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The October 6, 1962 of the German
newspaper Express carried a photo and
press release of a new plastic design
Corkmaster. The headline proclaimed
Der
Kork fand den Meister
(The cork found a
master). British Oxygen had ended
production of the metal model and
introduced this new model at the
Frankfurt Fair.
A young Austrian, Gero Artmer, attended
that fair and tells the story "In August
1962 I passed a stand at this fair where I
saw 40-50 people standing. This was
unusual. I thought of an accident. But
instead it was a presentation of the
Corkmaster - a world sensation!
Wholesalers placed orders and more
orders. They wanted to buy enormous
quantities every month. I secured the
general agency for Austria. I got one
sample and before the first 500 pieces
arrived, I had sold nearly 2000
Corkmasters. This was a wonder - I was
happy!"
The first examples of the new design, like the metal version, had only a 1 5/8" long
needle. That needle would not be long enough to fully penetrate corks in many of the
wines on the market. The instructions show this BOC product coming from the
Sparklets Works, London, N.17. In his sixth week of promoting the Corkmaster, Gero
Artmer, phoned the owner of a major company in Vienna and said, "I guarantee you the
best impression. This will be the best gift you ever give to your customers." He told him
the price and the owner responded, "OK, we will order 2000 pieces if all is as you told
me. Come to my office at 7AM tomorrow."
