chronicle

The Beginning
We, Josef Schulte-Ufer KG, have been producing high-quality kitchenware for private use for nearly 125 years. Our products are durable. They combine practical solutions with outstanding quality, meeting the highest standards.

We do not, therefore, rely on fashionable gimmicks or short-lived trends. We create values that outlast time and are sustainable. Our tradition is to process only first-class materials like stainless steel, copper or aluminium. At the same time, our in-house designers, engineers and test chefs ensure that our products are equally beautiful and functional, fitting in perfectly with everyday kitchen tasks.

Josef Schulte, the founder of our Company, pursued this idea from the very outset. Employed as a packer in a company in Sundern, he manufactured wall rails for hanging heating devices as a sideline in his parent's cellar. Once he had found sufficient customers for further products, including extendable curtain rods, he dared to set up on his own. He gave up his employment and founded Josef Schulte-Ufer KG in 1886, with seed capital of 30 Reichsmark. He chose the affix "Ufer" to preclude any confusion of names.

Josef Schulte was ambitious, enterprising, always on the look-out for new products and hence extremely successful. He moved his company to its current location around the turn of the century. In view of the continual growth in product range and related space requirements, new buildings with improved production and storage conditions needed to be built. The market value of his company had, in the meantime, risen to a remarkable 45,000 Reichsmark.

On 7 November 1904, Josef Schulte died suddenly and unexpectedly. Initially, his wife, Therese Schulte-Ufer, continued the Company. After she re-married, her husband, Friedrich Rohe, took over the running of the Company in 1907.

The Present
We, the Rohe family, have not forsaken the path that Josef Schulte took with the manufacture of household appliances almost 125 years ago. To be successful over such a long period of time requires hard and convincing work. Thus, our daily work continues to focus on development, implementation and sales. Each product bears the hallmark of our long experience in metal processing and our feeling for design and function.

It is therefore no accident that, for example, the first dishwasher-safe all-metal saucepan was marketed by our Company. Or that Germany's top-selling cookware series is the Schulte-Ufer design classic Romana i – to date, there have been more than 5 million sales of pots, pans and specialized products from this series.

Our current range of products is very diverse. It ranges from cookware and fryware to woks, fondue sets and kettles through to interior articles and baking dishes. It goes without saying here that these are premium products. We are, for example, the only European provider to equip a large part of our kitchenware with a protherm® copper base suitable for induction cooking. Copper is expensive and complex in terms of processing. As a particularly good and fast heat conductor, however, copper helps to conserve energy and to cook vitamins gently. Only a copper base guarantees the best cooking results.
By having products that are unique, state of the art and timelessly beautiful, we have not only made an excellent name for ourselves amongst the trade and end users, but have also received product and quality awards from independent institutions again and again over the years. These awards include the following:

Stiftung Warentest (German consumer organization), January 2003
The "Pro Line" cookware series wins the test, while the Opal series comes fourth.
Öko-Test, December 2005
GO! is rated »good«, coming first out of 15 test products.
Stiftung Warentest, January 2008
The Wega coated frying pan is rated »good« (the comparison included 19 frying pans).
Testmagazin Emporio, August 2008
Wega coated braising pan: Rated »very good« in comparison with 12 pans.
Testmagazin Emporio, November 2008
The Speed pressure cooker is chosen as the prizewinner, being awarded the grade »good« (6 pressure cookers were competing in the test).
Stiftung Warentest, January 2009
The Romana i and Pro Line i cookware series are rated »good« in the test.

The Future
This year sees the 125th anniversary of Josef Schulte-Ufer KG. We have experienced, lived through and, with the help of our committed employees, successfully withstood, all highs and lows which the march of time has since brought with it.

Our family is the guarantee that our Company will continue its path single-mindedly. The young, fourth generation is now active in the Company. We thus look to the future with enthusiasm and self-confidence, but also look back with pride on our long company history.