80 years of Schlegel: Innovation "Made in Germany

From a small company to an international supplier of control devices, switches and pushbuttons - a success story

Could company founder Georg Schlegel have imagined how his company would develop when he founded it on 1st of April 1945? Even during the war, the electrical engineer, who was almost 40 years old at the time, took the plunge into self-employment, laying the foundations for what is now a global company with around 250 employees. This year, Schlegel is celebrating its 80th anniversary.

The company's success story actually began two decades earlier. In 1924, Georg Schlegel established an electrical installation department in his parents' electricity company. On 1st of April 1945, while the war was still raging, the electrical engineer spun off this department and founded his own company.

With ingenuity and adaptability, he guided his newly founded company through the challenging postwar period. He developed steam vulcanisers for repairing damaged tires, manufactured protective covers for overhead line connections, built electrical control systems for elevators, and designed a mimic diagram for the EVS (Energieversorgung Schwaben = energy supply company for Swabia) at the time.

A new mainstay emerged through a patent dispute

In 1947, the company presented its first terminal block at the trade fair in Saulgau — an innovative product that quickly became popular. Due to a patent dispute on terminal blocks, which Schlegel later won, the company created another mainstay in 1952 as a precaution: pushbuttons and switches for machines and systems were designed — the company's core business today.

Based in Duermentingen, the company develops and produces switches, pushbuttons, and complete operating units with bus connections. These products are supplied worldwide. These switches and pushbuttons are mainly used in mechanical engineering. Schlegel is particularly well known for its extensive range of emergency-stop switches, which can stop machines immediately in an emergency.

Schlegel products are present in everyday life, even if they often remain hidden from the public view. They can be found in elevators, laboratories, airports, ships, and trains. Wherever a button is pressed to trigger a process, Schlegel is not far away.

The company has won numerous design and innovation awards

The company has grown over the years, and its product range, too. The specialist for pushbutton and switches now offers more than 8,000 products. The company has always remained flexible and innovative, even during its growth. In 2004, Schlegel became the first European manufacturer of AS-Interface contact blocks with integrated electronics. Since then, the electronics sector has expanded to include RFID systems and solutions for control via industrial networks.

Schlegel received the German Innovation Award in 2020 and 2021 for its in-house developed automation solutions. The company also attachs great importance on the design of its products. More than 110 national and international awards attest to the high aesthetic and functional standards of Schlegel's solutions.

The company is still family-run today, now in its third generation. Eberhard Schlegel, the son of the founder, joined in 1962 and took over the management in 1972. The next generation joined in 2005. Christoph Schlegel and Wolfgang Weber completed the management team in 2013.

Around 300 trainees

The company's headquarters are and will remain in Duermentingen. Currently, around 250 people are employed here. Many of these employees have worked at Schlegel for many years, having completed their training at the Duermentingen-based company. Schlegel places great importance on training qualified specialists. Over the past 80 years, approximately 300 young men and women have completed their training or dual studies at Schlegel. Schlegel currently offers seven vocational training courses and four dual study programmes.

Schlegel exclusively produces "Made in Germany". At the same time, it has an international presence. In addition to its own sales offices in Austria, Singapore, the United States, and China, Schlegel has distributors in over 80 countries. Products from Duermentingen are shipped worldwide daily.

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