The Walter Schmidt Trophy is named after an important personality in the Brazilian medical equipment sector. He was born in Germany on March 19th, 1911. Walter Schmidt got his degree in Electrotechnology at the Royal Schule University, in his homeland.
His history was highlighted by innovations and pioneering, always researching, creating, and setting international standard procedures at a time when the modern quality controls were lacking in the then still incipient national industry.
Concerned about raising the standards of products intended for Healthcare, he actively participated and standardized the first specifications of his specialties at the beginning of the ABNT – Brazilian Association of Technical Standards (Associação Brasileira de Normas Técnicas). Still in the ‘50s, worried about infant mortality and facing importation difficulties, he introduced the first incubator equipped with gravity heating, which was a pioneer not only in Brazil but in all Latin America.
Due to his work, creative vision, innovative spirit and dedication, undoubtedly, Walter Schmidt is the pioneer of industrial medicine in Brazil. As a matter of fact, his name is intertwined with the history of the national electro-medical industry. Besides incubators and Phototherapy Systems for maternity hospitals in Brazil and many countries around the world, Walter Schmidt also innovated laboratory equipment by creating stoves, refrigerated chambers, and several other equipment that brought the quality of Brazilian analytical laboratories to the level of the best in the world.
Thus, the Walter Schmidt Trophy not only preserves the memory of one of the great names in the Brazilian medical-hospital history but also offers an example of work, dedication and love for the health cause to the new generations.
