons : Wilkinson Sword  - collection of images, videos and audio files

supporting documents

  1. ↑ Wilkinson cuts 114 jobs In: RP Online, February 18, 2016.
  2. ↑ Ingeborg Haase: Duel with razor blades. In: Die Zeit , February 26, 1965.