The foundation stone for SchäferRolls GmbH & Co. KG was laid in Stuttgart in 1946. What began with the repair of rubber tires and tubes in a garage workshop is now one of the leading providers of roll systems and roll covers for the international industry. The third generation, medium-sized family company has its headquarters in Renningen (Southern Germany) and further locations in Northern Germany, Slovenia, and the US.
In a joint interview, Adrian Stoll, Chairman for the Management Board, Silja Schäfer, Managing Director Human Resources and Marketing – both are grandchildren of the company founder – and Carsten Sohl, Managing Director Technology and Production, look back on 75 years of success and, above all, towards a prosperous future.

In 1946, your company history began with the repair of rubber tires and tubes. You started in a basement, which was destroyed during the war. How did you make the transition from tires to rolls?
Silja Schäfer: Already back then, Hefner & Schäfer OHG used the vulcanisation process for the repair of caoutchouc and rubber parts which is still today an essential step in the production of rubber roll covers. The basis for the technology needed to process polymer materials was thus laid early on. In the economic boom of the 1950s, the photocopier found its way into everyday office life. The rubber rollers used there for paper transport became our new main business. That’s how we got to the roll.

What are the key milestones in the development of your company?
Adrian Stoll: A decisive and courageous step was the new building at our current location in Renningen. In 1979, we ventured into completely new dimensions of space and machine capacity with a production area of 16,000 m² which at that time seemed huge. This enabled us to venture into large rolls and to thus supply to the paper and the film & foil industry, which soon rewarded us with large orders for high-end roll covers. We owe this courageous and wise decision to our grandfather and founder Karl Schäfer and his son Karl-Ulrich Schäfer.
In 2001, the joint venture Sava-Schäfer d.o.o. in Slovenia to supply the Eastern European markets marked the beginning of the internationalisation of SchäferRolls. 
With the entry of Carsten Sohl, with whose expertise we added composite and polyurethane roll covers to our production range at the beginning of the 2000s, we were able to make the leap from a pure specialist in rubber roll covers to a holistic provider of elastic roll covers.
The opportunity to participate in MWN Niefern Maschinenfabrik GmbH has given us the chance to act as a full-service supplier since 2006.
Every generational transition – first from our grandfather Karl Schäfer to my uncle Karl-Ulrich Schäfer and then to the current management team – has been a special milestone. That’s because making a good transition is one of the greatest challenges of a company.

How do you describe your current market position?
Adrian Stoll: Over the years, SchäferRolls has consistently developed in all areas. Organisational structures have been created, further locations have been set up both nationally and internationally, further product lines have been introduced, and the name SchäferRolls has been established as a quality leader on the market. We are today an established partner and supplier to well-known industrial companies in a variety of industries and applications. Customers continuously say: “There are roll covers and there are Schäfer roll covers!” Such a statement does not come about overnight. This grows over decades as customers are satisfied with the product and service and then recommend us to others. We rely on uncompromising quality, consistent customer orientation, creativity, and – most importantly – the right employees. That’s how we are able not only to hold our own against the large corporations but also to further expand our market position.

What is the importance of the different industries for your company?
Carsten Sohl: The paper and film industry are essential pillars of our business. This is reflected not only in the steadily growing sales figures, but also in the high capacities that we invest – together with OEMs and end customers – in the optimisation of products and the development of innovations. Particularly in today’s world, where sustainable processes and products are needed across the board, this requires a long-term focus in our company as well, especially in research and development. The technological peculiarities of individual industries and their demands for efficiency and reliability drive us to ever new levels of excellence. A product idea born in one industry has often been the starting point for new roll covers for other industries. With our broad industry orientation, we thus consistently focus on development and production synergies across industry boundaries.

How is your international positioning?
Adrian Stoll: Our joint venture in Slovenia, which was founded in 2001, has by now become a wholly-owned subsidiary that very successfully supplies the Eastern European and the Middle East markets. In December 2020, SchäferRolls d.o.o. moved into new premises in Brnik. After the lease of our previous location in Kranj expired, we took the opportunity to design a completely new, highly efficient hall and building concept on the greenfield. This is ideally designed for the requirements of roll production. We also operate two production sites in the US – in Farmington (New Hampshire) and Covington (Virginia), which supply the North American market. Furthermore, we have a comprehensive sales network in all relevant markets worldwide. It remains our goal to continue aligning our product and production expertise with additional locations internationally.

What is your corporate philosophy?
Adrian Stoll: We stand for independence and the will to generate long-term solutions for our markets. This requires creativity, flexibility, fairness, and credibility. With uncompromising quality, we want to continue to offer our customers a preferred alternative. Always making good things better and further expanding quality leadership – SchäferRolls is committed to this corporate maxim. We are – and will remain – an independent, medium-sized company that goes off the beaten track for its customers.

Which role does the human factor play?
Silja Schäfer: The people who work here are decisive for the future of SchäferRolls. Despite our modern, efficient machine park, the manufacture of roll covers still requires a great deal of instinctive feeling. Thanks to their roll system expertise, the common goal of doing a good job, and the willingness to take on responsibility, the employees of SchäferRolls are the engine of the company. They guarantee the high quality of our products and services. Finding committed employees, encouraging and inspiring them in the long term, and creating a work environment in which everyone can develop their full potential – both individually and in a team – remain central tasks.

What was the most challenging project in the last 75 years?
Adrian Stoll: There is no such thing as the ONE project. Every project that we take on is important for the further development of our company and thus for the big picture – so to speak, SchäferRolls itself is the most challenging project.

Do you carry out your own research and development?
Carsten Sohl: The expertise for our recipes, the knowledge of raw material properties, and the processing of our roll cover materials – these are well-kept secrets at SchäferRolls. At the same time, we maintain close development partnerships with our customers and suppliers. We regularly visit them on site, listen carefully, and try to work out ideas together. In this way, we keep our finger on the pulse of time and gain valuable industry knowledge for our developments. The ongoing development of our technological expertise is the basis for long-term company growth. The importance of research and development for SchäferRolls has recently been demonstrated in the spatial and organisational merging of the areas of innovation, product and process technology in the ‘SchäferRolls Technology Centre’. The aim of the new technology centre is to create the broadest perspective possible in the early stages of product development in order to shorten diversions and to implement new products into our production process quickly and smoothly later on.

Is the next generation already in the starting blocks?
Adrian Stoll: Our goal is to set up the company in such a way that we can pass it on to the next generation with a clear conscience – whoever the people involved may be at this point in time. So that it is economically sound, respected internally and externally, and perceived as goal-oriented and approachable. Together, we want to create a good transition at the right time.

How are you celebrating the 75th anniversary of your company?
Silja Schäfer: The original plan was to celebrate the anniversary in October – on the day the company was founded – with our employees, customers, and business partners at a lavish party. Because of the uncertain development of the corona pandemic, we were forced to cancel this event. If the infection situation permits, we will organise a small vernissage of our exhibition of staff portraits instead. But the party will be rescheduled – postponed does not mean cancelled!