Lanco

Lanco was the common brand of the Langendorf Watch Company.

The Langendorf Watch Company was founded by Johann Viktor Kottmann (1822-1881). His father founded a tobacco workshop in Langendorf in 1844, and Johann took over management of that company after his military service.

In 1873, Johann Kottmann switched the focus of his business to watchmaking. The firm took advantage of the rising demand for ebauches and availability of industrial machinery to produce ebauches for the many firms emerging in German-speaking Switzerland between Bienne and Grenchen. The company was later managed by Johann's brother Charles Kottmann.

In 1895 the firm registered the SHL brand and began producing complete watches at the Langendorf factory. The company soon filed its first patents and registered additional brands. Seeking new markets, Langendorf was partner in the American Swiss Watch organization, which failed and was bankrupt in 1915. But the Langendorf factory continued to expand, employing 1500 workers and producing 3,000 watches daily at this point.

Another joint venture in America, with Ptetzfelfder & Mills of New York, was more successful, even opening a branch in La Chaux-de-Fonds in 1925. And the firm began using the Lonville brand in the United States at this time, producing high-quality watches. By 1928 the company was also using the Lanco, Vera, Trovato, Langendorf, and other brand names.

In 1940 Langendorf appeared at the New York World's Fair, boasting the large factory and international success. The Lanco-Fon, an alarm model, was presented at the Basel Fair in 1949 and this became a well-known product, competing with the legendary Vulcain Cricket.

The company was run for many years by Rudolf Kottmann (1879?-1952) and his brother Ernst.

The company claimed to be the largest watch factory in Switzerland in 1959, building a new facility in Langendorf to employ 1500 employees and produce a wide variety of models. Lanco moved eagerly into the world of electric clocks, using a LIP movement.

By 1962 the company was run by Hans Kottmann, with Paul Jenny serving as managing director. The factory measured 40,000 square meters, with a 10 story tower looming above Langendorf. The factory was entirely vertically integrated, producing ebauches, dials, cases, assortments, spares, and more, and produced over 4,000 watches daily. Lanco created a line of uniform movements in the 1960s, including 5.5, 6.75, and 5.25 ligne movements for women and an 11.5 ligne movement with optional calendar for men.

Lanco was merged into SSIH around 1965, becoming the mass-market leader below Tissot and Omega. The company put the Astrolon into production, a watch that used plastic wheels, and was an early mass producer of quartz and digital LED watches.