Anniversary: 60 Years of Schoeller International

Pullach, October 2. "We need to know our history in order to develop a plan for the future," said Martin Schoeller, addressing some 200 guests who had gathered in Pullach to celebrate the company's 60th anniversary. In his speech, he began by outlining the origins of this entrepreneurial success story:

After his father Alexander had invented the plastic beer crate in the 1950s, he founded Schoeller International in 1966 to bring the innovation to markets around the world. In the early 1980s, Schoeller explained, he and his brother Christoph took over and expanded the business: "We developed innovative bottle crates and extended the concept of reusable packaging to many other industries."

Today, the concept is moving into the age of AI. Together with partners, "we are working on smarter tracking and tracing solutions as well as additional services based on IoT and AI," Schoeller reported. As a result, "the long-held dream of the intelligent supply chain […] can become reality."

From Wooden Crate to "Data Carrier"

As the evening progressed, it became clear what this means in practice: following welcoming addresses by Pullach's Mayor Christine Eisenmann and former Bavarian Minister of Justice Georg Eisenreich, Alan Walsh (IPL Schoeller), Christian Uhlik and Michael Rinderle (Schoeller International), Leopold Schoeller (Smart Container Loop) and Jörg Rieker (ReDiPack) spoke about current challenges and future plans.

One of the key messages: the crates and containers produced by the companies of the Schoeller network are becoming not only increasingly sustainable, but also increasingly digital. As connected "data carriers," they open up entirely new opportunities for businesses in the circular economy and in supply chain management.

From wooden crate to the heart of AI-driven supply chains, this evolution impressively demonstrates how the supposed "old economy" is transforming itself, and where Germany's opportunities lie in the global technology race. Thanks to their industry expertise and their access to high-quality data, companies such as the Schoeller Group are ideally positioned to develop tailored AI solutions for industry, retail and logistics.