J. Schmalz GmbH was founded as a razor blade factory in 1910 in Glatten in the Black Forest. Over the years, the company's products changed from razor blades to transport equipment and finally to vacuum technology. The company is one of the leading suppliers of vacuum technology in the fields of automation and manual handling and clamping. Schmalz employs more than 950 people (2015). The company's sales network includes 16 subsidiaries in China, Finland, France, India, Italy, Japan, Canada, Korea, Mexico, the Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Switzerland, Spain, Turkey and the United States.