[12-10-2021] 111 years of Schmalz: From shaving tool to robot tool

For 111 years, Schmalz has shown that a feel for trends and the courage to change make a company successful. This is how the former razor blade manufacturer has developed into a leading supplier of vacuum technology.

Anyone who follows Schmalz on Instagram (@schmalz_de) has already discovered them: 111 Schmalz moments from 111 years of company history. Like a countdown, the milestones are heading for the key date in November 2021. ''The founding date is November 10, 1910, and just a few days later, the first freight of razor blades was delivered to Stuttgart and Frankfurt,'' says Dr. Kurz Schmalz, grandson of the company's founder and current managing partner. ''And today, 111 years later, we are developing robotic gripping systems, the appropriate software, vacuum technology and handling solutions.''

 

The product of the first hour was the widely known ''Glattis'' razor blades manufactured in Glatten. In the fifties, the portfolio changed completely: The razor blades were followed by transport trolleys for luggage and mail as well as aircraft stairs. In 1984, Dr. Kurt Schmalz took over the management of the company and focused on vacuum technology. At that time, the first vacuum components were already on the market. The request from a carpentry company for a swiveling holding device was then the decisive impetus for Schmalz to further develop the principle of ''lifting and holding with vacuum''.

 

Today, it is the topics of digitalization, automation even for batch size 1 and demographic change that are driving Schmalz forward in vacuum technology. The focus is always on the idea of sustainability. Whether in resource-optimized management or in the development of energy-saving products for customers: The vacuum experts make ergonomic lifting mobile and leave the pure hardware level behind. They put their know-how into software solutions , develop communicative components and work with digital twins. ''We not only follow the trends on the market, but also set new impulses,'' says Dr. Schmalz.