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Maxram
The Maxram picnic style corkscrew was made by the
wealthy Aeschliman family in Thun (near Bern),
Switzerland. Max Aeschlimann invented the Maxram
in the 1950s. Max suffered a heart attack in 1967; then
his two sons, Hans-Ulrich and Peter, ran the company
under the name Gebr. Aeschliman. Max passed away
in 1971 at the age of sixty-seven.
The firm was incorporated as Gebr. Aeschlimann AG
on February 25, 1975. It was registered in Bern,
Switzerland on May 22, 1975. At that time the
company was listed as
―
Manufacture and distribution
of technical innovations in the field of automobile,
motorcycle and bicycle accessories, from hardware
and household items and giftware, trade in light bulbs
and electrical products, exploitation of patents.
―
The
company was dissolved on June 15, 1999.
The Maxram began selling in the mid 60s. By
1975 over two and a half million had been sold.
The patent expired in 1975 and by then there
were at least two Italian imitations on the
market. It was these poor imitations that eroded
the Swiss firm's market. The Swiss brothers
decided to cease production at that time. They
didn't really need the money so the Maxram just
disappeared. An American distributor,
Franmara, started its business with the
introduction of the Maxram.
Max Aeschlimann obtained Swiss Patent No.
355,044 for his
―
Deckverschluss-Öffner
‖
(bottle
opener) folding out from the side of the shank.
Although he applied for the patent on August
29, 1957, it was not published until July 31, 1961.
