Elna - The History of the Company

Kimball and Morton 1902 Lion Figural Sewing Machine

Maggie Snell's 'Almost a 10' Sewing Machine

International Sewing Machine Collectors' Society

The purpose of the International Sewing Machine Collectors' Society is to foster the collecting of, and research into, sewing machines.

This information provided to ISMACS courtesy Elna USA

Elna sewing machines and Elnapress ironing presses were first designed and manufactured by Tavaro, S.A., founded in 1934, in Geneva, Switzerland.

In the late 1930's, a refugee from the Spanish Civil War, Dr. Ramon Casas, approached Tavaro with designs he had developed for a sewing machine. With Dr. Casas' ideas, Tavaro produced the original Elna in 1940. The Elna #1 was the first compact, portable, electric sewing machine with a free arm.

The Elna #1 was a resounding success and so began Tavaro's commitment to the home sewing business. The Elna trademark has earned a significant place in the sewing industry as a result of numerous ground breaking innovations which placed Elna sewing machines in a class of their own. Elna sewing machines are well known for their reliability, quality, ease of operation, and elegant design.

Elna products have been sold and serviced in the United States since the early 1940's. Until 1986, Elna was represented in the United States by independent distributors. Due to the growing importance of the U.S. sewing machine market, Tavaro decided to establish a subsidiary in the United States. Elna, Inc. was founded April 21, 1986 as a subsidiary of Tavaro. Since then Elna has more than doubled its business in the United States.

In 1996, to better serve this expanding market, Elna International transferred its' U.S. distribution rights to Tacony Corporation, a leading sewing machine distributor. Elna USA was born on August 19, 1996 and is operated as a separate Tacony Company.

Elna USA is committed to providing Elna dealers with better service, quality product development, advanced education, and continued market support to ensure continued prosperity and growth in the world's largest market for sewing machines.

ISMACS is an organization totally independent of all sewing-machine manufacturers, past or present and is not affiliated with any of the companies mentioned in these pages. Please Note: Do not contact any ISMACS official in an attempt to solicit a valuation - it is not possible other than by hands-on assessment and your request will be ignored.

All rights reserved by ISMACS, under International and Pan American copyright conventions. Reproduction or copy of this page, in any form, in part or in whole, is strictly prohibited, without prior, written permission.