Schulz Compressores is the largest manufacturer of air compressors in Latin America. It is a genuine Brazilian company in Santa Catarina, with head quarter in Joinville (SC). Like other large organizations which began in a simple and family way, Schulz started its history 50 years ago with only 26 coworkers and limited resources. On June 12th, 1963, Heinz Schulz invited a group of friends and entrepreneurs to found Metalúrgica Schulz.
The partners included the entrepreneurs Ronald Braatz, Herbert Theilacker, Norberto Ritzmann, Guilherme Urban, his son Gert H. Schulz and Ovandi Rosenstock, current CEO, who were part of the start group and have taken part since the start of this success story. At the time of the foundation, the youngest son of Heinz, Waldir Carlos Schulz, was 13 years old. Currently he is the Chairperson of Board of Directors and Vice CEO.
The market vision of this group of visionaries would take the small metallurgical company Schulz to a line of manual fastening, tightening and cutting tools. The bench vise was its first product for mechanical purposes.
Attentive to the market, in 1972, Schulz was in search of new product lines with potential for growth and resolved to dedicate itself to the development of alternative piston compressors. It started with two small models, of ½ and 1 hp, and it did not take long to start in quest of models of greater capacity.
Ten years later, in 1982, Schulz attained the absolute leadership in the Brazilian market of piston air compressors. The success and quality of its products led to the opening of the foreign market the following year. Thereby, in 1985, the company gained leadership in Latin America. Moved by the constant search for evolution it became, also at the end of the decade, the first Brazilian company to develop rotary screw compressors with its own engineering.
In the 90’s the company underwent intense growth. One of the great advances was the acquisition of the shareholding control of its greatest competitor in alternative piston compressors, Tecnomecânica S.A., belonging to the Dresser Group, holder of the brand Wayne. Linked to this, in 1994, Schulz opened the capital and made another leap in growth with the impressive mark of 1 million compressors produced and sold. In 1999, it consolidated its North American market share, with the creation of Schulz of America Inc., another important step towards its global performance.
Today, Schulz is acknowledged as one of the most complete factories of air compressors in the world, offering the market a full line in the generation, treatment and storage of compressed air. Besides the alternative piston, diaphragm and screw compressors of 5 up to 250 hp, it has refrigerated and adsorption air dryers, line filters, coalescence filters, condensate separators, pneumatic tools, electrical tools and accessories for residential, professional and industrial applications.
Currently, the products of Schulz are present in more than 70 countries, being a global supplier of solutions for compressed air and equipment for household to industrial use, which reinforces the tradition and high technological standard of its products.
From the beginning of the production of its first products in 1963, to the start of the air compressor models, in 1972, Schulz soon transformed itself into the largest and most complete Brazilian manufacturer of air compressors. In 1984, the Schulz products were already present throughout Latin America, in Central America and the USA. Investing in the search for new markets, in 1991, started the production of rotary screw compressors and the competition with the largest global brands.
Ten years later, in 1999, Schulz of America, Inc, was installed in the city of Atlanta, Georgia, with warehouse, sales and technical team trained in the Brazilian head quarter. Schulz permanently gained its space on North American soil and expanded its performance. At the end of 2009, the Somar brand was incorporated in Schulz, which expanded its performance in the market of motor pumps, machines and tools to meet the requirements of the demanding global customers of the company. In 2017, in another bold movement, it inaugurated operation in Asia with the Compressor factory in Shanghai, China. In July of the same year Schulz Compressores was created, arising from the separation of Schulz S.A. into its business divisions.
We prepared a representation of the historical evolution of Schulz Compressores since its foundation to the present days, with the main relevant facts.
See below:
Founded on June 12th, 1963, by Heinz Schulz and a group of friends and entrepreneurs, Schulz arose as a small metal works with 26 employees. It started manufacturing cast iron parts for the agricultural line and bench vises, its first own product. The first sales car used by the CEO Ovandi Rosenstock was a VW Variant, used to prospect the line of bench vises and air compressors of ½ and 1 hp, in the markets of Curitiba (PR) and São Paulo (SP).
In November 1972, it started the production of air compressors. “The BOM” was made available in the powers of ½ and 1 hp. In 1978, the company started the operations of casting in its new unit in the Industrial District of Joinville (SC).
In the 80’s the company became the leader in the Brazilian market of air compressors as well as of all Latin America. As a product milestone, Schulz launched PRODIGIUS, the first compressor for residential application in the Brazilian market. In 1982 the company received the first Top Five award of the Magazine NEI. In 1988 the Jet Master compressor was launched, which would become the sales champion in the following decades.
In 1991, the company started to produce screw compressors, being the only genuinely Brazilian company to produce these compressors. In 1994, the company opened its capital and acquired the control of Tecnomecânica, producer of Wayne/Wetzel compressors. In 1999, the company inaugurated Schulz of America in Atlanta, USA.
It was the decade which confirmed the quality and tradition of the Schulz brand. In 2004, the company started production of the Bravo line compressors and, in 2009, had the shareholding incorporation of Somar S.A. Several national awards were gained, such as: Award CNI (2006), TOP export ADV (2004 to 2007), Award Finep and Award Idea Brasil (2009). Without counting the certifications obtained.
The company acquired certification CE for the dental line and began to produce portable diesel rotary compressors in 2010. The global expansion continued with the opening of the representation office in China, in Shanghai (2010). In 2013, upon completing 50 years, a Distribution Center for inventory was inaugurated with 12.9 thousand m² in its branch in Joinville (SC). In 2016 the company obtained a new certification of Inmetro for its air tanks. In 2017 two other relevant facts: the company opened its compressor factory in Shanghai (China) and started the operation of Schulz Compressores.
