The Terex SKL is a line of wheel loaders from Schaeff, the German construction equipment maker based in Langenburg. Terex took over Schaeff in 2002, and the compact machines continued to be built and sold under the Schaeff name within the Terex group.
Terex SKL at a glance
| Series | SKL |
|---|---|
| Type | wheel loader |
| Maker | Terex, through Terex Deutschland |
| Range origin | Schaeff, Langenburg, Germany |
| Schaeff founded | 1937 |
| Attachments from | 1947 |
| Schaeff products | wheel loaders, backhoe loaders, mini excavators |
| Known feature | Knickmatik side-shifting boom |
| Terex acquisition | 2002 |
| Brand name | Terex, created in 1968 |
No Wikipedia article covers the SKL; the page is based on the English article on Terex and the German article on Schaeff. The model is identified from the record title.
History of the Terex SKL
The Terex name was created by General Motors in 1968 for its construction equipment, after a court ruling forced GM to give up the Euclid off-highway truck business. Formed from the Latin terra (earth) and rex (king), the brand passed through German ownership in the early 1980s, returned to GM and became an independent corporation later in the decade. Growth came mainly through buying established makers of specialist machines.
Schaeff was one of them. Karl Schaeff founded the business in 1937 as a repair shop for agricultural machinery in Langenburg; from 1947 it designed and built attachments for construction machines. The company went on to produce wheel loaders, backhoe loaders and mini excavators, and its Knickmatik boom, which can be angled up to 90 degrees to either side, became its best-known technical feature.
Schaeff also took over the Johannes Fuchs KG in 1985. In 2002 the company was acquired by Terex Deutschland and became part of the Terex group, while the Schaeff name stayed on the machines. The SKL wheel loaders belong to that German compact range, sold with Terex and Schaeff badges in the years after the takeover.
Design and features
- Wheel loader: a rubber-tyred loading machine for yards, quarries and construction sites.
- Schaeff range: the SKL belongs to the German line Terex bought in 2002.
- Knickmatik heritage: Schaeff’s side-shifting boom was the maker’s signature idea.
- Terex Deutschland: the German arm of Terex handled the compact machines.
Terex SKL versions
- SKL series: the wheel loader line shown on this page.
- Schaeff-badged machines: the same range before the Terex takeover.
- Terex Schaeff period: from 2002, when the line became part of Terex.
- Schaeff mini excavators: the HR range of the same German maker.
The Terex HR 14 mini excavator comes from the same Schaeff range, and the Terex 760B is a larger machine of the group. More machines are in the Terex collection.
Sources
- Terex, English Wikipedia: company history and the Terex name
- Schaeff (Baumaschinenhersteller), German Wikipedia: Schaeff history, products, Knickmatik, the 2002 Terex takeover
