FOBA AG is a Swiss company that makes

photographic studio A photographic studio is often a business owned and represented by one or more photographers, possibly accompanied by assistants and pupils, who create and sell their own and sometimes others’ photographs. Since the early years of the 20th ce ...

equipment.

History

In 1939, just after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

started in Europe, imports of

photography Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employed ...

products such as lights and dry presses from

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

was reduced to a trickle. Walter Friedrich, a precisions engineer, together with his wife, began to manufacture commodities for professional photographers in their rented home's small basement. He called his startup ''Fotogeräte- und Elektroapparate-Bau'' ("Manufacturing of photographic and electrical equipment"), or ''FOBA''. To save on shipping costs and to keep up the personal contact with his customers, Friedrich at first delivered products personally by

bicycle A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike or cycle, is a human-powered or motor-powered assisted, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A is called a cyclist, or bicyclist. Bic ...

. The company also supplied cooking plates with integrated

heating coil A heat exchanger is a system used to transfer heat between a source and a working fluid. Heat exchangers are used in both cooling and heating processes. The fluids may be separated by a solid wall to prevent mixing or they may be in direct contac ...

s. This was the first in Switzerland. Photography equipment Photography companies of Switzerland Manufacturing companies established in 1939 1939 establishments in Switzerland Swiss brands {{Switzerland-company-stub