SSI Schaefer is celebrating 75 years globally – an international company first founded by Fritz-Schaefer in 1937 in Burbach, Germany, it wasn’t until the 1960’s that the focus on overseas markets began with the first two foreign companies founded in Basingstoke, UK and Neunkirch, Switzerland. Today the company is not only represented in Europe, but also in America, Australia, the Middle East and Asia.
In seven decades SSI Schaefer has undergone significant growth as a local manufacturer of transport containers, heating pipes and bottle crates to the world’s leading provider of warehouse and logistics systems – and all built on the motto: ‘everything from a single source’ – a total solutions provider of storage and plant equipment with a reputation for continuity, experience and value and a real understanding of customer needs at the very heart of its business.
In terms of the direction in which the business is going and the logistics industry in general, SSI Schaefer is all too aware that the needs of its customers are constantly evolving which is why its continually providing materials handling, storage and distribution solutions that fit in with today’s modern warehouse whilst pushing the boundaries in design, technology and innovation in order to keep one step ahead of the competition.
Jaap Vos, Managing Director, SSI Schaefer UK, says: “Customers are progressively looking for suppliers that can provide a multi-faceted solution, providing a combined approach that includes both static and automated storage and picking.
“We now take on the ‘integrator’ role – more and more customers are looking for working partners that can provide them with the confidence and peace of mind that a project can be handed over and followed through to completion, knowing all aspects of design, build, installation and smooth integration of additional contractors will be managed efficiently and effectively. SSI Schaefer is unique in its position to be able to provide most solutions built from its own product portfolio.”
Starting out with the production of transport containers, it wasn’t for another ten years that the ground-breaking development of the Lager-Fix container was launched. The range of boxes and containers from SSI Schaefer has grown ever since and matching shelves to those containers were then added to the product range closely followed by racking systems during the 1970s.
Rapid growth and globalisation of SSI Schaefer did not take place until the mid 1980s and it wasn’t until 1996 that a highly specialised manufacturing facility opened in the Czech Republic producing automation components such as conveyor technology and storage and retrieval systems.
In 2000 saw the formation of the SSI Schaefer Group and the integration of further associated companies – SSI Schaefer Noell, developers of highly innovative, automated logistics solutions and SSI Schaefer Peem, responsible for the development of order picking and conveyor technology. This Group was strengthened further with the acquisition of Salomon Automation in Austria during 2008 which has outstanding software and logistics expertise. In 2010, SSI Schaefer then took over Danish company Handler A/S which has since been serving the storage lift sector.
SSI Schaefer is the UK and world’s leading supplier of logistics and material flow systems with a product offering ranging from plastic storage and transit containers to high bay warehousing systems and almost everything and anything in between – all of its own manufacture.
SSI Schaefer
Tel: 01264 386600
Email: solutions@ssi-schaefer.co.uk
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