The puteus GmbH was founded in 1979 by the father of the current shareholders as a craft business in well construction in Meerbusch Lank-Latum. The first equipment and goods were stored in the private garage and the former sheep barn. However, it soon became apparent that, in addition to the construction of percussion wells, there was a great demand for accessories for this sector.
Over time, this trade sector was expanded more and more. After the death of the father in 1988, the sons, who were still at university or compulsory schooling at the time, took over the business and began to expand it as a pure trading company with great commitment and dedication. A first move to Krefeld Stratum provided better and more extensive storage facilities.
But it soon became clear that the only way to continue upwards was to diversify the product range. So they concentrated on the entire field of garden irrigation and found new suppliers worldwide through international contacts.
Regular visits to the manufacturing plants, e.g. in Asia, made it possible to build up friendly relationships and at the same time to check the manufacturing processes and the quality of the products. This was the basis of the success in Europe. From the beginning, the focus was on quality and not on so-called cheap products. This has strengthened customer relationships in the long term. Thus, the first customers are still regular customers today.
Through international trade fair participations, e.g. also in the USA, it was now a matter of further expanding the international customer base. For this purpose, a branch office was founded in the USA. Through this branch, a successful overseas business could be built up. With the introduction of the euro and the weaker dollar, however, this trading area became less important and trade in the USA was no longer handled by the company's own branch office but by independent sales representatives.
Puteus saw the increase in the number of customers and the associated further rise in demand for products to complement the product range as a challenge. With the engineers and technicians of puteus GmbH, the product development and design was expanded further and further. A new focus was now also placed on the manufacture of OEM products for industry and the technical trade.
By the end of the 1990s, the possibilities of the chosen location were again exhausted and another relocation of the company headquarters was on the cards. For more than 17 years now, puteus GmbH has been located in Tönisvorst.
Acquisitions
Parallel to this, since the end of the 1990s, the focus has been on building up the company's own production in Germany. With the acquisition of the company Schlösser Armaturen GmbH & Co. KG in Olpe in 1998 by the de Gruyter and Stach families, a manufacturer of water meters and stacking valves was taken over that had been building up a name for itself in the market since 1954. Through the later takeover of production lines as well as the licences for the construction of e.g. angle valves and appliance connection fittings from the Italian company Sanitaps s.r.l. and the relocation and installation of the machines and equipment to and in Olpe, which took place in record time, an important building block was added. This was a big step towards becoming a full-range supplier for the sanitary and building services sector.
Simultaneously, the company acquired Werner Schütz Wasserzähler GmbH & Co. KG in Solingen and Heinrich Schulte GmbH & Co. KG in Iserlohn in 2000 and 2002. In a way, this closed the gap that still existed.
Since then, the group of companies has had one of the few companies still in existence in Germany that has been manufacturing water meters in-house since 1928. Its own state-approved testing laboratory for residential and domestic water meters in accordance with the German Calibration Act also allows the company to work for numerous other companies. Due to the cramped conditions in Solingen, the location has since been moved to Olpe.
The acquisition of the sanitary fittings manufacturer Heinrich Schulte in Iserlohn now also covers the sanitary sector. From development to foundry, electroplating and assembly to quality control, the company has been producing high-quality fittings and accessories for kitchens and bathrooms here since it was founded in 1921.
But in 2009 and 2010, due to the extremely successful business development, the company had to look for new solutions again. This time, however, the space at the acquired sister companies had become too tight. In order to make a further increase in capacity possible, the company acquired the building, land and production facilities of g.t.s. Galvanotechnik GmbH in Iserlohn and, in 2011, the property of a former textile company, also in Iserlohn. State-of-the-art warehouses and
manufacturing halls now offer the possibility to expand the production capacities of the companies Schlösser and especially Heinrich Schulte at these new locations in Iserlohn.
It is no coincidence that the motto of the group of companies is "Water-in-motion". From the water meter in the cellar to the bathtub fitting in the bathroom, from the washing machine connection hose to the water feature in the garden, almost the entire range is covered within the group of companies today.
The company's motto is not by chance "Water-in-motion".