In its more than 150-year history, we have grown from a local manufacturer of machines into a global elevator and escalator business. On the way, we have shaped the industry, defined best practice as a mobility provider and as an employer, and prospered in a highly competitive global environment. The story begins in a workshop in Lucerne in 1874...
1874: Robert Schindler (pictured) and Eduard Villiger establish the collective joint partnership: Schindler & Villiger.
1883: Move to the newly built plant at Sentimattstrasse in Lucerne.
1892: The first electric elevator with belt drive is built.
1901: Robert Schindler sells the company to his nephew Alfred Schindler (pictured).
1906: Schindler & Cie. o.H.G, the first subsidiary outside of Switzerland, is established in Berlin.
1915: Schindler starts production of elevator motors.
1920: The name of the company changes to Kommandit-AG Schindler & Cie., Aufzüge- und Maschinenfabrik mit Giesserei.
1925: The company name changes to Kommanditaktiengesellschaft Schindler & Cie., Aufzüge und Maschinenfabrik.
1929: PARS Finanz AG in Hergiswil, Switzerland, is founded.
1936: The first escalator installation by Schindler was completed in Basel, Switzerland.
1937: Death of Alfred Schindler. His son, Alfred F. Schindler (pictured) takes over management of the company.
1945: Schindler Waggon AG, Pratteln, Switzerland, is established.
1952: Schindler launches the Directronic drive.
1957: Transfer to new headquarters in Ebikon (pictured).
1960: Schindler acquires the Schweizerische Wagons- und Aufzügefabrik Schlieren (SWS).
1965: Launch of Dynatron drive.
1971: Trading in shares of Schindler Holding AG on the main Zurich Stock Exchange begins.
1974: Joint venture with Jardine Matheson & Co. Ltd in Hong Kong.
1980: First industrial joint venture of the People’s Republic of China with a western company (pictured). China Schindler Elevator Co. is established in Beijing.
1985: Alfred N. Schindler, Luc Bonnard and Dr. Uli Sigg are elected executive directors and take over the management of the company.
1990: World’s first hall call destination system, Miconic 10 (pictured).
1998: Schindler separates from the rolling stock business.
1998: Schindler takes over the Haushahn Group in Stuttgart, Germany.
1999: Schindler acquires 63.64% of the shares of Elevadores Atlas S.A., Sao Paulo, Brazil.
2003: Launch of SchindlerID, a new traffic-management and access-control technology.
2009: Introduction of Transit Management System, the PORT Technology.
2014: Opening of new factories in China and India.
2014: Schindler acquires a majority in Joint Venture with XJ-Schindler (Xuchang) Elevator Co. Ltd, China.
2017: Silvio Napoli becomes Chairman of the Board of Directors.
2018: Launch of the breakthrough Schindler Robotics Installation System for Elevators.
2019/2020: launch of new Schindler 1000, 3000, and 5000 product lines, based on new modular elevator platform.
2021: Schindler commits to only using electricity generated by renewable resources by 2025 and no industrial waste to landfill by 2023.
2022: Schindler commits to being Net Zero by 2040, with targets approved by the Science-based Target initiative (SBTi).
The success story of the Schindler logo began in 1910, when Alfred Schindler – grandfather of the former Chairman, Alfred N. Schindler – designed the first logo with a young employee named Maxime Chatel. It originally shows a compass at the bottom and the year the company was founded.
Today, the Schindler logo with its name, symbol and colors is built on tradition and reflects our brand values.
The first logo's circular shape symbolized perfection, the compass at the bottom, precision and the art of engineering. Inside the compass is the year the company was founded.
In 1925 the logo was simplified and officially registered. The original compass image was made more abstract and reduced to two lines.
The Schindler logo was changed in 1974 – after nearly 50 years – to be darker and easier to read and recognize. You might still see this logo today on elevators installed prior to the 1990s.
The Schindler logo was radically redesigned and modernized in 1985 with red stripes as the dominant motif. These vertical stripes were meant to symbolize the vertical transformation of the core business.
The traditional Schindler logo shape returned in 2006 with the company name in the same red as the “stripe logo” 20 years before.
By being three-dimensional, it communicates dynamic movement. Its color reflects the utmost in technical precision and quality.
In its almost 150-year history, Schindler has grown from a local manufacturer of machines into a global elevator and escalator business.