History The 'Apeldoornsche Messenfabriek' (Knife Factory Apeldoorn), founded by Eugen Hollaender in 1931, has grown into one of Europe's main table cutlery and Kitchen Knife suppliers. Design and functionality for the most divergent of users has bought the company world fame. From Razor blades to table cutlery Entrepeneurship ran in Eugen Hollaender's veins from an early age. At the age of 25 he came to Apeldoorn (The Netherlands) from Germany and started his own business in razor blades. It turned into a success. Production quickly expanded to a second location in Neede. And not long thereafter, part of the production was transferred to other countries. Amefa built its third factory in South Africa, which in those days was still a faraway country. Growing competition in the forties made Eugen Hollaender decide to aim at developing and producing table cutlery, in addition to razor blades. At the end of the forties, the production of razor blades came to a full stop. Having completed a full transfer to table cutlery, the first imports from countries in Asia once again followed suit. Amefa (Far East) Ltd was founded in 1968 in order to guide these commercial activities. The international network is flourishing Rudi Hollaender, the eldest son in the Hollaender family, took over the management of the company in the seventies. Under his leadership, Amefa grew into an international manufacturer and trading company of cutlery and kitchen knives. With a European network of companies the sales and service continued to develop. Erik Hollaender, Rudi's younger brother, concentrated on new production opportunities in other regions, with focus on Asia. Offices in Hong Kong and more recently in China were opened. Fred Hollaender, the youngest of the three sons, took charge of the production company in Apeldoorn. Through the years, the production activities here were reduced and the company transformed into an international distribution and service centre. In the early nineties, production in Apeldoorn was shut down all together. The Dutch branch has now moved to a new location in Apeldoorn and only serves as a distribution centre and head office. Couzon The recent takeover of Couzon in France, specialist in Stainless Steel household articles, is characteristic of Amefa's expansion strategy. Amefa took over Couzon effectively on January 1, 2006. The takeover meant an important new market share for Amefa. At the same time it enabled the company to expand its branding, sales and marketing potential. Couzon's History The Couzon company was founded in 1934 by Mr Jean Couzon. After having started producing stainless steel flatware and holloware in 1946, the company quickly delvelopped into one of France's undisputed market leaders. The trading brand ' Jean Couzon Orfevre' , adopted in 1971, was soon recognised on the market thanks to clever advertising - and, obviously, fine product quality. In the late seventies and early eighties the company worked hard to be at the leading edge of progress, not only technologically but in areas such as sales, advertising and creation as well. The efforts paid off; in 1986 Couzon had over 700 employees and its products were sold with great success. Now part of Amefa, we hope to continue and expand this success globally. Richardson Sheffield History |
