The entire Bitzer Group, The Schaufler Foundation and the Schauwerk Sindelfingen are mourning the loss of Senator h. c. Peter Schaufler, who passed away unexpectedly in Salzburg at the age of 74. As the CEO and company owner, Senator h. c. Peter Schaufler managed Bitzer with endless dedication for 36 years and turned the long-standing company into the world’s largest independent manufacturer of refrigeration compressors.
When Senator h. c. Peter Schaufler took charge of Bitzer in 1979, he systematically gave the company an international focus. He turned the Swabian company into a global player and a driver of innovation for the entire refrigeration and air conditioning sector. Bitzer now counts on 3,400 employees in more than 90 countries and turnover of €657 million, making it 50 times the size it was when Senator h. c. Peter Schaufler took the helm. His decisions demonstrated entrepreneurial courage at all times. For example, he founded a joint venture with a Chinese company in Beijing back in 1994. The Peter Schaufler era was characterized by values such as hard work, ingenuity and quality, which are now firmly rooted in the Bitzer corporate culture. His forward-looking business policy and his willingness to rise to challenges allowed him to conquer new markets, and to successfully introduce compressor technologies to the market, such as screw compressors in 1983 and scroll compressors in 2002.
Senator h. c. Peter Schaufler was highly committed to the common good throughout his life. The aim of The Schaufler Foundation founded in 2005 was to bring together entrepreneurship, science, research and art. The Schaufler Foundation is the main sponsor of the Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences’ Valerius Füner Prize, which recognises the outstanding achievements of mechanical engineering students in the areas of refrigeration, air conditioning and environmental technology. The Schaufler Foundation also supports dedicated students at the University of Dresden, the University of Stuttgart and the Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences via the German government’s Deutschlandstipendium (Germany Scholarship). Senator h. c. Peter Schaufler was also keen to see the advancement of scientific research in the field of refrigeration and air conditioning technology. He therefore created the Bitzer chair of Refrigeration, Cryogenics and Compressor Technology at the TU Dresden in 2007.
Senator h. c. Schaufler and his wife Christiane Schaufler-Münch also made generous donations to welfare institutions and gave the public access to their extensive art collection comprising more than 3,000 pieces at the Schauwerk Sindelfingen from 2010 on. Since then, the museum has earned itself a reputation, both locally and internationally, for putting on top-calibre exhibitions. The Schauwerk Sindelfingen will continue to serve as a place where contemporary art is discussed, as Peter Schaufler would have wished.
The year 2010 also marked the year in which Senator h. c. Schaufler was awarded the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany for his contributions to the fields of culture and science.
He received many awards for his business successes and services to society, including the 2014 Gründerpreis Baden-Württemberg for company founders, in recognition of his life’s work, which was presented by the region’s Minister for Economic Affairs Dr Nils Schmid.
The family held a quiet funeral.
