Leuze and SCHMACHTL celebrate 50-year partnership

In 2021, Leuze and longstanding partner and distributor SCHMACHTL from Linz, Austria, can look back on 50 years of success together.

January 12, 1971 is an important date and historic milestone in the corporate collaboration between Leuze and SCHMACHTL: it marked the first day of what now has become a 50-year partnership. The family-owned company, which was founded by Franz Schmachtl in Linz, Austria in 1936, has been distributing Leuze sensors ever since. Initially only in Austria, and later also in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

About SCHMACHTL

Today, Schmachtl is a leading provider of industrial product and system solutions and a cooperation partner of manufacturers and technology leaders in automation technology. In addition to consulting, planning, and the delivery of high-quality components, SCHMACHTL also offers system assembly and commissioning services. The company's offerings include professional services throughout the entire life cycle of machinery and systems, as well as training.

Leuze goes international

For Leuze, the partnership that was launched in 1971 between company co-founder Christof Leuze and Dr. Karl-Heinz Schmachtl, represented the first big step towards internationalization. This step was taken long before Leuze even founded its first sales company in Europe (not including Germany). For comparison: the oldest Leuze-owned subsidiary in Flurlingen, Switzerland, is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year.

Largest international Leuze distributor

With the founding of further sales offices in Austria as well as subsidiaries in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, SCHMACHTL has greatly expanded its access to local markets. Today the company, which has been managed by Günther Probst and Franz Pemmer since 2012, has over 220 employees and has become the largest international Leuze distributor. "With its excellent technical know-how of our products, vast experience in the sector, and good local market access, SCHMACHTL is not only an extremely important distributor for us, but also a real technical sparring partner," explains Wolfgang Albeck, Director of Corporate Sales at Leuze. "The relationship between Leuze and SCHMACHTL is one of trust and cooperation," Günther Probst, Managing Director at SCHMACHTL, describes the long-term cooperation between the two companies. "There is regular contact and constructive exchange throughout all levels."