© by Schaeff Group 2002 − 2022

Since the end of the 16th century the Schaeff family operated hammer mills at various locations in Franconia, thus we can look back over a long entrepreneurial tradition. In the middle of the 19th century Leonhardt Schaeff acquired the hammer mill near Hornberg (Kirchberg/Jagst). First he extended the business, however soon he was struggling for economic survival: The increasing competition through industrially manufactured products made life difficult for the smith. In 1920 the family reoriented itself and started with a retail business and repair workshop for agricultural machines in Sulzdorf (Schwäbisch Hall).
Karl Schaeff sen. moved it to Langenburg. There, in 1937 he opened an agricultural machine and industrial workshop. After 1945 the activities changed to industrial manufacturing of construction machines: The company, ultimately with approximately 1700 employees worldwide, built excavators, wheel-loaders, materials handling and tunnel machines, as well as forklifts. In 2001 the corporate group was sold to the US Terex Group. Since 2002 we have been investing in high-technology enterprises in the area of mechanical engineering and are active in management consulting.