Background
He was the son of Karl Friedrich Gegauf (1860-1926), inventor of the hemstitch sewing machine. Fritz Gegauf was born on 5 April 1893 at Steckborn, Switzerland.
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Fritz Gegauf
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He was awarded a patent for a hemstitch sewing machine. From then until 1923 he worked for the sewing machine factory Athos in Paris. The factory moved with its 35 employees to newly built premises in 1929.
When sales of the industrial hemstitch sewing machines dropped in the early 1930s, he formed in 1932—in cooperation with Wilhelm Brütsch—the Bernina Sewing Machine Factory which produced sewing machines for the home.
Technical innovations brought about the rapid growth of the company in the post-war years. Until 1975 Gegauf was on the board of directors, becoming honorary president thereafter.
Fritz Gegauf died on 24 February 1980 in Steckborn.
