The History of Jura of Switzerland
Since 1931, Jura Elektroapparate AG has been a behemoth in the field of home appliance development and distribution. The company was founded in Switzerland by Leo Henzirohs, and takes its name from the beautiful Jura mountain range in Switzerland that extends from the northwest end of the Swiss Confederation into the Franche-Comte region of eastern France. Like the mountains themselves, Jura has proven to be one of the world's most durable companies: it was founded almost 90 years ago and still calls its original city, Niederbuchsiten (Canton of Solothurn), home.
Product Lines Through Time
Jura Elektroapparate AG has a long history of conceiving and selling home appliances, but in the 21st century, the company has largely chosen to focus on its line of fully automatic espresso machines. These high-quality machines are renowned for their sleek style and innovative functions, and serve as the backbone of Jura's image and sales. Jura espresso machines are sold around the world, but they are particularly popular in Europe, North America and Southeast Asia. The company's IMPRESSA espresso machine was birthed in 1994 and has won hundreds of awards worldwide in its many iterations.
Jura Elektroapparate has also manufactured other household products in its long and storied history. The company's clothes ironing product line sold very well in the 1980s, and Jura still sells "retro" irons and accessories that hearken back to a different time. Although the reach of Jura's household products lines is limited due to the high quality and craftsmanship present in the company's work, many consumers around the world buy Jura for the inimitable style that it imparts to its products.
History and Relationship with Niederbuchsiten
When Leo Henzirohs founded Jura, he could never have anticipated the global success that the brand would find. Niederbuchsiten is a very small town in a very small European country, and until the development of its automatic espresso line, Jura had trouble competing toe to toe with huge manufacturers outside of the region. After the IMPRESSA revolution, though, Jura began seeing its profits rise steadily each year. Currently, it is an "Aktiengesellschaft", which is the German term for a corporation that is publicly owned and traded on a stock market. The CEO is Emanuel Probst, and the head of the supervisory board is Martin Imbach.
Jura and Niederbuchsiten have always had a significantly collaborative relationship. The company still maintains its headquarters in the town, and is a major employer both in the town itself and in Switzerland. The company's signature espresso machines are manufactured in nearby Romanshorn by Eugster/Frismag, which is a firm staffed almost entirely by Swiss nationals. Recently, in 2006, Jura opened the Jura World of Coffee in Niederbuchsiten. The combination museum and factory has become a tourist destination in Central Europe and has drawn hundreds of thousands of visitors to the sleepy Swiss town.
Modern Marketing Efforts
Jura has been able to maintain its relevance in the espresso market through the impressive quality of its machines and the excellence of its worldwide advertising campaigns. Jura was able to sign international tennis star Roger Federer, who hails from Switzerland, as the company's pitchman to coffee drinkers around the world. Federer's recognizable (and handsome!) face is the perfect pairing for a brand that has always prided itself on the form and function of its machines. With Federer, a noted coffee drinker, attached to the IMPRESSA line of products, Jura was able to reach a wider group of consumers than it had been able to reach in the past. The Jura World of Coffee also has an exhibit devoted to Federer's work with the company; it is called Roger Federer's Walk of Fame and details his accomplishments in life, tennis, and as a coffee spokesman.
Global Reputation
Bolstered by the advertising campaigns run with Roger Federer, Jura is seen worldwide as a company that radiates sophistication and artistry in coffee. The IMPRESSA 500 burst onto the scene in 1994 and filled a massive gap in the market. High-end coffee consumers were looking for a household appliance that could both imitate a talented barista and look good on a countertop; with the IMPRESSA, they got both. Jura saw a product gap at the intersection of specialty coffee, beautiful design, and intuitive operation, and filled that gap as no company had before. This early innovation helps explain Jura's strong foothold in the household espresso market, even with the emergence of dozens of competitors over the last twenty years.
That foothold does not appear to be diminishing, and it helps that Jura continues to design and engineer incredibly enticing products. The IMPRESSA J500, unveiled in 2015 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the IMPRESSA product line, is another marvel of design for the Swiss company. Jura has manufactured over 3.5 million IMPRESSA machines since 1994, and the company's engineers and designers keep getting better and better at predicting what modern consumers want.
Looking to the Future
Like the Jura mountains that are its namesake, Jura Elektroapparate AG has become a fixture in the Swiss business landscape. As the world economy continues to grow in scale and scope, Jura will have to adapt to changing consumer tastes and purchasing habits. This little company from a little Swiss town will have to deal with major international competition and the presence of hundreds of similar products from respected rivals, but it has faced similar challenges before. The famous Jura Capresso espresso brand is capable of standing shoulder to shoulder with any manufacturer of home espresso machines -- and coffee drinkers around the world are eager to see what new products the coming years will bring.