About Us

Until this point, common tube squeezers were made of bulky, fragile, and usually brown plastic, which served their purpose more or less plainly in households.

Suddenly, THE idea was born on a snowy night walk through the clear, cold winter landscape of the Zurich Unterland. After one (or two?) glasses of red wine and a lively conversation with dear friends.

The next day, this idea materialized at the kitchen table into the first simple prototypes of the tube key, made from 2 aluminum rods (processed with a drill, a hand saw, and a file).

Under the expert guidance of Walter Meichtry from Rafz, I was allowed to develop the prototypes further in his precision workshop.

Soon after, the first small series of these clever kitchen tools was created on the lathe and milling machine. A large part of the processing was done manually.

From the beginning, the range consisted of the 3 sizes that remain unchanged to this day: The small key is red, the medium one is blue, and the large one is green.

The first "packaging" consisted of a simple, printed cardboard carrier placed together with the key in a plastic bag.

The first copies were sold more or less at cost price to relatives and acquaintances. Already at this point, it became clear that this novel, simple, and colorful design greatly appealed to users.

By a happy "coincidence," I learned that the "wisli workshop" (wisli.ch) in Bülach performs such precision mechanics work.

Shortly after making contact, the first small series of the tube key were manufactured in this facility. This began a long-lasting and pleasant collaboration that lasted until 2020.

At wisli, people find work who, due to a psychological crisis or illness, are no longer or not yet able to meet the demands of an economic work environment. With a comprehensive offering tailored to different abilities, we accompany employees purposefully on their way.

The first website "www.dselect.ch" is created.

The first suitcase market takes place in Wallisellen. At my stand, the tube keys meet with great enthusiasm and sell well.

More successful suitcase and other markets follow. This also increases the quantities produced.

The label "drehmomente.ch" is born together with a new website with integrated web shop.

The large design fair "Design Schenken" takes place in Lucerne. It is my first major fair.

The tube key sells excellently before, during, and after the fair. More design fairs follow.

With the investment in a 40-watt Epilog professional laser, a new era begins. From now on, the tube keys can be individually personalized.

The standard collection is now supplemented with engraved versions. In October 2020, the right is acquired to laser the Alpine procession by paper-cut artist Jolanda Brändle from Mosnang.

The tube keys are now also available in selected specialty stores.

The lovely boutique "Sense for Smile" by Susi Fischer in Basel is the first store to carry these gadgets. Many more stores follow.

At the suggestion of many customers, a tube squeezer for plastic tubes is created.

The tulip-shaped product with the curved slot is named "Tulip." It is made of high-quality anodized aluminum and is excellently suited for squeezing almost all common plastic toothpaste and cream tubes with widths up to 6cm.

It is particularly well suited for Elmex and Meridol (thick fold/plastic) as it can be inserted from the side.

The production of the blanks takes place in Andelfingen at Dohner company, I do the manual finishing (deburring the slot, brushing the surface) myself. Anodizing is done in the Emmental.

The gratifyingly constantly growing demand for these useful design gadgets requires new production methods for the tube keys.

In Bülach, I find what I'm looking for at the precision mechanics workshop Biasuz. Here I find years of know-how as well as the corresponding CNC machines with almost unlimited capacities.

The high-quality and precise processing immediately impresses me. From now on, I can also fulfill large customer orders in a short time.

The first participation at ORNARIS in Bern - the largest industry meeting point for retail - is a great success.

Many retailers, kitchen stores, museum shops, and boutiques are interested in these useful Swiss products.

By the end of 2022, about 80 specialty stores throughout Switzerland already carry the tube keys and Tulips.

At the diverse request of customers, the stylish bag scraper "STREIFZUG" made of aluminum and stainless steel is created.

It is suitable for cleanly and completely emptying cat wet food as well as all other pouches such as fondue, mushrooms, rösti, and liquid soap.

The slim and simple design immediately meets with great enthusiasm from customers. The attractive colors come from the well-known color scheme of the tube keys.

Eine neue Webpage für die ermöglichung digitaler Zahlung entsteht.