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Schurter Holding AG
The Schurter Group of companies is a privately held global network of manufacturing and distribution companies providing electromechanical and electronic components worldwide. The Group is managed by Schurter Holding AG and is certified in accordance with ISO 9001, ISO 14001, and OHSAS 18001. Sales in 2007 amounted to approximately 220 million Swiss Francs and the Group employs more than 1700 employees as of 2008. Headquartered in Switzerland, the Group includes manufacturing facilities in that country, as well as Germany, Czech Republic, China, France, India, Romania, and Slovakia. With facilities in the UK, the US, Singapore and a total of over 20 countries and representation in over 50 countries, the Group has a worldwide reach. The Group also provides electronic manufacturing services to the industry. Schurter has acquired a number of companies in past years and has greatly expanded its product scope in the process from fuses to over 25 product lines. The company recently celebrated its 75th anniversary.

Timeline
The Schurter Group was originally founded in Lucerne in 1933 by Heinrich Schurter with funding from his mother and mother-in-law. The timing was not the best; there were over 10,000 unemployed engineers in the area at the time due to the effects of the Great Depression, but Heinrich was persistent. The company got its start producing fuse cartridges, screw heads and set screws, and was self-supporting after the first year.

1940s
Heinrich's son Rolf joined the company in the 1940s to help manage the accounting and bookkeeping. Fuseholders were added to the product line in 1944, and the company's first catalog was printed. During the 1940s Schurter products began to be listed in reseller's catalogs. The company outgrew its facilities in 1948, and moved to its registered facilities established at Werkhofstrasse 8. The company was transformed into a limited liability company in 1949.

1950s
The company experienced continued growth during the 1950s except for 1958; sales and number of employees both doubled in that decade.

1960s
Around 1962 the mix of components to materials shifted in favor of components. In 1964 the company had grown to 233 employees, 108 of which came from six different countries. By 1968, component sales amounted to two thirds of Schurter's business due to increasing exports. Hienrich Schurter died that year.

1970s
Schurter GmbH was established in Endingen, Germany in 1971 under Managing Director Kaspar Egli, who came from Lucerne to run the business. The global recession of 1975 affected Schurter negatively, and the company was forced to abandon the fuse cartridge and screw business. The expectation was that circuit breakers would replace fuses. Sales improved in 1976, and the company continued to grow.

1980s
In 1981 Rolf's son Bruno Schurter established Schurter, Inc. in California. The company was talking about ownership of their own sales or production facilities in each of its important markets even at this early date. By 1984 more than two thirds of sales from Switzerland were exported to other countries. Bruno's older brother Hans-Rudolph, the current President of the company, joined in 1986. In the following year, Rolf Schurter turned management of the company over to Hans-Rudolph Schurter.

1990s
In 1990, all activities were consolidated under the umbrella of Schurter Holding AG. This move facilitated the series of acquisitions that are still taking place today. In that year Schurter SSRO was established in the Czech Republic to expand production of power entry module products. The following year Schurter took over fuses and fuseholder manufacturer Cehess SA in France. In 1996 Schurter acquired Weber Protection AG, a significant producer of circuit breakers, and in 1997 acquired subminiature fuse manufacturer Micron Guard, Inc. in the US. AC connector and cordset manufacturer Rendar Ltd. in the UK was incorporated in 1998. In 1999 the industrial keypad division of Ghielmetti AG was added. Anton Lauber took over as Chairman of the Board of Directors in 1993 to replace Hans-Rudolph Schurter, who had taken over management of Schurter Holding AG and the Schurter group of companies.

2000 to Present
Acquisitions continued into the new millennium, including Meierhofer AG in 2001, and EMC manufacturer Timonta AG in 2003. AC connector manufacturer Otto Heil of Germany was purchased in 2005. In 2007 the Group acquired the electronic manufacturing services company Ticomel AG, providing even more diversification. To learn more about the Schurter Group, visit the Schurter web site listed below.

Products
Schurter products include:
 * Fuses
 * Fuse holders
 * IEC AC Connectors and multifunction power entry modules
 * Thermal and Thermal-Magnetic Circuit Breakers for Equipment
 * Metal Line Vandal Resistant Switches and Keypads
 * EMC and other magnetics products, including filtered Power Entry Modules, EMI/RFI Line Filters, Choke Inductors and Pulse Transformers

Business Excellence, Leadership and TQM Awards
Schurter companies have won several awards for business excellence, leadership and Total Quality Management during the past several years. Among them are:]])
 * ESPRIX business excellence award 2002
 * CAPE performance excellence award 2002
 * EQFM quality award 2003
 * CASH first rank employer award 2005
 * SWISS leadership award 2006

References:
brian (talk) 19:12, 17 April 2008 (UTC)