Kolbenschmidt is a German maker of pistons and engine components founded on 1 April 1910 in Heilbronn by Karl Schmidt, who moved production to Neckarsulm in 1917 and built the firm into Europe's leading aluminum-piston and bearing manufacturer by the late 1960s. It later formed part of KSPG/Rheinmetall Automotive, the automotive division of the German defense and engineering group Rheinmetall, which wound down that automotive business in the early 2020s. (Avots)