Items16The creator’s order
  1. 1Reinhold WürthReinhold WürthBorn 20 Apr 1935Germany, fasteners. Würth took over his father's two-person screw wholesaler in Künzelsau in 1954, aged 19, and built the Würth Group into the world's leading seller of screws, fixings and assembly materials to tradespeople. The specialism was distribution rather than invention: a huge direct sales…0i
  2. 2Artur FischerArtur FischerBorn 31 Dec 1919Germany, fixings. Fischer, a prolific inventor from the Black Forest, patented the grey nylon wall plug in 1958, a small part that made fixing things to walls quick and reliable. His company in Waldachtal built a worldwide business around fixings, and he held more than a thousand patents, including…0i
  3. 3Andreas StihlAndreas StihlGermany, chainsaws. Stihl founded his company near Stuttgart in 1926 and in 1929 produced a petrol-powered "tree-felling machine", leading the way towards portable chainsaws for forestry. Stihl concentrated on hand-held power tools for forests and gardens and sold them through specialist dealers…0
  4. 4Berthold LeibingerBerthold LeibingerBorn 26 Nov 1930Germany, machine tools. Leibinger joined Trumpf in Ditzingen as an apprentice and engineer, became its owner, and turned it from a maker of sheet-metal shears into a world leader in laser cutting machines. His bet on industrial lasers in the 1980s gave Trumpf a technical edge that factories around…0i
  5. 5Karl Elsener (inventor)Karl Elsener (inventor)Born 9 Oct 1860Switzerland, knives. Elsener opened a cutlery workshop in Ibach in 1884 and won the contract to supply the Swiss army with soldiers' knives, which German makers had previously supplied. His 1897 officer's knife, with springs that let more tools fit, became the Swiss Army knife. Victorinox, named…0i
  6. 6Hans WilsdorfHans WilsdorfBorn 22 Mar 1881Switzerland and Britain, watches. Wilsdorf founded the business that became Rolex in London in 1905, moved it to Geneva after the First World War, and pushed wristwatches when pocket watches still dominated. The waterproof Oyster case of 1926 and constant marketing, such as a watch worn on a…0i
  7. 7Nicolas HayekNicolas HayekBorn 19 Feb 1928Switzerland, watches. Hayek, a Lebanese-born consultant, was asked by banks in the early 1980s to advise on Switzerland's collapsing watch industry, battered by cheap Japanese quartz. Instead of selling the brands, he merged two failing groups into what became Swatch Group and backed the cheap,…0i
  8. 8Daniel SwarovskiDaniel SwarovskiAustria, crystal. Swarovski, a Bohemian glass cutter, patented an electric machine for cutting crystal precisely in 1892 and moved to Wattens in the Tyrol in 1895, where hydroelectric power could drive it. Precision-cut crystal stones for fashion and jewellery became the company's specialism and…0i
  9. 9Ruben RausingRuben RausingBorn 17 Jun 1895Sweden, packaging. Rausing co-founded the packaging firm Åkerlund & Rausing in Malmö and in 1951 set up Tetra Pak to make a tetrahedral paper carton for milk. Its later aseptic cartons let milk and juice keep for months without refrigeration, which made it valuable in hot countries without cold…0i
  10. 10Américo AmorimAmérico AmorimBorn 21 Jul 1934Portugal, cork. Amorim took over his family's cork stopper business near Porto and made Corticeira Amorim the world's largest cork processor, buying bark across Portugal and selling stoppers to wineries worldwide. When plastic and screw-cap closures threatened the trade, the company invested in…0i