Sichelschmidt was founded in 1914 by brothers Carl and Walter Sichelschmidt, and originally manufactured stampings and locks, as did many other companies in the region. In order to facilitate the internal movement of material, they also produced devices to transport and lift bags and drums. These proved to be such a success that Sichelschmidt founded a general partnership in 1931 for the purpose of “the manufacture and distribution of lifting and transportation devices.” The 1940s saw the beginnings of the serial production of hoists with electric winches which could be steered by hand, although on the whole Sichelschmidt concentrated on the manufacture of purely manual hoists such as the grain conveyor with a crank handle for handling drums and bags, which was patented in 1949.
