Transition at Schweizer

Starting next year, a new executive trio will manage the skills of upholstery leather tanners Louis Schweizer. On January 1, 2001, Dr Folkart Schweizer and Fritz Schweizer III will hand over the sceptre to the now fifth generation - Rudolf Louis Schweizer, Georg Schweizer and Markus Hess. Preparing for the transition to the next generation, the company's legal status was changed from GmbH to a private company (KG) in June of this year. The fact that Dr Folkart Schweizer has now joined the company as a general partner, is further evidence of the great confidence in the young management team. The long tradition of the company, founded in 1867, will be carried on and remains one of the Swabian family owned companies with a long history. The tasks have been clearly divided between the three 'new' managers. Rudolf Louis Schweizer is responsible for finances, purchasing, human relations and general administration, Georg Schweizer is responsible for sales and marketing, and Markus Hess as the technical director is in charge of production, quality, research and development. The brothers Rudolf Louis and Georg have been acquainted with their new responsibilities for the last few years. Markus Hess, a genuine Swiss (Schweizer in German means Swiss) and tanner by trade, joined Louis Schweizer in 1999. Prior to this, he worked for TFL USA/Canada as an outside sales representative. The Schweizer Group employs 800 people and shows total sales of 250 million DEM of which the Lederfabrik Louis Schweizer accounts for 130 employees and sales of approximately 80 million DEM. The product line reflects a wide range of superior leathers in attractive trend colours, with an emphasis for new introductions representing the latest trends in aniline leathers and natural heavyweight leathers.