Edouard Dubied & Co

He founded the business after attending the Exposition Universelle (1867), where he bought the rights to make hand-cranked knitting machines from Isaac W. Lamb.

These knitting machines were originally designed for making socks and hosiery, and used a recently invented kind of mechanical needle.

He added motors to the knitting machines and created a department of general mechanics specialising in lathes.

He focused on this new field, and in time expanded to Pontarlier in France, and handed over the knitting machine business to his son Pierre-Edouard.

Pierre-Edouard Dubied developed not only the two departments of the business, but also its social side: infirmary, dining hall, family support, health insurance, property and so on.