Production in germany
PICARD OBERTSHAUSEN
1928 was the year in which Martin Picard and his sons Alois and Edmund switched from saddler to fine bag maker. The expertise in leather was there. PICARD Lederwaren was born. Carriages were passé, cars and leather goods were the future. Why bags in particular? People are fascinated by bags. Women and men need them every day, and preferably in good quality. Edmund transported the first sample collections by bicycle to the leather city of Offenbach to get orders. A car was still too expensive at that time.
In 1935, the first series production of PICARD bags began with 100 employees. Because the brothers Alois and Edmund Picard did not want to become part of the Nazi apparatus and steadfastly refused to become members of the NSDAP until the end, the company received no support from the regime and almost had to close during the turmoil of the Second World War. Only when Alois and Edmund returned from captivity as prisoners of war did PICARD make progress again.
In 1949, construction began on a new and modern factory in Obertshausen in the Offenbach district. Within 15 years, three further branches were established in Germany, where over 1000 PICARD employees were working at the end of the 1960s.
Impressions of production in Obertshausen
To this day, we still produce at the same location in Obertshausen, where our administration is also based. From here, we handle our global business, develop new strategies and have been investing heavily in sustainability for some time now. One of the new goals is to act sustainably when selecting suppliers. Today, 90% of PICARD's leather suppliers are already certified by the Leather Working Group (LWG) - the aim is to achieve 100% by 2025. The aim of the LWG is to ensure compliance with sustainable and ecological business practices in the leather industry. Furthermore, by 2025, all leather-free products are to be made exclusively from sustainable materials. In addition, our plant in Obertshausen produces its own electricity with solar panels on the roof and a small bee farm with a large flower meadow has been maintained on the undeveloped meadow opposite the main building since 2016.
You can also find out more about sustainability at PICARD in our blog.
We are one of the last companies in Germany to offer training as a fine bag maker. We currently run the artisan training center with 20 artisan employees and two trainees.
Especially the exclusive series such as for the airport stores or the Made in Germany series, such as the Weimar collection, are produced by us in Obertshausen with the finest craftsmanship. We also produce individual private label collections here.