In 1881, mechanical engineer Carl Schenck established an iron foundry and weighing machine factory in Darmstadt, Germany. In 1894 the business became a limited company (GmbH), and his son-in-law Dr. Georg Büchner and his nephew, engineer Emil Schenck, joined him as partners.
The company designed its first innovation, the registration device - a card printer for the steelyard balance that shows an easy-to-read weight. It was patented in 1887.
The next patented invention followed soon after in 1891: the automatic steelyard balance for narrow-gauge and suspension track vehicles. It won the gold medal at the World's Fair in Paris in 1900 and in the space of a few years made the company's name overseas.
In 1900, Carl Schenck became the chairman of the first supervisory board.
The first weighfeeders began to be built in 1930. The growing pace of industrialisation offered enormous possibilities, and the company began supplying batch scales for concrete mixing plants and roadmaking material, rail car body weighing equipment for express trains, and the first illuminated dial balances. In 1931 these were equipped with a numerical printer which would later be approved for calibration.The first rail and road vehicle scales to be produced without the standard load relief facility were introduced in 1933.
In the 1950s, the company also began to grow through acquisitions. From an early stage - as early as 1960 - the company chose to focus on the modern trend of electronic weighing systems.
The 1970s were a time of international development and expansion. Finally, Carl Schenck Maschinenfabrik GmbH was transformed into Carl Schenck AG, making it a public limited company. In 1984 the company was listed on the stock exchange.
After taking over AccuRate Inc. in the USA, the company adopted a new structure based on business segments. This signalled the beginning of Schenck Process as an autonomous company.
In 2000, Dürr AG acquired a majority holding in Carl Schenck AG and in 2004 the remaining shares were acquired through a squeeze-out.
In 2005 the company was spun off from the former Carl Schenck AG through a management buyout, and since then Schenck Process GmbH has been an independent company.
The company has grown significantly thanks to various takeovers and almost tripled its sales within a few years. This consistent growth strategy won the company the "Strategy Award for Mechanical Engineering Companies 2007", which was promoted by the consultancy firm Oliver Wyman and the business journal "Produktion".
Today Schenck Process Food and Performance Materials is one of the world's technology and market leaders in applied measuring technology. It develops innovative solutions for weighing, feeding and vibration technology processes, high-tech systems and components for weighing, feeding, vibration conveying and screening. This intelligent measuring technology is used in industries such as cement, steel, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, food and transport.
