1885: Johann Georg Schlumpf, my great grandfather, builds the first hydraulic ram, which is installed in a single-family house in Steinhausen, where it pumps water into a reservoir in the attic of the house.

The hydraulic ram is a machine that is able to pump part of the incoming water to a much greater height by generating a pressure shock without any further energy input.

For more than 135 years, the rams have been manufactured and further developed at Schlumpf.

In the 30 years that I have been looking after rams, a whole new generation of ram technology has emerged: the so-called compact or high-speed rams. With them, practically any gradient and delivery heights of well over 500 metres are now possible.