In the 1900s, Charles Bonnet created a company in Monswiller for the purchase and resale of woodworking tools, mainly intended for carpentry, joinery and wheelwrighting. In 1919, his son Charles Bonnet took over his father’s company and began to diversify his business by offering services such as sharpening, maintenance of woodworking tools and brazing of band saws.

With the occupation of the Ruhr and the 20% increase in taxes that caused the 1924 crisis, Charles Bonnet decided to extend his business to the manufacture of drill bits, milling cutters, augers and augers for manual and mechanical machining of wood.

This new activity was registered in the trade register in April 1925 and was called “Charles
BONNET & Fils, Fabrique d’Outillage – Exportation “.

These changes required the construction of a forge workshop and the purchase of machine tools in the center of the village of Monswiller. These modernizations allowed the company to position itself at the forefront in the sale and production of woodworking tools. Its main competitors were the STAHL Company in Saverne and SCHEIBEL in Monswiller.

In 1934, Charles passed on the family business to his son Marcel Bonnet.

During the Second World War, the Germans renamed the company Karl Bonnert and requisitioned the company’s workers for the road redevelopment work and the repair of the Marne-Rhine Canal demanded by Hitler.

From 1958 to 1960, Marcel Bonnet expanded the mechanical workshop to install new equipment. Accompanied by his brother, André, he took over the Charles Bonnet & Fils Company, which in 1970 had twenty operators and ten representatives.

In 1984, Régis, Marcel Bonnet’s son, took over the company. It is one of the 5 manufacturers of wood drill bits in France, 4 of which are located in Saverne. In order to remain competitive, he invested in numerically controlled lathes that allowed him to access the German and Austrian markets. He also developed a fully automated milling line for machining wood drill bits.

In December 2022, André Ertzscheid bought the Bonnet & Fils company.