Fifty years ago, the founder of the company Mr. Hans Schmidt started selling yarns and distributing textile machinery. He became aware of the importance which the control of tension had for production processes, and soon developed and constructed a 3-Roller Tension Meter which featured a measuring roller and two guiding rollers. This ingenious principle of operation has been proven to be the best method for tension measuring. The 3-roller measuring system has become the hallmark of all SCHMIDT tension meters and remains unsurpassed in its efficiency even today.
The workshop in Esslingen near Stuttgart, where the production had started, soon became too small. In 1962, Hans Schmidt therefore decided to move to Waldkraiburg, where he had bought a property in 1958 which included a former ammunition dump. After a few alterations to the building, the first 70 sq.m could soon be used for production. With the worldwide economic upswing the demand for tension meters rose steadily, occasionally involving special developments that were custom-made according to the customers individual requirements. This practice of finding the best possible solution for the customers application has prevailed until today and has become one of the main maxims of our company philosophy.
In 1971, an extension of the company building became necessary in order to be able to meet the increased standards. Shortly after the death of Hans Schmidt in 1977, the company was transformed in 1978 into a limited liability company, and the sister company Köhr KG was founded. At the same time, the company started developing electronic measuring instruments and, in 1981, introduced the first tension meter with a digital display to the market. Only tow years later, in 1983, a cooperation agreement was signed with the Japanese company Shimpo concerning the development and construction of a microprocessor controlled tension meter. The licensed production of this joint development started in 1988.
In 1987, Hans Schmidt & Co GmbH celebrated its 40th anniversary and, at the same time, the 25th anniversary oft the Waldkraiburg headquarters. In the wake of its economic success, the present business premises were open on September 28, 1990. The distribution of trading items was consistently expanded. Today the range of merchandise includes hand-held electronic tachometers, mechanical thickness gauges, stroboscopes, hardness testers for the textile and rubber industries, mechanical and electronic force gauges, textile moisture meters, and measuring instruments for determining the square meter weight of paper and fabric.
In 1996, Hans Schmidt & Co GmbH was the first tension meter manufacturer wordlwide to receive certification according to the International Standard DIN EN ISO 9001. This award emphasizes our continuous commitment to quality and gives our customer the confidence in a company in which quality and customer service has the highest priority. The certification covers the quality management for design, development, production, installation and maintenance of the tension meters. The ISO 9000 series of International Standards is recognized by more than 100 countries around the world as an authoritative standard for quality assurance.
