SCHIESS Werkzeugmaschinenfabrik GmbH – Precise innovation for over 160 years.

SCHIESS Werkzeugmaschinenfabrik GmbH looks back on over 160 years of tradition: In 1857, 168 years ago, Heinrich Billeter and Wilhelm Klunz founded the Maschinenbauanstalt Aschersleben in Aschersleben. In 1866, Ernst Schiess founded SCHIESS in Düsseldorf. All three came from the generation of Magdeburg’s Young Wild Engineers of the 19th century. In 1891, the Association of German Machine Tool Factories (VDW) was founded on the initiative of Ernst Schiess. After the fall of communism, the three reunited in 1991 – albeit no longer in person.

Billeter and Klunz started out as a repair company for lathes, among other things. The first machine tools were produced in 1860. From the 1870s, the company specialized in planing machines, with which it attracted a great deal of attention at the World Exhibition in Paris in 1889 and achieved worldwide fame.

By the time of the Great Depression in the 1920s, the product range had grown to up to 15 different types of planing machines. In 1931, the product range is diversified into surface grinding machines. During the Second World War, armaments products are also produced. SCHIESS also begins as a repair company and contract manufacturer. Machine tools (vertical lathes, portal milling machines, later horizontal milling machines) were not produced until 1870.

In 1880, the company was one of the three largest machine tool factories in the German Reich. During the First World War, the company was classified as essential to the war effort and was a supplier to the German shipyards. The company was also involved in the production of war-related goods during the Second World War.

Planer 1925

Carousel lathe 1929

In 1946, Billeter und Klunz is nationalized as VEB Werkzeugmaschinen (WEMA) Aschersleben. Planing and sanding machines are produced again. From the 1960s, new products are increasingly developed, including large machining centers from the 1970s. Schiess resumed production of the well-known products in Düsseldorf in the 1950s. The machines already had impressive dimensions at that time – turning diameters of 25,500 mm with a workpiece weight of 1,800 tons. Both companies remained in existence during the division of Germany.

Since 1991: Reunification

In 1991, Lentjes Holding / SCHIESS AG takes over WEMA Aschersleben. In 1993, the shares are transferred to “Bremer Vulkan”, which files for insolvency in 1996. In 1997, SCHIESS Wema GmbH is founded through a management buy-out with the business field of contract manufacturing. In 1999, the construction of a completely new product series of horizontal drilling machines, vertical lathes and gantry milling machines begins. This period brought great challenges: Changes of ownership, privatizations, mergers, crises and upheavals. All activities were always aimed at preserving the traditional company and its broad expertise.

2004 marks the beginning of a new stage: the Chinese Shenyang Machine Tool Co., Ltd. (SMTCL) – later Shenyang Machine Tool Group (SYMG) – takes over SCHIESS GmbH. 15 years later, the business of SCHIESS GmbH is closed.

2019: The beginning of a new SCHIESS era

At the end of 2019, SCHIESS Werkzeugmaschinenfabrik GmbH was founded as a subsidiary of the Shandong Longma Holding Group (ALM), marking a significant milestone in the company’s 160-year history. The takeover by the Chinese wind power specialist opens up new opportunities for SCHIESS to assert itself on the global markets and develop further.

SCHIESS, renowned for its German engineering excellence, is now combining its traditional skills with the resources and global reach of Shandong Longma Holding Group (ALM). This synergy will enable the company to further expand its range of high-precision machine tools and develop new, innovative products to meet the growing demands of the industry.

The history of SCHIESS is an impressive testimony to the company’s continuous renewal and adaptability in a highly competitive and constantly changing market. From its foundation in 1866 to its current position as part of a global group, SCHIESS has always focused on quality, innovation and customer orientation. With the support of Shandong Longma Holding Group (ALM), SCHIESS is well equipped to continue to play a leading role in the engineering industry and set new standards in precision and performance.