The Swiss army renewed a contract for Victorinox AG, Switzerland’s largest maker of the iconic knife, to make pocket knives for its soldiers rather than a foreign manufacturer.

Seven knife makers, some of them Swiss and others foreign, took part in bidding for the order starting in February, the government said today on its Web site. The Swiss army will spend 1.38 million francs ($1.2 million) on 75,000 carbon-colored multifunction knives from Victorinox, the government announced.

The Defense Ministry ruled out allowing foreign manufacturers to make the Swiss Army knife in February. Nationalistic concerns arose following news reports that the next batch of knives could be made in China, with a retired Swiss Army colonel petitioning the military to keep the famous pocket knife Swiss.

Karl Elsener, founder of Victorinox, began supplying the Swiss army with knives in 1891, according to the company. Victorinox bought rival Swiss knifemaker Wenger SA in 2005 to boost production options and designs of the army knife, the company said.

Victorinox, founded in 1909 and based in Ibach, Switzerland, sells pocket knives that include innovations such as altimeters, USB drives and flashlights. Wenger sells ergonomically designed pocket knives as well from its Swiss-French base.

Source: Bloomberg.com