The Swiss Army knife originally manufactured for the Swiss Army, it is now the greatest-selling pocket knife globally. Victorinox and Wenger, the manufacturers and proprietors of the trademarked term ‘Swiss Army knife’, still issue the Swiss Army with 50,000 of these knives each year. With a large assortment of tools, the Swiss Army knife is favoured amongst travellers, the military, hikers,or those just looking for the perfect present for someone. They are so well-known globally that they are immediately recognised as the premier brand of pocket knives.
Karl Elsener was the first person to make the Swiss Army knife in its current form. When he found out that the Swiss Army were supplied with knives made in Germany, Elsener took it upon himself to make locally manufactured knives. He was not satisfied with his initial knife so took over 5 years to perfect the design. As an added touch, he added the cross and shield that is still utilised by Victorinox today. In 1909, Elsener renamed his company Victoria, after his mother who had recently passed away. In 1921, when the company started using stainless steel, or inox, to manufacture its knives, it was renamed Victorinox. Victorinox is still run by the Elsener family, with Carl Elsener leading the company today. The term ‘Swiss Army knife’ was not initially conceptualised by Victorinox. Its recognised name at the time, ‘Schweizer Offizer Messer’, was too hard to pronounce, and thus the term ‘Swiss Army knife’ was coined.
The Swiss Army knife is manufactured in a number of models, sizes and colours. Standard attachments found on most of the knives include 2 blades, tooth-pick, tweezers, cork-screw, bottle open, pair of scissors and nail file. Some premium models also feature a Phillips-head and flat-head screwdriver, ballpoint pen, can opener, saw, magnifying glass, wrench, fish scaler and pair of pliers. The most modern models, termed ‘Victorinox Cybertools’ feature a digital clock, MP3 player, optical laser pointer, altimeter, hex screwdriver and even a USB thumb drive. The knives come in several sizes, with the popular model being about 9 centimetres long and the smaller models approximately 6cm long. ‘The Giant’, made by Wenger, was the largest ever produced. It was over 22cm long and featured 85 unique instruments.
Next year, the United States Green Building Council will be downgrading its role where eco-friendly buildings are concerned. Or at least it won’t certify buildings anymore with its trademark Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification.
Effective January 2009, the US Green Building Council, the origin of this increasingly imperative ratings system, will consign such function to the Green Building Certification Institute.
This shouldn’t be a cause for worry, any more than NASA will be overseen by harmless and tech-savvy aliens. After all, GBCI is a sister organization of the USGBC. In turn, GBCI will administer and accredit independent certifiers and assessors.
This is USGBC’s way of surmounting the exponential growth of the number of projects looking to be LEED-certified. No rules have been changed anyway; LEED will still be the exacting body of standards that it is.
One is bound to have reservations about these moves though. Now that the USGBC is away, there might be no stopping big-time firms from buying their way into silver, gold, and platinum certifications.
However, LEED 2009 will have more rigid standards so perhaps this danger will be substantially negated given that naturally, higher standards would make it well-nigh impossible for one corporate entity to suddenly acquire certification.
January 8th, 2010 by 
Administrator 
Comments Off