Schulthess Maschinen
Swiss laundry technology for homes, buildings, and businesses: returned to independent, Swiss-majority ownership with 700,000+ machines installed.
- Sector
- Laundry Technology
- HQ
- Wolfhausen, CH
- Employees
- 600
- Since
- 2019
- Transaction
- Management Buy-Out
- Participation
- Majority
- Vehicle
- Unternehmer-Investoren-Plattform
- Revenue
- CHF 200-300M
About
Company Overview
Schulthess is a leading manufacturer of high-quality washing machines, dryers, and professional laundry systems for residential, commercial, and industrial applications. The name carries a level of recognition in the Swiss market that few industrial brands achieve: it is the laundry machine in the basement of apartment buildings across the country.
The company's installed base exceeds 700,000 machines. Its after-sales service network is the largest in Switzerland: over 110 field technicians operate from five service centres, three regional offices, and 16 field locations. For property managers and building owners, this service infrastructure is as important as the machines themselves.
Schulthess operates across the full spectrum (from premium household machines to large-scale industrial laundry systems) and has been expanding into adjacent services including turnkey laundry room solutions, integrated payment systems, and equipment refurbishment programs aligned with circular economy principles.
Partnership
Our Partnership
In 2019, Schulthess was part of the Swedish NIBE Group, which had acquired the company in 2011 from the publicly traded Schulthess Group AG. When NIBE decided to restructure its ownership position, Helvetica Capital saw an opportunity to bring a Swiss institution back under Swiss entrepreneurial stewardship.
The transaction began as a minority position: Helvetica Capital's entrepreneur-investors held 49% while NIBE retained 51%. Over the following three years, the ownership gradually shifted. By mid-2022, Swiss entrepreneur-investors had acquired an additional 26% of the holding company, making them majority shareholders with 65%, returning Schulthess to independent, Swiss-majority ownership.
This was not a rapid acquisition-and-resale. It was a deliberate, multi-year process designed to ensure continuity for the company, its employees, and its customers at every stage of the transition.
Value Creation
What We Are Working On Together
Expanding the product portfolio
New product lines in the Economic Premium segment and in industrial laundry, broadening the range to serve a wider set of customers without diluting the brand's quality positioning.
Opening new distribution channels
E-commerce, national distribution partnerships, and OEM relationships, meeting customers where they are, not just where Schulthess has traditionally been.
Strategic acquisitions
The acquisition of the Solasa Group in October 2023 (with its three brands Maire, Lavorent, and Wyser) significantly expanded Schulthess's service offering for property owners and facility managers.
Next generation of machines
Automation, digitalisation, and connectivity. New machines with IoT sensors, app-based monitoring, and data-driven maintenance scheduling, bringing laundry technology into the connected era.
Sustainability and circular economy
Water and energy conservation programs, equipment refurbishment initiatives, and the Go clean. Go green philosophy, aligning product development with environmental expectations from customers and regulators.
Every exit is a completed story.
When we transition a company, it is from a position of strength, including to international groups.