The story
Founding and beginnings
The company was founded in 1807 when Heinrich Bucher-Weiss (1784–1850) took over a forge in Murzeln, Niederweningen. Initially, the company produced simple agricultural tools.
In the 1850s, under the leadership of the founder's son, Heinrich Bucher-Weiss, the company began producing slurry pumps, feed cutting machines, and hand mills. In 1871, Johann Bucher-Manz (1843–1919), the grandson of Heinrich Bucher-Weiss, took over the management of the forge. Under his leadership, the company started manufacturing fruit mills, fruit and grape presses, and metal components for agricultural machines such as threshers, hand mills, and feed cutters. By 1873, the company had four employees.
International expansion
In 1874, the company was registered under the name Johann Bucher, mechanische Werkstätte, Fabrikation von mechanischen Bestandteilen landwirtschaftlicher Maschinen (Johann Bucher, mechanical workshop, manufacturing of mechanical components for agricultural machines). In the late 1880s, Bucher-Manz began importing machines from abroad and reselling them in Germany to reduce costs. Bucher also began to sell agricultural machinery from foreign manufacturers. From 1890, Bucher-Manz collaborated with Johann Georg Fahr from Gottmadingen to import horse rakes from France. In 1895, the company was renamed Maschinenfabrik Johann Bucher-Manz, Niederweningen. At that time, the company had 30 employees.
The first hydraulic fruit press with a high-pressure pump was manufactured in 1901. In 1904, Jean Bucher-Guyer (1875–1961) took over the company's leadership and further advanced the production of hydraulic fruit presses. In 1923, the Maschinenfabrik Johann Bucher was established in Griessen on Lake Constance.
In the first half of the 20th century, the production of agricultural machinery, hydraulic fruit presses, and fruit mills was further expanded. In 1921, the company introduced a centrifugal slurry pump named Luna, which was easier to maintain compared to a hand piston pump, could be powered by an electric or combustion engine, and became one of Bucher's best-selling products. From 1934, Walter Hauser-Bucher (1904–1967), son-in-law of Bucher-Guyer, gradually took over the company's management, which at that time employed 230 people. In the same year, Bucher launched a team-driven mower with an auxiliary engine, whose introduction led to a significant increase in the company's sales. In 1945, Bucher presented the single-axle motor mower Rekord, which sold 116,000 units by 2003. In 1946, Bucher acquired a 50% stake in the agricultural machinery manufacturer Kuhn in Saverne, France.
In 1951, the company was transformed into a public limited company. The so-called Bucher tractors were first produced in 1954, and a total of 5,000 units were delivered by the final production year in 1964. From 1963, Bucher sold Fiat tractor. In 1967, Hans Hauser (1935–1996) and Rudolf Hauser (1937) took over the management of the company. In 1972, Thomas Hauser (1940), who had led the limited partnership Maschinenfabrik Johann Bucher since 1970 as Rudolf Hauser's successor, became a member of the board of directors. In 1975, public bonds were issued to investors for the first time.
In 1986, the majority shareholding in the grape press manufacturer CMMC SA in Chalonnes-sur-Loire, France, was acquired.
Acquisitions and reorganisation
In 1984, the Group was reorganised into Bucher Holding AG, and two years later it went public and was listed on the Swiss stock exchange. At that time, the Group generated sales of 430 million Swiss francs and had 2,730 employees.
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With the initial public offering, Bucher entered a phase of expansion and acquisitions. From 1987 onwards, the subsidiary Kuhn Group expanded through the acquisition of several companies: Huard (1987), Rolba, a street sweeper manufacturer from Wetzikon (1991), and Audureau (1993). In 1994, Bucher acquired the sweeping machines, airport equipment, and special machinery divisions of Schörling GmbH & Co, integrating them into the newly founded company Bucher-Schörling GmbH. Meanwhile, in 1996, the Kuhn Group acquired Nodet. Also during the 1990s, Bucher Hydraulics expanded with the inclusion of Hidroirma S.p.a. in Reggio Emilia, Italy, Beringer Hydraulik based in Neuheim (1996), and Hydrotechnik in Frutigen (1997). Bucher ventured into glass container manufacturing with the acquisition of Swiss company Emhart Glass in 1998. Over the next years, the Kuhn Group acquired Knight Manufacturing, United States (2002), Metasa, Germany (2005), Blanchard in Chaumes-en-Retz, France (2008), the press division of Kverneland, Norway (2009), Brazilian manufacturer of self-propelled crop sprayers and fertilizer spreaders Montana Indústria de Máquinas (2014), and French manufacturer of self-propelled crop sprayers Artec Pulvérisation (2018).
In 1996, the company's core businesses were divided into five divisions: Agricultural Equipment (Kuhn Group), Vehicles (Bucher Municipal), Food Technology (Bucher Process), Hydraulic Components (Bucher Hydraulics) and Machinery (Laeis-Bucher).
Bucher Holding AG was renamed Bucher Industries AG in 2000. In 2001, Bucher Hydraulics opened a production hall at the Frutigen site, and a year later, Philip Mosimann became CEO of Bucher Industries AG, while Rudolf Hauser took over as Chairman of the Board of Directors.
In the financial year 2005, the group generated a turnover of 1.95 billion Swiss francs and employed 6,800 people. The same year, Bucher took over the European and Australian sweeper division of the British company Johnston Sweepers Ltd. One year later, the Indian company Sterling Fluid Technologies was acquired and integrated into the Bucher Hydraulics division. Further acquisitions such as Monarch Hydraulics Inc. in Michigan (2007) and Command Controls Corporation in Illinois (2008) expanded the Bucher Hydraulics division in the United States.
In September 2008, Bucher Hydraulics opened a production hall for drive and control technology at the Frutigen airport. In March 2011, the US agricultural machinery manufacturer Krause Corporation was acquired and integrated into the Kuhn Group division, which was subsequently renamed Kuhn-Krause. The same year, Bucher Emhart Glass established a joint venture with Sanjin Glass Machinery, a Chinese manufacturer of glass forming machines, acquiring 63% of the shares. In 2013, Bucher acquired a majority stake in Jetter AG, a provider of control technology, including their subsidiary Futronic GmbH.
Recent developments
Since January 2014, Bucher Industries has been organised into five divisions: Kuhn Group (agricultural machinery), Bucher Municipal (municipal vehicles), Bucher Hydraulics (hydraulic systems), Bucher Emhart Glass (glass container industry) and Bucher Specials (individual businesses).
In 2016, Jacques Sanche became CEO of Bucher Industries AG, while the previous CEO, Philip Mosimann, was appointed Chairman of the Board of Directors. Also in 2016, the Bucher Municipal division acquired the Danish manufacturer of sewer cleaners J. Hvidtved Larsen A/S (JHL). In 2018, Bucher Specials division acquired the trading business of combine harvesters and the service business for contract farmers from Swiss company Grunderco S.A. That same year, Bucher Emhart Glass division completed the acquisition of Sanjin Glass Machinery. Also in 2018, through Bucher Hydraulics division in China, Bucher entered into a joint venture to acquire 80% of the shares of Chinese manufacturer of hydraulic pumps and compact units, Wuxi Deli Fluid Technology.
In 2019, Bucher Municipal acquired 100% of the shares in Zynkon, a Chinese manufacturer of sewer cleaning vehicles. Two years later, Bucher Hydraulics acquired the mobile electric drive technology division, Lenze Mobile Drives, from Lenze Schmidhauser in Romanshorn.
In July 2023, Jetter AG and its subsidiary Futronic GmbH were merged and renamed Bucher Automation.
Since April 2026, Stefan Scheiber has been the Chairman of the Board of Bucher, replacing Urs Kaufmann. Also in April 2026, Matthias Kümmerle became CEO of Bucher Industries AG.
From Wikipedia’s article on Bucher Industries, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.5