1937
Founding of the company
On 16th January 1937, the following entry appears in the Burbach official registry: Fritz Schäfer – manufacture of metal goods of all kinds. The first products were manufactured in the cellar of the house he lived in.
Milestones from 1937 to today
On 16th January 1937, the following entry appears in the Burbach official registry: Fritz Schäfer – manufacture of metal goods of all kinds. The first products were manufactured in the cellar of the house he lived in.
The change to series production for transport boxes meant that the original production facilities soon became too small and so operations were transferred to the old “Dorfwiese” (village green) in Neunkirchen-Salchendorf in 1948.
The four sons, Hans, Gerhard, Manfred and Theo Schäfer take on the management of the young enterprise in 1951. In addition to their manufacturing operations, they decide to expand the lucrative retail business.
In December, the EMW, Ironmongers and Hardware Dealers, is founded: “Trading with industrial raw materials and products of all kinds”.
The development and series production of Fix storage boxes is not just a milestone for the company, but has left an indelibly mark on warehouse logistics.
The closed iron ore mine "Pfannenberger Einigkeit" is taken over by the twins Manfred und Theo Schäfer in Neunkirchen-Salchendorf. “Pfannenberg GmbH“ is founded.
The EMW Steel Service Centre relocates from Betzdorf to the Pfannenberg site in newly constructed facilities.
The FIX panel radiator is successfully launched. After 40 years, the company withdrew from the heating sector to concentrate on new market segments.
The activities of "Pfannenberg GmbH" are continued and extended through the newly founded enterprise SCHÄFER WERKE GmbH. The company has its head office on the historic Pfannenberg in Neunkirchen in Germany’s Siegerland region.
At three production sites, around 1,000 employees work to maintain this success.
With the establishment of SCHÄFER SHOP in 1971, a new sales idea is born. As a mail order supplier of equipment for offices, warehouses and workshops, SCHÄFER SHOP gives its customers the opportunity to buy from catalogues. This “shopping from your desk” idea is a great success. The original four-page brochure has since developed into a 1,300-page catalogue.
Construction of the Betzdorf works for the production of steel furniture for office, workshop and shop floor.
Market launch of reusable beverage containers with a PU (polyurethane) coating.
SCHÄFER Perforated Metal takes up production.
EMW is built up into a Steel Service Centre with slitting and lateral slitting lines, geared to the high-grade steel sector.
Establishment of SCHÄFER Ausstattungs-Systeme GmbH: In addition to the main works in Neunkirchen, production to order is begun at a further location in Betzdorf.
SCHÄFER WERKE takes over SUDEX – a company producing stainless steel KEGs in Ledec nad Sazavou in the Czech Republic.
Production of server and network cabinets is launched under the brand name SCHÄFER IT Systems.
The Container Systems division expands its range to include IBCs (intermediate bulk containers) of stainless steel for liquid and paste-like substances, solid materials and granulate.
Perforated metal production extended into a centre of excellence on the Pfannenberg.
Another slitting line is put into operation, extending the EMW service range.
A special year for the SCHÄFER Group. Three companies celebrate jubilees at the same time.
Circular blanks of the highest quality in steel, stainless steel or aluminium. Bespoke formats and lot sizes on customer request.
Fresh draught beer with Bavarian bunghole and PU jacket.
With iQdata, the specialists for IT infrastructure create a new brand for holistic systems solutions for all your data centre needs.
In this year, the SCHÄFER Container Systems division celebrated 2 jubilees: 1978 saw production of the PLUS KEG, which celebrated its 40th year in 2018. At the same time, the 25 millionth KEG was manufactured on the Pfannenberg.
To optimise logistics ever further, the EMW Steel Service Centre builds two new halls to extend its operational area by 12,000 m² to a total of 45,000 m². Daily loading volume now amounts to 4,000 tons.