Lenco Turntables
Lenco is a Swiss-origin audio and video equipment brand best known historically for turntables and now owned by Dutch company Commaxx International NV.
Last updated August 24, 2026
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Overview
Lenco is a Swiss-origin consumer electronics brand whose history is closely associated with record players and turntables. The name originated with Lenco AG, a company founded in Burgdorf, Switzerland, in 1946 by Fritz Laeng, Marie Laeng-Stucki, and Bruno Grütter. Its roots extend to Fritz Laeng’s earlier radio retail and rental business, Radio Laeng, established in 1925. The Lenco name was derived from the Laeng family name. Lenco AG initially manufactured household goods using moulded plastic and aluminium. It entered the turntable market in 1949, responding to the emergence of the long-playing record format introduced by Columbia Records. The company subsequently developed a reputation as a specialist manufacturer of record-playing equipment and expanded its international distribution. During the 1950s, Lenco products began reaching overseas markets through commercial partners and distributors, including Bogen in the United States and Goldring in the United Kingdom. Some products were initially sold under partner names before Lenco increasingly used its own brand. The company expanded its manufacturing footprint during the 1960s. In 1961, it established a factory in Osimo, Italy, which first produced electric motors. During the 1970s, that facility also manufactured turntables and cassette decks. At its height, the Swiss business exported equipment to more than eighty countries, giving Lenco a substantial international presence in the high-fidelity market. Lenco’s original corporate structure declined during the economic downturn of the mid-1970s. Demand for high-fidelity equipment weakened while competition from lower-cost products manufactured in East Asia intensified. Lenco AG in Burgdorf entered bankruptcy in 1977. A successor, Lenco Audio AG, continued repair, service, and warranty responsibilities for existing equipment, but it ceased operations in 1983. The founding family’s association with the original company also ended with the deaths of Marie Laeng in 1974 and Fritz Laeng in 1978. The trademark was subsequently separated from the original Swiss manufacturer. In 1984, Horst Neugebauer KG of Lahr, Germany, acquired the Lenco name and applied it to a broader range of products, including amplifiers imported from Korea. This use achieved limited commercial success. In 1997, the trademark was acquired by the Lenco STL Group of Venlo in the Netherlands, which primarily used it on lower-priced products sourced from manufacturers in Southeast Asia. Commaxx International NV acquired the company and brand in 2015. Under Commaxx ownership, Lenco has been applied to a wider consumer-electronics portfolio that includes turntables, internet radios, DAB+ radios, DVD players, television sets, and other audio equipment. The modern brand therefore combines a heritage in mechanical record-playing equipment with a broader private-label-style consumer electronics assortment. Publicly available reference material does not establish a separate current manufacturing base, executive roster, financial profile, or official brand website.
History
Lenco’s history began before the Lenco name itself. In 1925, Fritz Laeng established Radio Laeng in Burgdorf, Switzerland, operating a business that sold and rented radios in both complete and kit form. In 1946, Laeng, his wife Marie Laeng-Stucki, and Bruno Grütter founded Lenco AG. The company’s name was formed from the Laeng surname. The new company first produced household items made from moulded plastic and aluminium. It entered the record-player market in 1949, when the LP format was emerging as an important new medium. This move placed Lenco in a developing market for domestic and high-fidelity playback equipment. From the middle of the 1950s, its turntables were exported to other countries. Distribution arrangements sometimes involved established local commercial names: products were sold through partners such as Bogen in the United States and Goldring in the United Kingdom before the Lenco name became more prominent internationally. Manufacturing and product development expanded in the 1960s and 1970s. Lenco opened an Italian factory in Osimo in 1961. The plant initially made electric motors, but later added turntables and cassette decks. The original company became an international exporter, reportedly reaching more than eighty countries. This expansion reflected the growing market for home audio systems and specialist record-playing equipment. The business encountered serious pressure in the 1970s. A global economic downturn reduced consumer demand for high-fidelity equipment, while competition from products made in the Far East placed pressure on established European manufacturers. Lenco AG Burgdorf was declared bankrupt in 1977. Lenco Audio AG, a successor organization, continued service, repair, and warranty work for previously sold products, but it eventually ceased operations in 1983. Marie Laeng had died in 1974 and Fritz Laeng in 1978, marking the end of the founders’ direct involvement during the period when the original company disappeared. The Lenco trademark survived the collapse of Lenco AG. Horst Neugebauer KG, based in Lahr, Germany, acquired the name in 1984. It used Lenco on a wider assortment that included amplifiers imported from Korea, although this phase had limited commercial success. In 1997, the Lenco name passed to the Lenco STL Group in Venlo, the Netherlands. The group mainly applied it to relatively low-priced products imported from Southeast Asia, separating the surviving trademark from the original Swiss manufacturing operation. In 2015, Commaxx International NV acquired the brand. Under Commaxx, Lenco expanded beyond its historic turntable identity to cover internet radios, DAB+ radios, DVD players, television sets, and other audio and video products, while continuing to offer turntables. The brand’s current identity is therefore layered: it retains a heritage connected to Swiss engineering and LP-era high fidelity, but its present portfolio is broader and is managed by a Dutch consumer-electronics company. The available reference material does not provide reliable details about current headquarters, named executives, financial results, or a dedicated official website.
- 2015
Commaxx International acquired the brand
[1]Commaxx International NV acquired Lenco and applied the brand to turntables and a wider assortment of audio and video equipment.
- 1997
Lenco STL Group acquired the name
[1]The Lenco trademark passed to the Lenco STL Group of Venlo in the Netherlands, which used it mainly on lower-priced imported products.
- 1984
Trademark acquired by Horst Neugebauer KG
[1]The Lenco name was acquired by Horst Neugebauer KG in Germany and applied to a broader imported electronics range.
- 1983
Lenco Audio AG ceased operations
[1]The successor company that handled service, repairs, and warranties for existing Lenco equipment folded.
- 1977
Lenco AG declared bankrupt
[1]The original Burgdorf company entered bankruptcy amid weaker high-fidelity demand and stronger competition from Far Eastern manufacturers.
- 1970
Italian production broadened
[1]During the 1970s, the Osimo facility began producing turntables and cassette decks in addition to motors.
- 1961
Osimo factory opened
[1]Lenco opened a factory in Osimo, Italy, initially producing electric motors.
- 1950
International distribution expanded
[1]From the mid-1950s, Lenco supplied turntables to foreign markets through partners including Bogen in the United States and Goldring in the United Kingdom.
- 1949
First Lenco turntable introduced
[1]Lenco entered turntable manufacturing in response to the emergence of the LP record format.
- 1946
Lenco AG founded
[1]Fritz Laeng, Marie Laeng-Stucki, and Bruno Grütter founded Lenco AG in Burgdorf, Switzerland.
Products and positioning
A Swiss-origin audio brand with a strong historical association with turntables, later repositioned under successive owners as a broader, generally accessible consumer electronics brand.
Audio equipment · 1949
Turntables
Turntables are Lenco’s defining product category and the source of the brand’s historical reputation. The original Swiss company entered the market in 1949 as LP records were becoming an important consumer format. Historically, Lenco supplied equipment through international commercial partners as well as under its own name. Contemporary Lenco-branded turntables continue the association with record playback within the brand’s broader consumer-electronics portfolio.
Audio equipment
Cassette decks
Cassette decks formed part of Lenco’s later original manufacturing range. The company’s Italian factory began producing cassette decks during the 1970s alongside turntables. The category illustrates Lenco’s expansion from specialist record-playing equipment into a wider set of home audio components during the mature high-fidelity era.
Digital audio equipment · 2015
Internet radios
Internet radios are among the network-connected audio products carrying the Lenco name under Commaxx ownership. They represent the brand’s move beyond mechanical and analogue playback toward digitally delivered radio and general-purpose home listening equipment.
Radio equipment · 2015
DAB+ radios
Lenco-branded DAB+ radios form part of the modern radio portfolio associated with the brand after its acquisition by Commaxx International. They extend Lenco’s radio heritage into digital terrestrial broadcasting and sit alongside internet radios and other consumer audio products.
Home video equipment · 2015
DVD players
DVD players were included in the expanded Lenco product assortment under Commaxx ownership. Their presence reflects the brand’s broad consumer-electronics positioning rather than its original specialist focus on turntables and high-fidelity components.
Home video equipment · 2015
Television sets
Television sets are part of the wider audio and video equipment range to which the Lenco trademark has been applied in its modern phase. The category broadens the brand from audio playback into general home entertainment hardware.
Brand decisions
2015
Expansion into broader consumer electronicsStrategyBackground
After successive changes in ownership, the Lenco trademark was no longer limited to the original Swiss turntable business.
Action taken
Commaxx International NV acquired the brand and used it across turntables, internet radios, DAB+ radios, DVD players, television sets, and other audio equipment.
Aftermath
Lenco continued its turntable association while operating as a broader audio and video consumer-electronics brand.
1949
Entry into turntable manufacturingProduct launchBackground
The introduction of the LP record format created an opportunity for manufacturers of domestic record-playing equipment.
Action taken
Lenco AG launched its first turntable and established the product category that would become central to the brand’s identity.
Aftermath
Turntables became the company’s best-known product and supported later international expansion.
Sources1 sources
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