The aim of this booklet is to give you
some idea of how Wild Heerbrugg Ltd. has developed.
1921On 26th April the firm "Heinrich Wild, Werkstätte für Feinmechanik
und Optik" is founded in Heerbrugg by Colonel Jacob Schmidheiny of Balgach,
the geologist Dr. Robert Helbling of Flums and the surveyor Heinrich Wild of
Glarus.
With a workforce of about 30, Heinrich Wild starts designing and
constructing his first instruments, among them the T2 Universal Theodolite.
1922In
autumn, the first phototheodolite is operational, and a school for apprentices
in precision mechanics is set up.
1923The
joint-stock company "Verkaufsgesellschaft Heinrich Wild - Geodätische
Instrumente" is founded to market the products.
The financial participation
of Ernst Schmidheiny gives the young company a decisive boost.
The first A l
Stereo-Autograph is tested in Dr. Helbling's office and the factory sells its
first level.
Ahrend Holding N.V., Amsterdam, become the first Wild agents
abroad.
The company sets up its own building and housing department.
1924The
first T2 Universal Theodolites are dispatched. "Heinrich Wild, Werkstätte
für Feinrnechanik und Optik" is taken over by the "Verkaufsgesellschaft".
1925Design
work is in progress on an optical alidade for a plane table. In June the first
Universal Autograph is completed and undergoes tests in Dr. Helbling's office.
The T3 Precision Theodolite and the N 3 Precision Level are also on the drawing
board.
By the end of the year the workforce has increased to 130.
Albert
Schmidheini joins the firm as Managing Director.
1926The
manufacture of optical parts moves to Rebstein, where a school for training in
optics is also established.
The A2 Autograph goes into production.
W. Kriszat AB
in Stockholm and SIPI in Milan become the second and third Wild agents, followed
by agencies in Denmark, Belgium, France, Portugal, Czechoslovakia and overseas
in Bolivia, Peru, Uruguay and South Africa.
1927The
first aerial camera, the C1, leaves the factory.
Further agencies are
established in Spain, Austria, Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, Canada, Columbia,
Chile, Brazil and Japan.
1928The
T2 and T3 theodolites, the N1, N2 and N3 levels, the P3 Phototheodolite and the
A2 Autograph go into serial production.
Gebr. Wichmann K.G., Berlin, become the
Wild agents in Germany.
1929The
C2 and C3 Aerial Cameras go into production.
1930The
factory building in Heerbrugg has become too small and an upper floor is added.
By the end of this year the workforce has risen to 260.
An agency is opened in
Mexico, bringing the total number of agencies to 27.
1931The
international financial crisis takes its toll and the workforce drops to 151.
1932The
manufacturing program is extended to include the NK1 Compact Level, the T0
Compass Theodolite, the T1 Repetition Theodolite, the 2-metre Subtense Bar, the
El Rectifier for aerial photographs, the A3 Autograph, a mirror stereoscope and
a cathetometer.
Agencies are set up in Finland, Greece and the United States.
1933The T0 Compass Theodolite, the C12 Stereometric Camera and the A4 Autograph appear
on the market.
The workforce is down by a third, to 125.
1934The
first T1 Theodolite and E1 Rectifier leave the factory.
1935Thorolf
Gregersen AS in Oslo, Diethelm & Co. in Bangkok and B. & L. Terner Eng.
Ltd., Haifa, become Wild agents.
An agency is also established in Turkey.
1936Agencies
are set up in Luxemburg and EI Salvador.
1937The N2 Engineer's Level gets its well-known "rolling" telescope with
reversible tubular level.
The A5 Autograph - for years to come the world's
plotting "workhorse" - and the RC3 Automatic Aerial Camera are put on
the market.
1938The
A6 Second-Order Stereo-Plotter and the S3 Stereoscope are launched, and the BC2
Ballistic Camera designed.
The first seven sheds are built and the existing
factory buildings enlarged.
Wild now has a workforce of 630 and is represented
in 37 countries.
1939The
K2 Optical Alidade and a mirror stereoscope appear on the market.
Wild decide to
produce microscopes in order to offset any losses in the survey field.
311 of
the company's employees are called up for military service at the start of the
Second World War.
1940The
Insurance Fund (the forerunner of a pension scheme) is set up, covering the
entire personnel.
1941The
Company Welfare Fund is established and the new building for the research
departments and the laboratories is ready.
1942The
RC5 Automatic Aerial Camera and the ST1 and ST2 Mirror Stereoscopes go into
production.
1943The
TM0 Rangefinder is launched and production of stainless, chromium-steel drawing
sets commences.
The factory buildings are extended and an observation tower
constructed.
1944The
T4 Universal Instrument appears on the market.
1945New
agencies are opened in the Philippines and Venezuela.
1946Agencies
are set up in India and Singapore.
1947The
first M9 and M10 Microscopes are sold.
The OMAG company in Allschwil, near
Basle, is taken over by Wild.
Agencies are established in Nigeria and New
Zealand.
1948The
Aviotar - the first of L. Bertele's series of high-precision photogrammetric
lenses - is produced.
The first company-owned foreign agency, "Henry Wild Surveying
Instruments Supply Company of America, Inc.", is founded in the USA.
Messrs. R. & A. Rost become Wild
agents in Austria.
1949The
A7 Autograph, with connections for the EK Coordinate Printer, goes into
production. Research and Development Departments are set up for geodesy,
photogrammetry and microscopy.
1950Production
of the A8 Autograph and the RC7 Aerial Camera with the Aviotar Ions commences.
The T12 Pocket Theodolite and the RDH and RDS Self-Reducing Tachometers appear
on the market.
The Attachable Camera 1, the first Wild camera for
photomicrography, the 20x, 40x, 50x and 100x Wild Fluotar objectives and the
corresponding compensating eyepieces are now on sale.
An agency is set up in
Iran.
1951Wild
Paris, a company-owned agency, is established in France.
1952The
BC4 Ballistic Camera for ballistic measurements and satellite triangulation goes
into production, and the A7 and A8 Autograph are shown at the 7th International
Photogrammetric Congress in Washington.
The Aviogon Ions is put on the market.
Conventional phase contrast equipment and the novel "Wild- Variocolor"
accessory for color phase contrast are included in the microscopy program.
An
electromagnetic fine-focusing device, a projection and drawing mirror and a
simple polarization outfit are on sale.
1953 The new administrative building is opened in
Heerbrugg.
A company-owned agency is established in Sydney, Australia.
1954The
RC8 Aerial Camera with the Aviogon fens goes into production and the first BC4
Camera is sold.
The Reprogon Ions appears on the market and the M11 and M20
Microscopes are now on sale.
The name of the company is changed to the now
universally-known "Wild Heerbrugg Ltd." "Wild of Canada Ltd." is founded
in Ottawa.
1955The
TM10 Tacheometric Rangefinder for distances up to 500 meters goes into
production and the T16 Direct Reading Theodolite is on sale.
The STKL Precision
Stereocomparator for analytic photogrammetry and coordinate printers for the A7
and A8 are developed.
he Attachable Camera 11 with H-phototube is introduced.
1956An
improved version of the T2 Universal Theodolite leaves the factory.
The cine
attachment with projection tube is on the marked for cinemicrography.
The "Optik-Hus",
a canteen and social center, is inaugurated in Heerbrugg.
1957The
A9 Autograph for super-wide-angle photographs, the RC9 Super-Wide- Angle Camera,
the U3 Diapositive Printer and the VG 1 Enlarger go into production.
A drawing
tube for the M 20 Microscope first appears in the sales program.
Wild Portugal
is founded.
The workforce reaches 2000.
1958The
T1 is given an automatic vertical index and becomes the T1A.
The B8 and B9
Aviographs and the E3 Rectifier go into production.
The RC9 Super-Wide- Angle
Camera is on the market. Wild enters the stereomicroscope field with the M5.
The company school for apprentices moves into a new building in Heerbrugg. Wild
(South Africa) is set up in Johannesburg.
1959The
M5 is quickly joined by the M4 Stereomicroscope.
The new company school is so
popular that an apprentices' hostel has to be erected.
The Optical Computing
Department gets its first computer, a Zuse 22 R.
1960The
drawing tube for the M5 Stereomicroscope is available.
The Insurance Fund is
changed into a Pension Fund.
1961The M4 Stereomicroscope gets its own drawing tube.
On 2nd October 1961 the workforce
of Wild Heerbrugg Ltd. reaches the 3000 mark.
A subsidiary factory is opened in
Oberriet and Casa Wild S.A. is set up in Rio de Janeiro.
1962The
NA2 Automatic Level, The RK1 Self-Reducing Alidade, the ZNL Zenith and Nadir
Plummet and the DI50 Microwave Distancer go on sale.
The BS Stereomat, the C120
and C40 Stereometrie Cameras, the U9 Fixed-Ratio Printer, the E4
Rectifier-Enlarger and the U4 Diapositive Printer go into production. A new
discussion tube is available for the M11 and M20 Microscopes, and the M21
Polarizing Microscope appears on the market.
The new four-story optics building
is inaugurated in Rebstein.
Wild Heerbrugg takes over the Leidolf camera factory
in Wetzlar, West Germany, and Wild S.A. is founded in Dakar, Senegal.
1963The
GAK1 Gyro Attachment for existing theodolites and the ARK1 Gyro Aiming Circle,
both independent north-seeking instruments, go into production.
The Universal-Aviogon
lens, corrected for visible and infra-red light, is on the market.
A new
phototube for stereomicroscopes, the M5 pol. and a new projection head are
introduced.
The new building for microscope assembly is completed.
The
subsidiary company OMAG moves to its new factory promises al Mels, south of
Heerbrugg.
1964The B8 Stereomat, the E4 Rectifier-Enlarger and the A40 Autograph are
shown at the International Photogrammetric Congress in Lisbon.
The 1000th
Autograph is delivered to Japan.
Wild enters the field of inverted microscopes
with the M40 and M50.
The Photoautomat is now available.
The company medical
service starts work. "Wild Heerbrugg (U.K.) Ltd." is established in
Maidstone.
1965The
Transmitted Light Base for stereomicroscopes, the M4C Stereomicroscope for
industrial applications and interference attachments for microscopes become
available.
An IBM 360/40 computer (with 128 K storage) is installed in a special
building in Heerbrugg.
The "Wild-Verkaufsgeselischaft Mikroskopie
GmbH" is founded in Munich.
1966The
40,000th T1 Repetition Theodolite leaves the factory.
Wild de Mexico S.A.,
Mexico City, and Wild del Peru S.A., Lima, are established.
1967The
M4A Stereomicroscope, a simple instrument with magnification changer drum,
appears on the market and the first M500 Infra- Red/Ultraviolet Image Converter
Unit leaves the factory.
In July 1967 the workforce in the Rhine Valley
factories totals 3724, the highest figure since the company was founded in 1921.
A self-service restaurant is added to the "Optik-Hus".
Wild Heerbrugg
Svenska AB is set up in Stockholm.
1968The
Research and Development Department for Microscopy moves into a new building.
The A2000 Stereomat is shown at the International Photogrammetric Congress in
Lausanne. The DI10 Distomat Infra-Red Distancer, developed in Cooperation with
Messrs. Sercel of France, appears on the market.
The EK8 Coordinate Printer, the
RC10 Universal Film Camera with the Super-Aviogon 11 lens, the A10 Autograph and
the ST10 Strip Stereoscope go into production.
The company's 2000th Autograph -
a Wild B8 - is delivered to England.
1969The
M501 Sampling Microscope and the Electronic Micro-Length Measuring Attachment
are available.
1970The
Wild M7 Zoom Stereomicroscope god's into production.
Work is started on a new,
five-story Research and Development building opposite the existing
administrative block in Heerbrugg.
In view of the labor shortage in Switzerland,
the Board of Directors decide to set up a subsidiary factory in Völkermarkt,
Austria, under the name "Wild Heerbrugg G.m.b.H. (Kärnten)".
This
will be the company's first large-scale production plant outside Switzerland.
A
total of over 4200 people are now employed by Wild Heerbrugg Ltd. in its
factories and various sales and service organizations throughout the world.
1971The
Board of Directors decide to set up a subsidiary factory in Singapore.
The B8S
Aviograph, the P32 Terrestrial Camera and the APK1 Panorama Camera go into
production.
The new NAK0 and NAK1 Levels, the T2 Universal Theodolite with
part-digital reading and the new DI60 Microwave Distancer are shown at the
International Congress of Surveyors in Wiesbaden.
The five-story Research and
Development Building is opened.
1972
End of the production on the drawing instruments (1943 - 1972).
Release of the new models:
Wild T2 (digital reading)
new level models (NAK0; NAK1; NAK2; N2)
Autograph A8
Photo camera P31 and P32
1973
DISTOMAT Wild DI3
1974
GLO Laser ocular
WILD RC10 Aerial camera
1975
new models Wild T05, Wild T1 and Wild T16
new microscope M8
