9 minute read
Handwerk: Tools of the German Trade
By Byron Schramm, Founder, Midtown Chimney Sweeps
Disclaimer: The facts and statements expressed in this article are based on first-hand interviews between Byron Schramm (an English-speaking individual) and various Germanspeaking individuals and as such may not be wholly reliable due to the language barrier. The statements in this article are not to be taken as precise reliable facts but as general conversational information.
Photo copyrights belong to Byron Schramm and may not be used without prior permission.
So I’m in Germany on a family sabbatical studying chimney sweeping in Europe, and I’m walking around what might best be described as Ace Hardware for chimney sweeps. Stocked with brushes, rods, and ropes, it has everything you would ever need to sweep and inspect a chimney in any size or condition. I can walk out the door in five minutes with the tool in my hand. No two week wait. No backorder. Star brushes, weighted balls, smoke test pellets, inspection cameras, uniforms, chimney sweep figurines, schornsteinfeger-shaped cookie cutters, logoed scarves, and key chains. Furthermore, there’s a training center downstairs with weekly classes on tools and equipment and various seminars on things like upcoming government mandates.
So how did that make me feel? Like a professional. Like a respected professional. Tools of the trade. They are the indispensable coworker. We depend on them to get the job done. I didn’t realize how much I was missing back home. In America, while I can get anything and everything on the internet, my access to chimney equipment sort of side-stepped a necessary developmental milestone. I never knew what existed in the first place, so when everything moved to the internet, it made things strangely harder to find – hiding in plain sight.
My motive for writing this article is to learn from another country who has been doing this for a lot longer. Granted, for many years, chimney sweeps in Germany have been pseudo-government employees – much like postal workers and firefighters. This model has afforded their sweeps with a guaranteed minimum amount of work. It has forced the demand, which has forced the supply.
This concept sometimes has free-market-loving Americans scared, but it isn’t necessarily a bad thing. According to my economist wife, one of the roles of government in a free society is to help correct a market when the natural demand for something is not what it should be. For example, food safety regulations, reasonable building codes, and required education are examples of where the market might not adequately incentivize these behaviors which are, in the long run, more profitable. This is where mandates or laws are helpful. In America, the fact that chimney sweeping isn’t more legally encouraged has, in my opinion, left the American demand for sweeps lower than it should be (a discussion for another day).
So back to Germany where chimney sweeping is in high demand, albeit government mandated. What has this robust demand afforded? I saw four main enviable things during my time there: chimney sweep schools, trade stores with integrated training centers, research and development for innovative technology, and a household level awareness of the industry. Let’s take a closer look at each one.
Chimney Sweep Schools
The chimney sweep school system is sophisticated and complex. In Germany, there are 16 chimney sweep trade schools, functioning somewhat like four-year colleges –complete with dormitories and cafeterias. All new chimney sweeps (schornsteinfegers) are required to attend one day a week while also working in the field. After three years of field and classroom work, students may progress to master sweep school. This is a full-time, 12-month school experience followed by a formal graduation.
Now the sweep becomes a schornsteinfegermeister and can apply for their own district (about 1,000 homes). This will be their jurisdiction for a set period of years, and they are responsible for all official paperwork on all residences within that district. These meister chimney sweeps in Germany are so highly trained they are the official government body that approves a chimney’s use – or not.
These schools made me dream about what it would be like to have a constant stream of properly trained technicians. It would definitely be a solution to the biggest hurdle faced by American chimney companies.
The true cost of recruiting, training, onboarding, deployment, and retention doesn’t live on our P&L statement or balance sheet – but it should. The better we train our technicians, the better we serve our end consumer. The better the technician’s onboarding experience, the more likely they are to stay and contribute to a profitable business. Anyone want to build a trade school?
Trade Stores with Integrated Training Centers
We are a niche industry. We have unique tools that nobody else has reason to use or buy. So why not have a physical store to sell them? In Europe, the chimney sweep stores are run by local trade guilds that buy massive quantities and sell at a discounted rate to all their members. It only takes a couple of team members to operate a store, so it is low overhead and provides tremendous credibility and convenience to the chimney sweeping specialty trade to be able to drive in and buy what you need.
It gets better! These stores always have a room downstairs where 20-40 people can sit for hands-on training. They have chimney models ready for show-and-tell and tools for practical demonstrations. This gives each region of the country a physical place to train, so sweeps do not need to travel far for ongoing professional development.
R&D: German Engineering in the Chimney Industry
Chimney tools have definitely evolved over the years. The original chimney sweeping tools in Europe were bristle brushes. There are also records as early as 1432 showing grown men in Vienna sweeping large chimney shafts while clad in leather jerkins. The Germans and Austrian sweeps used a scraper tool for so long that it is celebrated in the logo of the federation of German sweeps today.
The current undisputed leader of German research and development for chimney inspection tools is Wohler, a solid 100-year-old Mittelstand company in the center of Germany. According to Wikipedia, a Mittlestand company is a company that is “highly focused, achieving unprecedented efficiencies by designing a business model with a razor-thin focus and learning to do one thing really well.”
Yup, that’s Wohler. They are known for making very high-quality cameras. Little is known about their device for chimney integrity testing as we don’t use this type of inspection in the United States. Yet. But I learned that it is the only way to objectively test a chimney’s integrity. The sweep places a foam block in the top and bottom of the chimney and connects the Wohler DP600 machine. The machine applies a light pressure in the cavity and measures the leakage rate, comparing it to a known permissible leakage rate. It is pass/fail. No guesswork. That is cutting-edge chimney technology.
One of the best sweeping innovations that I saw in Europe wasn’t so much in the tools, but in the building designs themselves. The rebuilding of Germany after WWII resulted in a unique opportunity – most of Germany’s residential housing was rebuilt with noncombustible materials and access points for ongoing building maintenance. In the case of chimney design, they used an air-cooled, masonry modular system. Similar to clay flue tiles in masonry fireplaces in the USA, they built chimney stacks in the center of their buildings to serve the more efficient German boilers and furnaces. Their modular air-cooled masonry chimneys are so sturdy that several chimney sweeps literally burn out the creosote when they cannot sweep it out. The tool used is a weed-burner torch, fueled by propane. The process is called a controlled burn.
The chimney fire controlled burn takes about two hours, and the sweep returns later to sweep it out and ensure it is safe. We have videos of this intentional ignition and burning process, which is scary for us American sweeps and even some Germans! However, some Germans still use this controlled burn technique for removing creosote. Warning: please do not try this at home in your wood framed house!
Household Level Awareness of the Chimney Sweep Industry
It’s the dream of every marketing department to make their brand a household name.
The German chimney sweep logo is very recognizable throughout their country, as they have the unique advantage of being connected through a central guild.
German sweeps dress for success. Black leather trousers, black double-breasted jackets with two rows of brass buttons, and a white kerchief around the neck. I found myself buying gear and wearing the logo with pride –even though I am American – because I wanted to connect with this massive body of men and women in the chimney sweep trade.
Annual, government-mandated chimney sweeping in countries like Germany, Austria, and Switzerland gives chimney sweeps a legitimate position of authority on a cultural level.
In Europe, the industry has done a remarkable job of promoting the image of the sweep as a trusted, helpful character. Through marketing, toys, and swag, the perpetuation of the chimney sweep as a symbol of good luck is no accident.
My experience in Germany wasn’t just about chimneys; it was about a different approach to a niche industry. A well-trained workforce, readily available resources, and a heightened public awareness of the importance of chimney safety – these are all lessons we can learn from the German model.
So what do you want to be when you grow up – a fireman, teacher, or chimney sweep?
