Bach Equipment (35 articles)
Bach Equipment is an Irish outdoor brand founded in 1979 under the name "Great Bach Packing and Construction Company". The brand aims to develop high-quality, durable equipment for adventurers and outdoor enthusiasts.
Bach filed its first patent in 1982 on the Orthoflex back system. The innovative carrying system added an internal frame to backpacks and thus improved weight distribution and carrying comfort. This system is also used in backpacks by well-known manufacturers such as Lowe Alpine and The North Face, for whom Bach Equipment also manufactures backpacks. Despite this tremendous and trend-setting patent, the company was on the verge of quitting in 1989. But when Beat Vogt and Martin Wiesmann joined the company, it experienced a further upswing. The Swiss find a solution to the misery and recruit a Swiss investor.
Bach Equipment's products are given a simple design characterised by robustness and durability. The brand uses high-quality materials such as Cordura fabric and YKK zips to ensure its products' long life and reliable performance. The small range continues to be produced in Kilkenny, Ireland. But now, with a vision to conquer the markets in Germany and Switzerland. The brand continues to grow and moves into a larger building. Due to the growth, Bach, one of the last manufacturers, is forced to move parts of the production to Asia. In 1998, Bach decided to split its headquarters and now operate from two countries. The company’s management moved to Switzerland, while the warehouse and logistics remained in Ireland.
In the 2000s, cooperation with Vietnamese production companies improved. Thus, the misproduction can be reduced to almost 0. The design team in Switzerland can fully concentrate on prototyping and testing and then move on to pre-production prototyping together with the production team. This way of working has led to further innovative technologies and designs, such as the Weatherproof concept or the 3D Smart Divider.
In 2019, Bach will join forces with Scott Sports Group. Bach sees this as an opportunity to open up new markets and boost international sales. In addition, the portfolio should be expanded. In addition to backpacks, other outdoor equipment, such as tents and camping furniture, should be added to the portfolio. During this, Bach took over the Dutch company Nigor Tents & Furniture. Bach thus became Bach Equipment, which now not only specialised in high-quality backpacks but also manufactured high-quality camping and trekking equipment from then on.
Bach Equipment is also committed to sustainability. It uses environmentally friendly materials and produces its products in compliance with strict standards and certifications. For example, most of the brand's fabrics are bluesign-certified. For impregnation, Bach uses a PFC-free impregnation. The durability of the products is also a measure of sustainability. Bach Equipment uses extremely robust materials for the production of backpacks and tents, which positively affects the life of the products. This means new items must be bought less often, and resources can be conserved.