The Debrunner Koenig Group started in St. Gallen in 1755 as the Hochreutinersche Eisenwarenhandlung (Hochreutiner’s Hardware Store). Jean Debrunner took over the company in 1885 and in 1911, after significant expansion, gave it a new name: Debrunner & Cie, which later became a joint-stock company. The company was put to the test in the aftermath of the First World War and the outbreak of the Second World War.
After the war ended, Debrunner & Cie. AG grew over a period of 40 years into a group of companies operating across the country. In 1988 the Debrunner Group and the Koenig Group merged, and in 1996 the Acifer Group joined them. The Debrunner Koenig Group has been part of the international Klöckner & Co SE group since 1992, and is one of the leading Swiss wholesale companies supplying the construction, industrial and commercial sectors.