A Cut Above
Victorinox Keep Its Edges Clean Using the Innovative SAFE-TAINER System

Victorinox has been manufacturing the famous knife in Ibach, Switzerland for over a century. Ask company owner Carl Elsener what the recipe for success is and he replies without hesitation: It is quite simple. We pay attention to every detail. At Europe's largest knife manufacturer, there are many details. Every day, 950 employees produce:

• 34,000 Swiss Army Knives in over a 100 different versions
• 43,000 pocket tools in over 300 variations
• 43,000 knives for household and trade use

Manufacturing the 33-function Swiss Champ, the most complex model, involves 450 separate processes. Each component must be cleaned to remove processing oils.

The company is the largest employer in the Swiss canton of Schwyz. Ninety percent of its production is exported around the world, giving Victorinox a dual role as mainstay of the local community and unofficial ambassador for Switzerland. With a high profile at home and abroad, the company has a strong commitment to the environment and consistently pursues technical innovation to ensure the continuing quality and appeal of its products.

In selecting a component cleaning process that would protect the environment and meet the company's high quality standards, Victorinox decided to use chlorinated solvents in closed cleaning machines. The company was among the first in Switzerland to adopt the SAFE-TAINER™ system, which combines the delivery of fresh chlorinated solvents with the professional management and disposal of spent solvent.

The first closed cleaning unit was installed in late 1994 followed by the first delivery of chlorinated solvent by SAFE-TAINER in July 1995. An evaluation process determined that two of the four cleaning stages could be performed best by an aqueous system, with the other two stages using chlorinated solvents, long since proven the most efficient industrial cleaning agents. Victorinox specified NEU-TRI™ E solvent, a highly stabilised grade of trichloroethylene from Dow. Within a year, a second plant was also running the chlorinated solvent cleaning system. Today, every tool on the Swiss Army Knife is cleaned using this process.

In pursuing its commitment to the environment, Victorinox has installed a plant to recycle 600 tonnes of oil sludge produced annually as a by-product of the grinding process. The company has also virtually eliminated the use of heating oil by using a heat recovery plant to heat the factory, as well as 100 nearby apartments.

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