Using the experience from the past, actively looking for new things and listening daily to what we can do for you as a customer. This is precisely why we are proud of our rich past and give you an insight into our company history.

1784 to 1818

Georg Wild & Cie, Menzenschwand

Georg Wild joined forces with a few friends and became involved in the trade and production of goods made of wood, glass, iron and pottery.

1818 to 1835

Wild, Dietsche, Willmann and Kleiser, Menzenschwand and Lucerne

According to a contract dated August 25, 1818, Georg and Cajetan Wild, who were later joined by Berthold Wild, Franz Joseph and Leopold Dietsche, Andreas Willmann, all from Menzenschwand, and Augustin Kleiser from Urach formed a new company. They had a working capital of 9284 guilders and a business was founded in Lucerne. Warehouses were maintained in Sarnen, Bremgarten, Aarau, Biel, St-Imier and Solothurn.

1835 to 1891

Wild, Dietsche & Cie, Menzenschwand, Lucerne, Solothurn, Biel and St-Imier

Augustin Kleiser left the company, but several Black Forest merchants joined the company, including Theodor Bauer from Menzenschwand, the stepfather of Cornel Banholzer. It was a great boost to the rise of business in Solothurn when the Solothurn when the Black Forest iron masters settled here for good. In the patrician house to the east of the marksmen's guild with front building, courtyard with fountain and and the rear building for the servants and the exit of the carriages. Urs Franz Tugginer-Vesperleder, mayor of Olten, lived here in the 13th century. From his The ironmongers bought it at auction from his descendants. 1845. the worldwide trade connections are surprising.

Wooden goods came from Menzenschwand (Black Forest), ironware and haberdashery from Schmalkhalden in Thuringia, stoneware from Saargmünd, glassware from the Baden glassworks, Aeule, window glass from Belgium, mirrors from Belgium, mirrors from Cologne, cutlery from Solingen and Essen, cristallerie from Paris and St. Louis and steelware from Birmingham.

The account books from this period show that the daily takings consisted of many small items and averaged and amounted to an average of 110 francs. Around 1850, a shovel cost shovel cost 2 francs, a pair of tongs 1.40 francs, a dozen knives 3.25 francs, a coffee grinder coffee grinder 5 francs and an aquarium with goldfish 7 francs.

1891 to 1913

Banholzer & Cie, Solothurn and Biel

Cornel Banholzer-Rudolf (1844-1914) was born in Bernau and attended school in Menzenschwand. He attended the grammar school in Biel for 2 years and learned French in Yverdon. At the age of 16, he joined the hardware store in Solothurn as an apprentice and completed his training as a commis. He was then sent to St-Imier as branch manager. After the descendants of Wild and Dietsche moved into the watchmaking industry, Cornel Banholzer became a partner and at the same time a citizen of Solothurn. On August 23, 1894, he became the sole owner of the company after Reinhard Mayer had taken over the St-Imier branch and Emil Siegwart the business premises in Biel. He lived to see the remodeling of the salesrooms in 1913, when goods from America were added to the range. Petrol lamps, heating stoves and table scales were added to the already considerable range. The new velocipedes and sewing machines were also particularly admired.

1913 to 1944

Banholzer Brothers, Solothurn

A few months before the death of their father Cornel Banholzer, the company was entered in the commercial register as Gebrüder Banholzer. Hugo Banholzer (1878-1939) and Max Banholzer (1887-?) took over their parents' business in difficult times and steered it prudently through shortages of goods and wartime.

1945

Banholzer advertisement in the Solothurner Zeitung

Advertisements were already being published diligently in the post-war period. Here is an advertisement from the "Solothurner Zeitung" of Tuesday, May 8, 1945, advertising Bülach and Wauwil preserving bottles in various sizes.

1944 to 1985

Banholzer AG, Solothurn

After the transformation into a public limited company, Oskar Egger-Meyrat from St. Gallen joined the company as a partner. He was followed by his eldest son René Egger in 1963. In the same year, the company underwent major renovations and was finally able to do business in the renovated premises in 1964. With around 30 employees, the then impressive business was also able to carry out home deliveries in the surrounding area. Rolf Bütschi joined the company on November 1, 1978. Now things went from strength to strength. From zero to one hundred, Rolf Bütschi built up and expanded the hotel department.

1985 to 1991

Banholzer AG, Solothurn and Zuchwil

The core business, trading in ironmongery and household goods, was soon outstripped by sales in the hotel department and so it was only a logical decision to found the new Banholzer Hotelbedarf AG. Business premises in Zuchwil soon required larger premises and so the company moved to Derendingen on Gewerbestrasse on June 1, 1990.

1991 to 2003

Banholzer Hotelbedarf AG, Derendingen

The new company grew and quickly established itself on the market. With 14 employees, there was almost nothing that Banholzer could not do. As sole proprietors, Rolf Bütschi, Hans Rudolf Howald and Hanspeter Stucker were the driving forces behind the company. With a very large range of goods, modern logistics and an unconditional desire to go the extra mile, the Banholzer team was able to handle even large orders cost-effectively and on time.

2003 to 2016

Banholzer AG, Deitingen

In 2003, the company moved into its new premises in Deitingen. Over the following years, the new site was extended and expanded to include a further warehouse. An automatic storage system and the introduction of a document management system (electronic archiving) helped to make work easier.

2017 until today

Banholzer AG, Deitingen

Sola Switzerland AG has been a new strategic partner and shareholder since 2017. This collaboration with the long-established and globally active company is an important step for Banholzer for the future. We have also expanded our range with the two showrooms in St. Gallen and St. Légier. With this development, our team has now grown to 45 employees.