Company chronology
Since the beginning of the 60's we import mosaic in all variations from the Far East. With us you will find one of the most selected mosaic collections in Europe. Our long-standing supply relationships with the Far East manufacturers allow us to bring a high-quality and at the same time up-to-date, design-oriented and tastefully collection to our warehouse in Drensteinfurt. Under the brand name "HuH Mosaik" you will find us in tile stores near you all over Europe.
A flower stool leads to the foundation of the company HuH Welscheit on May 1st
In 1960 the company HuH Welscheit was founded when the mother of Heinz and Hans Welscheit expressed the wish for a flower stool. The two brothers used mosaic scraps to create the stool, which was so well received by their neighbors and three other sisters that they also wanted one.
At the time, Heinz Welscheit was working as an industrial clerk for a company that specialized in household goods and had business relationships with large department stores like Karstadt. Mr. Welscheit was looking for a sales platform for his part-time job and took the opportunity to cleverly position some flower mosaic stools in the office of his superior at the time to present them to the buyers who regularly visited the company.
From garage company to first major order
As planned, it happened. In 1961, the central buyer of Karstadt, Mr. Fromme, visited the company for business purposes and was enthusiastic about the various flower stools he saw. He approached Heinz Welscheit and asked for a visit to his company.
At that time, Mr. Fromme could not have known that the company consisted only of a garage, a basement and the living room at his mother's house. However, a phone call to his mother was enough to prepare the visit, and so Heinz Anton Welscheit drove home with Mr. Fromme to show him the "production facility".
Just as Mr. Fromme pulled his order book out of his shirt pocket to place an order, he said, "20 flower stools for the small stores, 30 flower stools for the medium stores and 50 flower stools for the large stores." At that time, Karstadt had about 80 department stores, and Heinz Welscheit could well imagine the quantity he now had to produce. The order volume at the time (1961) was a staggering 20,000 deutschmarks.
With determination and self-confidence, he answered the question "Can you deliver?" briefly and succinctly: "I'll call you when everything is ready."
The discovery of the Japan Mosaic
In 1962, the company HuH Welscheit GmbH + Co KG in Meinerzhagen experienced a significant turning point. A close friend of Heinz Welscheit brought a classic mosaic mat on fabric that was to change his life forever. Until then, all mosaic types were merely paper-mounted on the front. But this particular item, known as "Japan mosaic", came from a Dutch merchant who had recently imported a small quantity of the mesh mosaic from Japan.
Heinz Welscheit was so impressed by the special way in which the Japan mosaic was made that he immediately wrote a letter to the Japanese Embassy in Bonn, asking for addresses of Japanese companies specializing in mosaic production. Contact was made with the potential business partners by airmail, which was quite an achievement given the lack of modern technology at the time. Nevertheless, the Japanese were extraordinarily quick and flexible and soon supplied the first samples and prices.
Together with his mother and brother, Heinz Welscheit gathered all the cash assets of about 2,000 D-Mark and purchased the first 200m² of Japanese mosaic. The goods were immediately transported from the port of Hamburg to Meinerzhagen. Another friend suggested to present the mosaic at a "Do it Yourself" fair in Cologne and to sell it as a whole mat. Already after half a day at the fair the whole store was sold out.
Due to this success Heinz Anton Welscheit founded another company in the same year with the main focus on import & export for tiles, slabs, mosaics and accessories. This company was the first in Europe to import the special Japanese mosaic from the Far East and distribute it on a large scale.
The first trip to Asia and expansion
In 1964, the first flight to faraway Asia was made to Japan. At that time, a plane ticket was still a real rarity and cost more than 5,000 D-Mark. Due to the scarcity of tickets, they had to be delivered by courier from Cologne to Meinerzhagen, as normal travel agencies could not issue them.
At the airport in Japan, each passenger was greeted personally by Lufthansa and asked if they could be of any assistance. Such flights were extremely rare at that time.
The stay in Japan lasted about three weeks. The superfast train "Shinkansen" covered an incredible 400 kilometers in just two hours. What is remarkable here is that we were still in the 1960s.
The mosaic business continued to grow throughout. In the beginning, only classic "do-it-yourself" craft stores were interested in the product, but later inquiries from specialty tile stores followed. As a result, an extensive network of representatives was set up and dedicated warehouses were even set up for wholesalers in Berlin.
Construction of the company headquarters and production site
The company HuH Welscheit GmbH + Co KG established besides the distribution of mosaic also a production of flower stools and coffee tables, which were equipped with high quality tiles from Italy. As a sign of growth and success, the company built its own headquarters in Meinerzhagen in 1967. This impressive construction comprised two halls of 800m² each, which corresponded to a total area of 1600 m². While the halls were used as storage and production areas, another room served as an exhibition of tiles and mosaics.
With the increasing demand and success of the handmade products and the sale of mosaic, the company HuH Welscheit GmbH + Co KG employed about 80 people in the late 60s. About 40 of them were employed carpenters who specialized in the production of tables.
The upheaval and the origin of "Fliesen Welscheit GmbH
In 1988, the next generation entered the company, which resulted in the re-establishment of two independent sales subsidiaries. The trade with mosaics was continued by Mr. Heinz Welscheit together with his son Martin Welscheit. The production and sale of flower stools and coffee tables, on the other hand, was continued by Mr. Welscheit's brother and his son until 1997.
However, the demand for mosaics was low in the 90s, which led Mr. Martin Welscheit to leave the operative business to his father. He himself worked in industry and pursued his career in purchasing/logistics, where he worked in the background for 25 years.
Since the beginning of the new millennium, however, there has been a renewed interest in the variety and associated design possibilities of mosaics. The assortment has since been expanded extensively and now (as of 2023) includes 2000 stocked varieties. This led to the move from Meinerzhagen to Drensteinfurt in 2005.
The move to Drensteinfurt in the Münsterland region
In 2005 the company moved to Drensteinfurt, where a company location with a convenient connection to the A1 and A2 is located. This offers an ideal logistic base for the company. Since then, the company has been constantly striving to improve its delivery service and to meet the needs of its customers for delivery on demand, even by a single sheet.
The operational business takeover
Since June 2014, Martin Welscheit, a business economist and experienced buyer with 25 years of professional experience in the industry, has been managing the fortunes of Welscheit GmbH both strategically and operationally.
Through decades of supplier relationships and a strong, trusting partnership with customers, the company can now offer an extensive collection of over 2000 varieties of high-quality materials and current trends. Customer-focused logistics enable fast delivery across Europe while reducing the customer's inventory requirements.
Orders received by 12:00, are shipped the same day.
Capacity expansion of the warehouse
In the course of the expansion of Fliesen Welscheit GmbH, the warehouse capacities were almost doubled by the construction of another hall. An extensive new product offensive led to the warehouse assortment in the mosaic sector growing to 900 different types in 2016. In the following year, 2017, this number was increased again and the stocked assortment reached the impressive mark of 1000 different mosaics. The Europe-wide distribution strategy was consistently continued and all countries of the EU as well as Iceland, Norway and Switzerland are now supplied. Thanks to the support of new country partners in sales, the company was also able to expand its sales market to Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
Assortment expansion
Welscheit GmbH has once again expanded its product range and now proudly offers a selection of 1300 stocked items. To make it easier to get an overview of the extensive collection, a general catalog was created that clearly presents the wide range of tiles and mosaics. In addition, an atmospheric picture book was developed to present inspiring design ideas using HuH Mosaik products. Both catalogs reflect Welscheit GmbH's impressive range of products and offer customers an efficient way to implement their design ideas.
New hall construction
With the construction of a new warehouse, another major milestone of Welscheit GmbH was put into practice. On 1035 square meters there is space for up to 1650 pallets, which increases the assortment to 1600 stocked items. The modern hall meets the latest standards and also contains a 99kWp photovoltaic system, which supplies the office, the warehouse and the e-charging columns with sufficient electricity.
60th anniversary / New catalog
60 years of HuH Mosaik - 60 years of full commitment for you!
The 60th brand anniversary of "HuH Mosaik" was celebrated under this motto. From a homemade flower stool to one of the leading mosaic importers in Europe.
Theanniversary was accompanied by the new and extensive anniversary general catalog. 416 pages and 2 kg weight set new standards and leave hardly anything to be desired. In the course also a revision of the assortment took place, whereby the collection was extended again and consists now of 2000 stored articles.
Modernization of the company premises
In the course of modernization, the company premises were completely re-fenced and equipped with 3 flagpoles for better visibility. In addition, a modern bicycle stand was installed, among other things, also for the job bike models.
Welscheit goes Green
In addition to motivating employees to use appropriate job-bike offers in order to reduce the fine dust pollution caused by cars, Welscheit GmbH works hand in hand with the organizations Greenpeace and Orca to ensure more sustainability and to reduce the CO2 footprint as much as possible.
With our service partner DHL, we already realize a CO2 neutral shipping in the parcel area. The switch to a paperless office and improved digitalization also save resources in the form of paper and ink.
In addition to consulting sessions, potential savings in gas and electricity, both a heat pump for the entire building and a 70 kWh industrial battery storage for the photovoltaic system were installed.
Other measures, such as an expansion of the PV system, a green roof / facade or sustainable recycled plastic packaging are still in the planning phase.
We have also made sustainable improvements to our product range at the Mosaic level:
With the Woodland brand (FSC certified self-adhesive wall panels made of Canadian pine), ECO Recycled Glass Mosaic from Spain (recycled waste glass turned into mosaic) and Wood Mosaic (an upcycling process of salvaged shipwrecks whose planks are turned into wood mosaic).