Schmitz Cargobull AG is mourning the loss of owner, Dr. Heinz Schmitz, who passed away on 17 October 2025 at the age of 88.
The Horstmar, Germany-headquartered trailer manufacturer said Dr. Schmitz’s Schmitz life was characterised by a sense of responsibility, integrity and the ambition to always find successful solutions for customers and partners.
“In Dr. Heinz Schmitz, we are not only losing an important entrepreneur, but also a person who took responsibility and always kept an eye on the future,” the company said in an official statement.
“His work has left its mark – in the history of the company, in the hearts of his companions and in the Schmitz family, who will carry on his legacy.”
It was under his leadership and guidance that the eponymous Schmitz Cargobull expanded into a global leader in the trailer industry.
After the death of his father August Schmitz in 1970, Dr. Heinz Schmitz took on the role of personally liable partner in Schmitz-Anhänger Fahrzeugbau-Gesellschaft OHG and was appointed Managing Director of what would later become Schmitz Anhängerbau GmbH & Co. KG in 1971.
Together with his cousin Peter Schmitz, an experienced engineer and designer, who also joined the management in 1973, he became the third-generation leader of the company.
As an experienced businessman, Dr. Schmitz understood the economic challenges and opportunities of the trailer and transport industries.
With his cousin Peter, Heinz Schmitz strategically expanded the company and established it as a technology and market leader for trailers.
The addition of Bernd Hoffmann, an expert in sales and marketing, was another smart move that set the company’s course for sustainable success.
Schmitz Cargobull expanded massively in the 1970s and 1980s, with production capacities increasing.
In the 1990s, under Heinz Schmitz’s leadership, the management team initiated a strategic reorientation, with a reduction in the product range and the introduction of a modular production system with international assembly plants.
The company was also renamed from Schmitz Anhänger to Schmitz Cargobull, the now globally recognisable brand name, in order to position the company internationally.
Dr. Schmitz was a member of the company’s Supervisory Board from 2002 to 2010.
Beyond the family company, Schmitz was also committed to the interests of the trailer industry as a whole.
From 1993 to 2000, he was a member of the Executive Committee of the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA), where he represented the trailer, body and container manufacturers’ group.
He was to remain an important and vocal advocate for the trailer industry, and particularly Schmitz Cargobull, long after his retirement from his corporate role.
His commitment to the trailer industry, which is characterised by medium-sized companies, was greatly appreciated and acknowledged by industry stakeholders and representatives.
Read about the legacy of Dr. Heinz Schmitz.
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