Company type | Aktiengesellschaft |
---|---|
Industry | Sewing and embroidery systems |
Founded | 1893 |
Founder | Fritz Gegauf |
Headquarters | Steckborn, Switzerland |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Hanspeter Ueltschi (Owner and Chairman of the Board of Directors) [1] Claude Dreyer (CEO) |
Products | Bernina sewing machines Textile machines Software |
Brands | Bernette |
Revenue | CHF 244million (Consolidated net turnover in 2020) [2] |
Number of employees | 1200(Annual average for 2020, of which approx. 270 in Steckborn) |
Website | www |
Bernina International AG is a privately owned international manufacturer of sewing and embroidery systems. The company was founded in Steckborn, Switzerland, by a Swiss inventor Fritz Gegauf. The company develops, manufactures, and sells goods and services for the textile market, primarily household sewing-related products in the fields of embroidery, quilting, home textiles, garment sewing, and crafting. [3] The origins of the company lie in the invention of the hemstitch sewing machine, invented in 1893 by a Swiss inventor and entrepreneur Karl Friedrich Gegauf. Currently, the company's products include sewing machines, embroidery machines, serger/overlocker machines, and computer software for embroidery design.
The present-day Bernina International AG was founded by Karl Friedrich Gegauf in 1893, when he decided to pursue an apprenticeship as a mechanic instead of studying medicine. After completing his apprenticeship, he worked in the Baum embroidery machine factory in Rorschach. In 1890, Karl Friedrich Gegauf set up his own business in Steckborn, Switzerland, opening an embroidery and mechanical workshop for the manufacture of his own invention, a monogram embroidery machine. Together with his brother Georg, a salesman, Karl Friedrich ran the Gebrüder Gegauf (Bros. Gegauf) company. Through his involvement in the textile industry, he noticed how laborious it was to produce hemstitching, which until then could only be done manually. Consequently, in 1893, Karl Friedrich Gegauf invented the world's first hemstitch sewing machine, capable of sewing 100 stitches per minute. [4] In 1895, the Bros. Gegauf workshop was completely destroyed by fire, except for the prototype of the hemstitch sewing machine, which was the only thing that could be rescued. Karl Friedrich built a new workshop in an old barn, where the focus was no longer on embroidery, but on the construction of the hemstitch sewing machine. About 70 people were employed in the serial production of the hemstitch sewing machine. The mechanical production of hemstitching, whether as embellishment for handkerchiefs, tablecloths, or bedspreads, was commonly referred to as "gegaufing", because the name Gegauf became famous in the industry. [5]
In 1919, Fritz Gegauf, one of Karl's sons, together with his father, filed a patent application for the "Wotan" hemstitch sewing machine, which became another international success for the company, which changed its name to "Fritz Gegauf". After being in Paris selling the company's tin openers, which had no market in Switzerland, he returned to his home town. His brother Gustav and he took control of the factory after their father's death in 1926. [6] During the Great Depression, Fritz Gegauf joined forces with the embroidery factory, Brütsch & Sohn in St. Gallen, which was also operating in the red. By the end of 1932, they had developed the company's first household sewing machine, which they named Bernina. The Bernina was soon being produced as furniture-cum-sewing-machine, which required the building of a new, attached furniture factory in Steckborn. As of October 26, 1937, a total of 20,000 machines had left the factory in Steckborn. In 1937, he introduced the first Bernina zigzag machine and in 1945 the world's first portable zigzag machine with a free arm on the market. In 1947, Gustav Gegauf left the company. By mid-1963, one million Bernina zigzag sewing machines had been manufactured in Steckborn. Since then, the company has commonly been called Bernina, although, since 1947, its official name has been "Fritz Gegauf Aktiengesellschaft, Bernina Nähmaschinenfabrik".
Since 1959, Odette Ueltschi, Fritz Gegauf's daughter, took the lead role at Bernina. [7] She took over the management after the death of her brother in 1965. In 1963, the first Bernina sewing machine with a patented knee-activated presser foot lifter, the 730, appeared on the market. From 1963 onwards, the subsequent model, the 730, was produced, and in the same year, the millionth Bernina sewing machine was manufactured. The top-seller of all the models was the 830 class, which came into production in 1971 and continued until 1981. In 1981, the company took a further step in the development of household sewing machines. The 930 model was the first machine with a stretch-stitch function. It was followed by the 1130, the first fully automated sewing machine, launched in 1986. The enduring mark which Odette Gegauf-Ueltschi left on the company is reflected in the name of the bernette sewing machine line, formed by a combination of the first half of the brand name and the second half of her given name. [8]
Hanspeter Ueltschi took over the management of Fritz Gegauf AG in 1988 from his mother Odette Gegauf-Ueltschi, and currently runs the company as owner and chairman of the board of directors. After studying business administration at the University of St. Gallen, Ueltschi spent seven years gaining professional experience in the USA before getting into the leadership of the family company in Switzerland. Ueltschi further expanded the leading position of the company in the sewing machine technology sector, brought down manufacturing costs, and promoted product innovations and marketing. He ushered the computer age into the business with the artista 180, Bernina's first sewing computer, and ensured the continuous development and optimization of computer technology in the sewing sphere, as shown by the successive models of the artista, as well as the aurora series. In doing so, he made strides toward his declared goal of making sewing more appealing and more popular worldwide. In 1990, the company set up a production facility in Thailand in addition to the main factory in Steckborn. Bernina Thailand is owned by Bernina International and is managed locally by a Swiss management team. Ueltschi is also largely responsible for establishing the US as a key market and expansion to the new markets in Eastern Europe, Russia, South America, and India, as well as in the Middle East. He renamed "Fritz Gegauf AG" to "Bernina International AG" to accommodate the trend toward globalization and the success of the company brand. Under the leadership of CEO Claude Dreyer (2008 to 2020), Bernina diversified into longarm quilting machines, multi-needle embroidery machines (Melco), and launched several sewing machine series with the new Bernina hook system. In 2020, the L 850 and L 890, two overlockers with an air threader developed at the Swiss headquarters, were launched. Since 2021, the company has been under the operational management of CEO Kai Hillebrandt, while Hanspeter Ueltschi is Chairman of the Board of Directors. His children Katharina and Philipp Ueltschi have joined the Executive Board.
The Bernina Textile Group is a globally active group of 15 companies doing business in 80 countries. The company operates in the product categories such as household sewing and embroidery machines, household overlocker machines, longarm quilting machines, multineedle embroidery machines, accessories (presser foot, embroidery hoops and other accessories for sewing, quilting and overlocking), and computer software for embroidery design.
Subsidiaries are established in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Switzerland, and the USA. The subsidiary Benartex, headquartered in the United States, [9] sells printed textiles and quilting fabrics in particular. OESD, another subsidiary, develops and sells embroidery designs. Brewer, engaging in the sewing supplies market, offers sewing and crafting notions, patterns, books etc. The Bernina Textile Group's turnover has grown since 2016, from CHF 185 million to CHF 244 million.
The latest model, B 880, is the company's current flagship model, while the 7 series models are Bernina's most advanced products, equipped with the Bernina hook system for 9 mm stitch width at up to 1,000 stitches per minute.[ citation needed ]
Year | 1932 | 1938 | 1945 | 1954 | 1963 | 1971 | 1982 | 1986 | 1989 | 1993 | 1998 | 2001 | 2002 | 2004 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2014 | 2018 | 2020 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Models | Model 105 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Model 117 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Model 125 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Model 530 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Model 730 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Model 830 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Model 930 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Model 1130 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Model 1230/1260 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Model 1630 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
artista 180 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
activa 145 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
artista 200 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
QE | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Artista 640 Aurora 440 QE Artista 730 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bernina 8 Series | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bernina 5 Series | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bernina 7 Series | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bernina longarm quilting machines | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bernina 4 Series | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bernina L 8 Series overlocker |
Construction | Series | Note | Image |
1932–1945 | Model 105 | First household sewing machine bearing the Bernina brand name Manual sewing machine manufactured by Fritz Gegauf | |
1938–1945 | Model 117 | First BERNINA zigzag sewing machine. | |
1945–1963 | Model 125 | First electric Bernina free-arm zigzag sewing machine | |
1954–1963 | Model 530 | First Bernina with patented snap-on presser foot and semi-automatic buttonhole-sewing function | |
1963–1982 | Model 730 | The 730 model, with patented knee-activated presser-foot lifter | |
1971–1982 | Model 830 | First Bernina with electronic foot control—the top-of-the-range model for 11 years | |
1982–1989 | Model 930 | First Bernina with stretch-stitch function and an especially powerful motor | |
1986–1989 | Model 1130 | First computerized Bernina with fully automatic one-step buttonholes and stitch memory | |
1989–1998 | Model 1230 | Model with expanded memory capacity and fully automatic one-step buttonholes, including eyelet buttonholes | |
1993–1998 | Model 1630 | Top model: 9mm stitch width, over 400 stitch patterns, monograms, five alphabets, sewing in 16 directions possible | |
1998–2002 | Artista 165,180 | Top model with Customized Pattern Selection software for customer-specific settings, optional embroidery module, conversion of scanned templates to embroidery designs | |
1999 [10] –2020 [11] | Model 1008 | Basic Electro-mechanical model. Not computer controlled. Metal body. | |
2001–2002 | Activa 145 | Simple compact sewing machine: Computerized; individually adjustable memory for stitch patterns, buttonhole repeat, stitch library, patchwork presser foot | |
2002–2006 | Artista 200 | World's first sewing and embroidery computer: Microsoft Windows operating system, CD-ROM drive, LCD display, more than 850 stitches, programmable function key, memory function for stitch combinations and embroidery designs | |
2004–2006 | 440QE | World's first sewing computer with Bernina Stitch Regulator system for consistent stitch lengths at variable sewing speeds, especially for quilters [12] | |
2004 | Artista 640 | Advanced sewing computer: Extensive utility and decorative stitch programs, optional embroidery module with built-in embroidery software and optional BSR system | |
2006 | Artista 730 | High-end sewing and embroidery system: Utility and decorative stitches, embroidery designs, many automatic settings such as thread cutter, touchscreen, BSR system, CFL light. Optional embroidery module | |
2008 | Model B830 | World's biggest and fastest sewing and embroidery system for home users: 1100 sewing stitches/min, 1000 embroidery stitches/min, extra-large bobbin (40% more capacity than before), fully automatic needle threader, 360° multidirectional sewing, 7-inch TFT screen, especially bright working area (30 LED lamps), more than 1000 stitch patterns, 150 pre-installed embroidery motifs by international designers | |
2009 | Model B820 | Similar to the B830, but without embroidery functionality (not upgradable) or sideways feed (multidirectional sewing), and with a smaller screen and fewer stitch patterns | |
2011 | Model 580 | Sewing and embroidery machine, top model of the Bernina 5 series: 227 stitches, of which 186 decorative stitches, optional embroidery module, large TFT touch screen, memory function, embroidery function integrated and 100 embroidery motifs | |
2012 | Model 780 | Sewing and embroidery machine with Bernina dual transport, Bernina 9 gripper, large embroidery module, BSR, 1306 stitches, 130 integrated embroidery patterns, including sewing consultant and tutorial, top model of the Bernina-7 series | |
2014 | Model Q 24 | First Bernina long-arm quilting machine with 24-inch free arm, stitch regulation via integrated BSR sensors, 2.200 stitches per minute, designed for use on a quilt frame of 3,55x1,2 m (length x width), installation at the parent plant in Steckborn, until now, Bernina has only been producing household sewing machines with the Q 24 model and the smaller Q 20 to a new, semiprofessional customer segment, the so-called prosumer. For the long-arm quilting machines, a new assembly line was set up in the Steckborn headquarters. | |
2015 | Model 790 | Further development of the B 780 with new gripper (in the sister model B 720 for the first time also available with 5.5mm stitch width), adaptive thread tension, embroidery module, embroidery designer and BERNINA stitch regulator. [13] | |
2018 | Series 4 | Bernina launches the 4 Series. The compact sewing machine models are equipped with the Bernina hook. | |
2020 | L 850 and L 890 | With the Bernina L 850 and L 890, Bernina launches two overlockers with air threader, completely developed in Switzerland. The most important feature is the Bernina One-Step air threader: with a brief press of the foot pedal, the thread is guided through the machine by air, and the looper automatically moves to the correct position. | |
Bernina developed embroidery design editing and full digitizing software branded under its own name and written by industrial digitizing software manufacturer Wilcom International Pty Ltd. [14]
Singer Corporation is an American manufacturer of consumer sewing machines, first established as I. M. Singer & Co. in 1851 by Isaac M. Singer with New York lawyer Edward C. Clark. Best known for its sewing machines, it was renamed Singer Manufacturing Company in 1865, then the Singer Company in 1963. It is based in La Vergne, Tennessee, near Nashville. Its first large factory for mass production was built in 1863 in Elizabeth, New Jersey.
A sewing machine is a machine used to sew fabric and materials together with thread. Sewing machines were invented during the first Industrial Revolution to decrease the amount of manual sewing work performed in clothing companies. Since the invention of the first sewing machine, generally considered to have been the work of Englishman Thomas Saint in 1790, the sewing machine has greatly improved the efficiency and productivity of the clothing industry.
Sewing is the craft of fastening or attaching objects using stitches made with a sewing needle and thread. Sewing is one of the oldest of the textile arts, arising in the Paleolithic era. Before the invention of spinning yarn or weaving fabric, archaeologists believe Stone Age people across Europe and Asia sewed fur and leather clothing using bone, antler or ivory sewing-needles and "thread" made of various animal body parts including sinew, catgut, and veins.
A lockstitch is the most common mechanical stitch made by a sewing machine. The term "single needle stitching", often found on dress shirt labels, refers to lockstitch.
Machine embroidery is an embroidery process whereby a sewing machine or embroidery machine is used to create patterns on textiles. It is used commercially in product branding, corporate advertising, and uniform adornment. It is also used in the fashion industry to decorate garments and apparel. Machine embroidery is used by hobbyists and crafters to decorate gifts, clothing, and home decor. Examples include designs on quilts, pillows, and wall hangings.
An overlock is a kind of stitch that sews over the edge of one or two pieces of cloth for edging, hemming, or seaming. Usually an overlock sewing machine will cut the edges of the cloth as they are fed through, though some are made without cutters. The inclusion of automated cutters allows overlock machines to create finished seams easily and quickly. An overlock sewing machine differs from a lockstitch sewing machine in that it uses loopers fed by multiple thread cones rather than a bobbin. Loopers serve to create thread loops that pass from the needle thread to the edges of the fabric so that the edges of the fabric are contained within the seam.
Brother Industries, Ltd. (stylized in lowercase) is a Japanese multinational electronics and electrical equipment company headquartered in Nagoya, Japan. Its products include printers, multifunction printers, desktop computers, consumer and industrial sewing machines, large machine tools, label printers, typewriters, fax machines, and other computer-related electronics. Brother distributes its products both under its own name and under OEM agreements with other companies.
The Merrow Sewing Machine Company, best known for inventing the overlock sewing machine, is a manufacturer of sewing machines. After the explosion of his gunpowder mill in 1837, in 1838 J.M. Merrow built a knitting mill on the same site. The company developed crocheting machines for its own use and by 1887 evolved to design, build and market sewing machines exclusively. During its early decades it was organized as a partnership under various names: established in 1838 as Joseph M. Merrow & Sons by J. Makens Merrow, then Pitkin, Merrow, & Co., renamed Merrow Manufacturing Co. in 1857, then Merrow and Millard in 1863, J.B. Merrow and Sons in 1870, and incorporated as The Merrow Manufacturing Company in 1893. Originally all of its manufacturing was done at facilities in Merrow, Connecticut, and then in Hartford, Connecticut, after 1894. The company is currently based in Fall River, Massachusetts.
Steckborn is a municipality in Frauenfeld District in the canton of Thurgau in Switzerland.
Fritz Gegauf (1893-1980) was a Swiss inventor and founder of the Bernina International, an international manufacturer of sewing and embroidery systems. He was the son of Karl Friedrich Gegauf (1860-1926), inventor of the hemstitch sewing machine.
An embroidered patch, also known as a cloth badge, is a piece of embroidery which is created by using a fabric backing and thread. The art of making embroidered patches is an old tradition and was done by hand. During the first half of the twentieth century they were commonly embroidered using a shiffli embroidery machine. High-speed, computerized machines have led to mass production.
Janome is a Japanese company that produces sewing machines, with manufacturing plants in Japan, Taiwan and Thailand.
Adolph Saurer AG was a Swiss manufacturer of embroidery and textile machines, trucks and buses under the Saurer and Berna brand names. Based in Arbon, Switzerland, the firm was active between 1903 and 1982. Their vehicles were widely used across mainland Europe, particularly in the interwar period.
St. Gallen embroidery, sometimes known as Swiss embroidery, is embroidery from the city and the region of St. Gallen, Switzerland. The region was once the largest and most important export area for embroidery. Around 1910, its embroidery production was the largest export branch of the Swiss economy with 18 percent of the overall export value. More than 50 percent of the world production came from St. Gallen. With the advent of the First World War, the demand for the luxury dropped suddenly and significantly and so a lot of people were unemployed, which resulted in the biggest economic crisis in the region. Today, the embroidery industry has somewhat recovered, but it will probably never again reach its former size. Nevertheless, the St. Galler Spitzen are still very popular as a raw material for expensive haute couture creations in Paris and count among the most famous textiles in the world.
A zigzag stitch is variant geometry of the lockstitch. It is a back-and-forth stitch used where a straight stitch will not suffice, such as in reinforcing buttonholes, in stitching stretchable fabrics, and in temporarily joining two work pieces edge-to-edge.
Holice Edward Turnbow is an American quilter, artist, and textile consultant. Since the early 1970s, Turnbow has curated, judged, and lectured at a multitude of quilting events throughout the United States and Canada. He is certified by the National Quilting Association as a judge and teacher. In 1988, he co-founded the Hoffman Challenge, a national quilting, clothing, and dolls contest featuring hundreds of participants. His design have been commissioned by Spartex, Inc., Stencil House, and Benartex, Inc.
The schiffli embroidery machine is a multi-needle, industrial embroidery machine. It was invented by Isaak Gröbli in 1863. It was used to create various types of machine embroidery and certain types of lace. It was especially used in the textile industry of eastern Switzerland and Saxony Germany, but also in the United Kingdom and the United States. Schiffli machines evolved from, and eventually replaced manually operated "hand embroidery" machines. The hand embroidery machine used double ended needles and passed the needles completely through the fabric. Each needle had a single, continuous thread. Whereas the schiffli machine used a lock stitch, the same technique used by the sewing machine. By the early twentieth century schiffli machines had standardized to ten and fifteen meters in width and used more than 600 needles.
Karl Friedrich Gegauf was a Swiss entrepreneur and inventor. He was the founder of Bernina International, a Swiss sewing machine factory.