Visit to Schmid Industrie Holding and Baumit
On 28 October 2026 we organized a half day excursion to visit Schmid Industrie Holding (SIH) and Baumit at their headquarters in Wopfing, Austria. The program provided valuable insights into the group’s history, international development and business activities.
CEO and owner of SIH and Baumit, Mag. Robert Schmid, welcomed the delegation and gave a very interesting presentation of the company history and international development. He traced the origins of SIH back to 1939, when the acquisition of Wopfinger Stein- und Kalkwerke marked the beginning of the company’s development. Over the following decades, the business expanded its production capabilities through technological innovation, the development of lime production processes, the establishment of its own quarry and the introduction of ready-mixed dry mortar products. The opening of the Wopfing cement plant represented another important milestone in its growth.
The company’s philosophy, established by Friedrich Schmid, the father of Mag. Robert Schmid, focuses on making construction work faster and easier while maintaining consistently high quality.
Today, SIH is a family-owned international group headquartered in Wopfing, comprising approximately 90 companies in 22 countries and employing around 6,800 people. The group turnover amounted to € 2.4 billion in 2025.
The most important and well known brands of SIH are Baumit and Austrotherm. Baumit began its international expansion in 1990, initially entering Hungary and subsequently developing its presence across Central and Eastern Europe and other European markets. Baumit operates in 21 countries, employs approximately 3,550 people and generated a turnover of €1.3 billion in 2025. It ranks first in Europe in external thermal insulation composite systems (ETICS) in Central and Eastern Europe and third in the European dry mortar market. Its annual ETICS production amounts to approximately 45 million square metres.
The presentation of CEO Schmid was followed by a Q&A session, refreshments and snacks.
Afterwards we visited the so called Viva Park, a unique research and innovation facility dedicated to exploring the impact of building materials on the quality of living and the indoor environment. The park features a variety of test houses constructed using different building materials and wall systems. These buildings are equipped with advanced measuring technology to monitor and compare factors such as indoor temperature, humidity, thermal insulation, energy efficiency and indoor climate. The aim is to gain scientific insights into how different construction methods and materials influence living comfort, energy consumption and the overall quality of indoor environments. The findings help Baumit develop innovative, sustainable and energy-efficient building solutions. The Viva Park is one of Europe’s leading research facilities for comparative building-material studies. Its research findings are independently evaluated in cooperation with scientific institutions, including the Medical University of Vienna, and contribute to the continuous improvement of Baumit’s products and building solutions.
Last but not least we had a short visit of the production line for facade plaster and the center for color consulting.
