Historical Background

The combined knowledge and experience of several generations of engineers and technicians form the basis for the professional competence found today at Schwelm Anlagentechnik GmbH, SAT.

The previous parent company to SAT, the Schwelm Eisenwerk iron mill, was founded in the town of Schwelm in 1886. Its first product was a 200-liter drum made of sheet steel. The innovative specialty was that the bottom was welded in place – of decisive importance when handling corrosive liquids. The company acquired a license for an electric welding process and used it to join thin sheet metal. That opened up great market potential at the end of the nineteenth century, given the rapid growth of the chemicals and petroleum industries.

Historical Aerial View Schwelmer Eisenwerk

Collaboration with these sectors gave rise to other innovative products and drove rapid expansion of the company’s product spectrum. The first gasoline pump in Germany, then operated by hand, formed the foundation not only for the first electronically controlled pumps and tank trucks, also used for aircraft refueling on the runway, but also for products to handle all types of liquid fuels, including LPG. These became important product lines. One famous innovation was a 20-liter canister with three handles, bayonet closure, air cushion and vent tube. Another major product line was established with enamel coating for the containers and reaction vessels used in the chemicals and beverages industries.

In the years when the German economy grew vigorously after the Second World War, Schwelm Eisenwerk employed a staff of up to 2,300 in two product lines: service station pumps for liquid fuels and containers and equipment for the chemicals and beverages industries. Groundbreaking innovations set new standards all around the world. These included the electronic dispenser pump computer, the automatic fuel nozzle, the double-action, piston-type flowmeter, and high-strength enamel to coat containers and plant components to resist highly aggressive media. The double-walled tank enabling safety monitoring for underground storage tanks was another of the company’s developments.

At the close of the twentieth century the Schwelm Group comprised three companies: Schwelm Anlagenservice GmbH, responsible for the construction and maintenance of service stations; Schwelm Verladetechnik GmbH, charged with manufacturing systems used to load and offload liquids for ships, tank farms and tank trucks; and Schwelm Anlagenbau GmbH, manufacturing tank trucks, storage tanks, airfield refueling systems, LPG service stations, gasoline fume recovery systems, and plant components for the chemicals industry.

Schwelm Anlagentechnik GmbH (SAT) emerged from Schwelm Anlagenbau in 2003. Its production line boasts a range of equipment for chemical plants, natural gas service stations, and biogas conditioning and infeed systems. The ingredients for success at SAT are the knowledge and experience accumulated by our engineers and technicians during many years engineering components intended to handle flammable gases and liquids that could endanger groundwater. Working closely with experienced suppliers in compressor construction, it was possible to attain a leading position in the market for natural gas service stations in Germany.

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Our team in 2024