...in the beginning

The foundation-stone for the enterprise was the company Dau & Comp. in Hamburg, who sold bookbindery supplies at the end of the 19th Century. The father of Kaethe Dorothea Marie Schmedt, the grandmother of today’s owner, acquired this company beginning of the past century. In the beginning of the 30’s Ernst Schmedt, the husband of Kaethe Schmedt also joined the enterprise and 1940 the company was renamed into Brauns & Schmedt.

1943 the company was totally destroyed by bombs. It was re-built again considerably by Kaethe Schmedt and everybody looked with hope into an unknown future.

1946 Arduous years of restructuring followed. Ernst Schmedt who meanwhile returned from the war captivity, helped with the restart and with the removal.

1952 joined Hanns Heinrich Schmedt with the company. He is the father of today’s owner. After a commercial education, he announced the company Brauns & Schmedt with the bookbinders in Germany.

1955 Helmut Spintig started as an apprentice at Schmedt. He should remain 50 years in the company. During this time the enterprise moved several times. Each time into bigger facilities as a result of the growth.

A new start

1958 was a difficult year and the company went bankrupt. But as it was after the war, it continued somehow: Now as branch of the Cologne company Robert Paul Kumetat, who agreed the co-operation after tough negotiations. Hanns Heinrich Schmedt from now visited the bookbinders in Germany and established good relationships. Most of them last until now. Additionally the company Schmedt KG was founded, where the former representations were resumed.

1966 after several years, Hanns Heinrich Schmedt deliberated himself upon his real love: The technology. He developed the blocking press PräGnant due to the experiences which he had had with the bookbinders.

1967 This machine was presented at the Drupa in and within the BDBI, the German Guild of Bookbinders. It was the start of a series of Prä-Machines. The blocking press was sold in large numbers - and not just in Germany. The machine with the production number 001 is still working properly and can be looked at in our new factory in Bienenbüttel...

The Development of the Prä-Machines

1970 the success of this machine led to the development of new book binding machines. The company prospered and had to move again. This time into the Wandalenweg in Hamburg. The manufacturing at that time settled down in the small village Wessenstedt near Uelzen, south of Hamburg. The company Hanns-Heinrich Schmedt was founded.

1974 the branch of Kumetat in Hamburg was terminated and 1975 the manufacturing and the wholesale were brought into into the new company called H.- H. Schmedt KG. This was the actual birth of today’s enterprise. New machines like the Präkant and Prädeck were developed and sold worldwide with great success. Hanns Heinrich Schmedt was honored by the BDBI, for his merits around the technical development of the book binding machines, with the golden needle of honor.

Change of Generations

1978 Hans Hinnark Schmedt entered the company. His grandparents, who had developed the company, still participated in the company. Altogether the company had 7 employees. The Prä-Machines formed the basis for the fact that the craft working bookbinders could exist despite the increasing industrial competition.

1980 Hans-Hinnark Schmedt introduced the first computer and enlarged the existing contacts abroad Europe. New suppliers from all over Europe could be won as well as new customers for the Prä-Machines in the whole world. H.-H. Schmedt KG was successful and grew, so that the factory was extended to 250 m².

1982 another hall was added.The casing-in machine PräLeg completed the series of Prä-Machines.

1985 Joern Schmedt, the brother of Hans-Hinnark joined the company. After the completion of his academic studies in the field of engineering, he lead the manufacturing in Wessenstedt. The press PräForm and the cutting and notching machine PräCut were presented.The first CNC-machine was installed for manufacturing.

1987 Schmedt published the first catalog and a price list, which were from now on the basis for the calculation of the bookbinders. More and more Prä-Machines found their way to the bookbinders and the trade with bookbinder supplies constantly increased.

The Development of the Company

1990 after the death of Kaethe Schmedt, the H.-H. Schmedt KG becomes the H.-H. Schmedt oHG, which was led by Hanns-Heinrich and Hans-Hinnark Schmedt. The trainee (Helmut Spintig) who joined the company in 1955, becomes an administration officer at Schmedt. The wholesale assortment was constantly extended. The first Easymark stamping machines (today PräziMark) out of US-American production, were sold exclusively in Europe.

1993 the company moved again, now into an self-owned building in Hamburg-Allermöhe. Unfortunately, the grandmother could not witness this removal due to her decease. The business went constantly uphill and meanwhile 15 co-workers were employed. New machines were developed and the existing ones were constantly upgraded to meet the changing needs of the customers.

1995 SCHMEDT’s first own booth at the Drupa show. Extension of the building in Hamburg to 650m².

1999 the company, was handed over to Hans-Hinnark Schmedt, who now is the sole owner and renamed it to H.-H. Schmedt e.K. The senior owner Hanns-Heinrich Schmedt quit from the active working life and became pensioner. But he still helps the company by giving advice and coming up with good ideas. In Wessenstedt the final expansion up to 500m³ was made.

2000 again there was a large demand of Prä-Machines due to the international tradeshow Drupa in Dusseldorf/Germany. Followed by this, the manufacturing in Wessenstedt has been extended so they could take care of the increasing orders. Meanwhile, 15 people worked on 500 sqm production facilities. Modern production machines guaranteed high-quality mechanical engineering. The machines were now designed with CAD support. The wholesale in Hamburg was based on a modern ERP-System created in-house.

2001 the bookbinder´s supplier Braunwarth & Luethke in Munich was taken over and became the south sales office of Schmedt. Thus, the entire federal territory is covered from Hamburg and Munich. With the successful sales team the west and the east was covered as well. The assortment of the wholesale was enlarged again and the availability was extended to a 24hour service.

2002 the decision to erect a new building came up again. A larger building in the same business area was planned and realized. Now 14 emloyees in Hamburg moved into modern office rooms. Almost 8,000 articles could have been found in the new warehouse now. A semi-automatic case-making machine from the USA completed Schmedt´s program of bookbinding machinery and is distributed exclusively in Europe and other countries.

2003 the building is ready and customers and suppliers are introduced with an "open-house"-party. Despite the German economical development which seemed to stand idle, Schmedt still developed very successfully. The export of machines increased, particularly into Eastern Europe. A new version of the fan-binder PräColl has been designed.

Schmedt becomes a brand

2004 again was a Drupa year together with Schmedt´s partners GP² Technologies, FiberMark Redbridge and Flesher. The demand for the Prä-Machines rose again. Both manufacturing and wholesale developed positively and at the end of 2004 there were scarcely 40 people working at the three locations Hamburg, Wessenstedt and Munich. The enterprise registered one of the most successful years of firm history.

2005 is again to become a good year. The new online-shop is launched, in which bookbinders, printers and post press companies as well as schools and artists may order from the assortment. The shop is opened 24 hours, 365 days a year which makes ordering more comfortable.
Schmedt will present its machines on many international fairs to a broad public and will extend the range of the articles.

Helmut Spintig, who joined in 1955, left into his retirement. He had been employed for 50 years and still remains a part of the development of Schmedt.To complete the management after the departure of Helmut Spintig, Jörn Schmedt and Jens Sendel became administration officers and are supporting Hans Hinnark Schmedt from now on.To make sure, that the fourth generation will keep up with Schmedt, the two sons of Hans Hinnark Schmedt are preparing for this challenge...

The Co-operation with the American partners GP² Technologies and Flesher Corp., as well as the English Fibermark/Redbridge group could be continued. Shows like the Print05 in Chicago were accomplished together and the IPEX06 had been planned.

But soon one planned something large at Schmedt again: For the production of the Prä-machines  a new factory building should be built in the locality Bienenbüttel which is close Uelzen. The constant demand for the Prä-machines required an optimization of the manufacturing processes and a reduction of the delivery times. In Bienenbüttel production takes place in facilities of more than 1.000 m² of space.

2006 after the two last years had been successful ones, we were confident for 2006 as well. In September the move into the new factory building in Bienenbüttel had been realized. The decision to accomplish the manufacturing still in the region was welcomed by the local communities. Besides, new jobs were also being developed here. Also, our branch in the south of Germany had space requirements and moved into new rooms. Starting from October the new office in Haar near Munich has been opened. Since 2001, Horst-Lars Müller is supervising the Schmedt-branch in Munich. Before, he had been manager for Braunwarth + Lüthke.

The wholesale was expanded to the demands of printing and post print and subsequent treatment of new suppliers and articles was taken up. The product novelties promised success. The existing suppliers’ relations were to be intensified and further developed. Also, at the location Hamburg new jobs were planned. The location Munich intended to develop its market share. Beside the IPEX in Birmingham, Prä-machines were also seen on the Grafitalia in Milan.

2007 After the final removal of the manufacturing, all the processes had become normal again. The constantly growing demand however lead to longer delivery times. Moving into larger facilities was the right step to cope with these challenge in the future. This year, we celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Prä-machine manufacturing. The first machine "PräGnant" was built and delivered in 1967. Meanwhile, nearly 4.000 pieces of this machine had been produced.

With the removal, the hammer effect painting became past. From March on, all machines were coated with a modern powder paint device. This was environmental friendly and state of the art. The machines were now offered in dark green, the color of Schmedt. From then on, every color is possible if a custom color is requested. In June, the new facilities had been presented during an open-house with more than 500 customers, suppliers and friends.To make sure that the personal contact with the customers is kept properly, Schmedt had enlarged the sales force up to four sales representatives. In modern times the personal touch is becoming more important than ever.

The preparations for the Drupa 2008 were enormous, to guarantee a professional show in Düsseldorf. The stand became another milestone for Schmedt. Meanwhile, more than 50 employees worked for Schmedt at the three offices in Hamburg, Bienenbüttel and Munich. The economical success of the company confirms the strategic decisions of the company. It became another "most successful year" in the history of the company. The arrangements for the year 2008 should stabilize this development.

Preparing the Future

2008 Again the year starts with a show: At the PaperWorld in Frankfurt, Schmedt and their partner GP² were preparing themselves for Drupa. A new machine from the US, the PräziCase EC3 was becoming a best-seller. There was still a high demand for machines for manufacturing photo books. Schmedt offers perfect solutions with the PräziCases, the PräLeg and PräForm. The booth of now 180sqm at Drupa Düsseldorf was again very attractive for the visitors from the whole world. For the first time, Schmedt and GP² display machines on the booth of Hewlett Packard. Now HP can offer the whole solutions for the manufacturing of photo books. At the Photokina in Cologne this successful co-operation was repeated.

The show was a complete success and a lot of new customers could be won. The first machines were delivered right after the Drupa.

Again Schmedt confessed to the craft bookbinding and the statement "The World of Bookbinding". Beside this, the company had become a competent partner for digital printers and manufacturers of photo books. To match both worlds, the bookbinder Martínus Janssen connected both at the Drupa and in several advertisements in magazines.

First time ever, Schmedt was employing six trainees in Hamburg and Bienenbüttel. This is not just a due for the management, but an investment into the future team of the company for owner Hans Hinnark Schmedt. In 2008 the four sales representatives were covering all of Germany and increased the service at the point of sale. In Hamburg and Bienenbüttel new colleagues were being employed: A sales team manager in Hamburg and a new electro-trechnician in Bienenbüttel.

2009 Despite of the weak economical sutuation, Schmedt has finished 2009 with positve results. Nevertheless, Schmedt has been confronted with an increase of customers restraining from machine investments. But Schmedt would not be Schmedt, if there were no ideas of how to overcome times like that. New sales representatives had been employed. Thus, to service the customers at the point of sale even better. Beside that, the company enlarged his commitment to training young people on the job and had 7 trainees in Hamburg and Bienenbüttel now.

With taking over the agency of Ecological Fibers in Germany, Schmedt had started a new cooperation in their consumables business. Now Schmedt could offer a wide range of FSC-certified papers. With the new endsheets "PräziCover", Schmedt supplies a special endpaper for the use in perfect binding machines. In that way, the blocks were prepared for the casing-in into hardcover cases.

A complete new designed machine is extending the line of prä-machines: The press PräForm 55. A mile stone in the history of machine manufacturing at Schmedt and the beginning of a new generation of machines at the same time. In addition, a new PUR-binder is included in the range of bookbinding machines. With this machine Schmedt was even more the solution provider for hardcover production of editions 1+.

The manufacturing plant had been expanded and a new property had been bought. In the future, the packing of the machines and the production of the PräziCover will take place there. In Hamburg the building was expanded, too. Space is needed for the sheeting machines of the new PräFekt-service. Besides PaperWorld, print09 in Chicago, Schmedt had presented at different local shows as well i.e. in Czech Republic and Belgium. And on some promotional events of HP Indigo in Israel and Spain. The dynamic development of the company Schmedt had been accompanied by a new machine design, which will be used for the existing machines as well, and a new, modern logo.

2010 Again there will be several shows like PaperWorld, Photokina, IPEX. bookfairs, Druck+Form etc. Schmedt as well displays on local shows in the Netherlands or Czech Republic. Despite that, Schmedt employs a new manager for the international sales to participate in international shows and the support of our distributors. The introduction of the new PUR-binder PräziPur took place during the "Finishing Days" which have been held in Rahden with Kolbus and HP Indigo. For the new PräForm there has been developed a new output module which increases the performance of the machine even more. Additional options like a barcode scanner are in process.

On top of that there is a plan to establish a demo-center, to show the latest machines in a live environment to the customers. In the future we also can offer trainings for operators, schools and associations. Opening will be September 2011.

The machine plant in Bienenbüttel has got a new hall now. There, some consumables of the Prä-line like the PräziCover will be made. The packing and forwarding of the machines will be made there as well to optimize the packing of the machines. Within the second half of the year, the company went trough the worldwide economical crisis and could catch up with the figures of 2009. With the end of 2010 the new catalog has been sent out to the customers. First time it was made as a hardcover and appeared as a real eye-catcher.

2011 The year has been started at Paperworld and presentations have been continued in the Netherlands, France and Spain up to the Digimedia in Düsseldorf. Schmedt launched the new show design with Paperworld and Digimedia. The same "look" could be found in the new Democenter. This democenter has been opened in September 2011, Now we have a demonstration- and trainingscenter at the Dwengerkamp to show all our machines. This allows to demonstrate the machines under real shop conditions as well as in a showroom. Furthermore there will be courses and trainings around bookbinding techniques. These will be announced on the website, Target groups are operators, schools and associations.

Additionally Schmedt will display on the Druck  + Form in Sinsheim to present the new machines to the custoemrs in southern Germany.
2011 seem to be the most successful economical year for Schmedt. One reason is for sure new machinery, as there are PräziPur, PräziPur Pro and the gluer PräziCoat Pro. Another reason is the success story of the endpaper PräziCover. There will be more new Schmedt machines in the next year.
2012. again is a Drupa-year. Four (!) new machines will be presented during the show: PräLeg, PräForm, PräDeck and PräKant, all with the extention "neo" in their names. The booth becomes a real success. In addition to the new machine, Schmedt takes over the making of the well known leather paring device Schärffix.. The year has been closed on a low level though the new machine.

Presence

For 2013 there will be the 2nd hardcover Days, which becomes even more important as the Digimedia has been cancelled. This event will be held to praise the book with a hardcover. Moreover there will be launched a new webshop which includes a shop just for machine spares.
Beside the restructuring within the company, the network of distributors will be reorganised, too. Thus Schmedt will stay competitve in the future.

hardcover books.

The current new logo. The three green bars
represent machines, supplies and service




The familiy tradition is and will be
part of the companies vision

And again the Men in Brass accompanied
Schmedts Open House in 2011

The new democenter and the headquarter



The new Schmedt-design for the Drupa 2012




Martinus Janssen is representing
Schmedt in China after the Drupa