Ricardo W. Schuller is the Managing Director of Schuller SL

 

Mr. Schuller, in 1967 you founded a company dedicated solely to lighting. What was that first factory like? What was it like working at that time? … Assuming was very different from now…

We set up shop in a 200 m2 ground-level space with people living upstairs (C/ Forata nº11, Valencia, 1967), which was common for small businesses in the 60s. In this small workshop, we fit the entire manufacturing process of lamps and some furniture, almost entirely based on cast bronze, tubes and brass plates, often incorporating alabaster, ceramics, marble or glass.

The poor neighbors upstairs who had to put up with noise of the powerful polishing machinery, which had two brushes or cloth shammies that two polishing specialists would press down on with all their might, in addition to the polishing drum, extractors,…

Finally, in 1978 we opened our facility in Bétera, with large warehouses and installations that met the needs of our industrial processes, completely unlike our previous location!

 

Years later, you founded another furniture company that ended up merging with the lighting company, thus creating the current Schuller SL … Was that merger one of the most successful decisions of your professional career?

Yes, in 1981, we wanted to offer the market something different from anything else at that time: wooden furniture, dining rooms and bedrooms with cheerful and innovative color lacquers to go along with our metal furniture, mainly headboards and tables. To do so, we built a second industrial warehouse under the name of another company, SCH Industrial S.A. Today, our first artisanal manufacturing companies Metales Artísticos Schuller S.A. and SCH Industrial S.A. have been absorbed into the company Schuller S.L.

 

Did you ever imagine back then, when you founded that first company, that you would go so far, that Schuller would be so successful?

I think our advantage is the experience that comes over time and if I had to point to any one thing, it would be that every day we make a small improvement.

 

What is it like running a company like Schuller? Do you make a lot of important decisions every day?

There are very few important decisions, what is important is to pay attention to detail, to always get it right. To do that, we must focus on every single thing, and that is our motto “a company at your service”, making sure the customer is as satisfied as possible.

 

At the moment, the company exports to over 60 countries around the world. Which countries receive the most Schuller products?

The Schuller company is getting more and more international and expanding its logistic capacities in different countries. We currently have logistics warehouses in Spain, England, Germany, China and Colombia. Our main foreign markets are Portugal, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Italy, Russia, Germany, Romania, Poland, Qatar, Colombia, Kenya, Algeria, the Philippines, …

 

As the top representatives in this successful company… Can you tell us anything about Schuller’s new products for next year, 2019?

We have great expectations for 2019. In lighting, we will be presenting new collections, with special attention given to large-size lamps and combining color in both the metal and the lampshades. But the most striking thing will be our dimmable lamps, that will allow users to adjust the intensity of lighting using a remote control.

We will also launch new collections of furniture with light, pieces that by themselves will give any room a sense of design and atmosphere.

We will also continue expanding our collections of paintings and mirrors, with new offerings that are sure to take you by surprise.