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Bru-Bu: Difference between revisions
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The production was boosted, and business developed pleasantly. A new factory building was realized by 1896. Corresponding to another demand, a department producing walking sticks was added in 1900. The pipes from Kleinlützel were well appreciated and received many awards, e.g., a gold medal for outstanding craftsmanship at the National Swiss Fair in Bern in 1914. | The production was boosted, and business developed pleasantly. A new factory building was realized by 1896. Corresponding to another demand, a department producing walking sticks was added in 1900. The pipes from Kleinlützel were well appreciated and received many awards, e.g., a gold medal for outstanding craftsmanship at the National Swiss Fair in Bern in 1914. | ||
The business developed so well after the turn of the century, that even a lack of workers in Kleinlützel | The business developed so well after the turn of the century, that even a lack of workers in Kleinlützel occurred. The problem was solved by founding a subsidiary company in the small nearby town Laufen an der Birs in the Canton of Bern. This plant didn't exist too long. The disastrous economical crisis in the 1920's and early 1930's forced the Brunner family to restrict the fabrication of pipes dramatically. In addition the big French pipe factories in Saint-Claude - although suffering from the same circumstances - flooded the Swiss market with pipes at prices that couldn't be matched by Swiss producers. By 1931 ca. 150 of 180 Brunner employees had been sacked - the rest remained in Kleinlützel, where the cheap electric energy ensured a meager survival. | ||
In 1932 | In 1932, one Mr. '''Buhofer''' joined the Brunner family. The company was named Brunner-Buhofer-Kompagnie, and, shortly thereafter, Bru-Bu. Buhofer had made his fortune in the United States but, homesick, returned to Switzerland to search for a new challenge. | ||
[[Image:Wilshire1.jpg|left|thumb|Wilshire - Bru-Bu made, ca. 1950's]] | [[Image:Wilshire1.jpg|left|thumb|Wilshire - Bru-Bu made, ca. 1950's]] | ||
Bru-Bu's fabrication program was expanded with many handcrafted wooden art articles | Bru-Bu's fabrication program was expanded with many handcrafted wooden art articles: carved family coats of arms, bread plates, fruit scarves, and - more and more - souvenir articles for the expanding Swiss tourism industry. Pipes remained in the program continuously, but the offerings changed from traditional Swiss pipes to the more "European standard" shapes. | ||
At some point in the late 1970's Bru-Bu went out of business. Some of the Brunners, as far as known, continued as timber traders. But in 1986 new life filled the old Bru-Bu pipe workshop, when the gang of '''Dr. Horst Wiethüchter''' and '''"Former" Nielsen''' started to produce the high-grade '''[[Bentley]]''' pipes there. (The article on Bentley is coming soon.) | At some point in the late 1970's, Bru-Bu went out of business. Some of the Brunners, as far as known, continued as timber traders. But in 1986 new life filled the old Bru-Bu pipe workshop, when the gang of '''Dr. Horst Wiethüchter''' and '''"Former" Nielsen''' started to produce the high-grade '''[[Bentley]]''' pipes there. (The article on Bentley is coming soon.) | ||
Following Josef Brunner, '''Moritz Tschan''' in 1892 established a second pipe factory in Kleinlützel. | Following Josef Brunner, '''Moritz Tschan''' in 1892 established a second pipe factory in Kleinlützel. With this, the small area in the Canton of Solothurn became the center of the Swiss pipe manufacturing - called "the Saint-Claude of Switzerland". | ||
[[Category: Pipe makers by nationality]][[Category: Switzerland]] | [[Category: Pipe makers by nationality]][[Category: Switzerland]] | ||