About Stiles Company History
After 52 Years in the Industry, Peter Kleinschmidt Retires as President of Stiles
Mr. Kleinschmidt is a graduate of the School of Economics in Bremen, Germany. From 1965 to 1975, he was a director of Lohmann & Co. Ltd. in London, UK.
Mr. Kleinschmidt helped found the Woodworking Machinery Industry Association (WMIA) and served as President of that association from 1986 to 1988. From 1991 to 1992, he was Chairman of the International Woodworking Machinery and Furniture Supply Fair (IWF) board of directors. Mr. Kleinschmidt is the U.S. Representative and Board member of the Combois Global Organization for woodworking technology exchange.
Mr. Kleinschmidt will continue to serve on the Stiles Board of Directors.
1965
Stiles Machinery Inc. was founded in Grand Rapids, Michigan as a division of Web Stiles, Inc. Back then, Mr. Stiles' parts inventory and showroom were in the rear of his station wagon.
1975
Peter Kleinschmidt purchased the company on behalf of the Lohmann International Trading Group based in London, UK. and later took over the company as President in a management buy-out in partnership with David Rothwell, then Executive Vice President. The two partners made strategic investments to enhance Stiles Parts and Service capabilities focusing on specific customer needs.
1990
Stiles Education was founded. It was the first training center in the industry to be accredited by IACET.
1992
Stiles merged Holzma U.S. into Stiles Machinery.
2006
Stiles launched the Solid Wood Technologies division as a direct response to customers who required advanced machinery solutions in addition to their traditional panel processing needs.
2009
Weeke North America was established as a joint venture between Stiles and Weeke Maschinenbau of the Homag Group AG. Located in Southern Germany, the Homag Group is the world’s largest maker of manufacturing machinery. Located in Grand Rapids, MI, Stiles’ Weeke North America’s 30,000 square foot operation utilizes locally sourced parts to produce machines to order, maintains almost no inventory while still offering short delivery times.
2014
Two market leaders join forces.
The HOMAG Group AG increased its shareholding in Stiles to 100 percent, intensifying the successful partnership that has been in place for over 30 years.
After 52 years in the industry, Peter Kleinschmidt retired as President. He sees the HOMAG Group as the ideal partner to build on his life’s achievement and continue the customer focused growth strategies for the future. Peter Kleinschmidt remains on the Board of Directors.
Christian Vollmers, current president of HOMAG Canada, succeeds Mr. Kleinschmidt as president of Stiles.