The purchase agreements were signed at the end of June, 2014, and upon closing in September Lewa will take over final responsibility. Until now, the office, founded in Hamburg in 1930, has been family-managed. At the beginning of the 50's, Schmedding moved to Düsseldorf, then to Erkrath in the mid-90's, from where the company built a large network throughout Germany as Lewa's single most successful representative. "When we began our cooperation 60 years ago, Lewa was a ten-man shop. Since then, technology leadership and a good corporate culture have united us. Both have let us grow together," says Burkhard Schmedding in retrospect. One of the conditions of Lewa's purchase was that the employees will keep their jobs and existing representation partnerships will be retained. "Among other things, the good contacts and great respect for the staff at important industrial clients are good reasons for Lewa to strive to maintain continuity," emphasizes the head of Corporate Development at Lewa, Florian Kieninger. Since the other product lines round the office's portfolio out very well, Lewa plans to continue the agreements with the different manufacturers.
To make the transition as smooth as possible, Burkhard Schmedding will start to gradually disengage between now and the end of the year. Since the engineering office is established as a local brand, the company will remain legally and financially independent even after its acquisition by Lewa. Long-time employee Kurt Mattis will take over management of the office as a fully-authorized officer.