[5] Under the leadership of Carl Elsener Sr., the Messerfabrik became the largest company in the canton of Schwyz.

In 1938, Elsener joined the company, which at the time had employed 80 people.

Elsener is described as a boss who was able to operate almost all the machines himself, who was traveling in the "Lismerli" or in the blue work coat and who cycled to the factory.

A few years before his death, he felt healthy enough to put in an 80-hour week.

[5] In October 2000,[6] Elsner founded together with his brother Eduard Elsener and his son Carl Elsener Jr. as a successor solution, the Victorinox-Stiftung[4] to ensure the continued existence and further prosperity of the company.