ZIEHL-ABEGG

  

Fascination, innovation and always being one step ahead – these are the aspirations of our globally active company in the competence areas of ventilation systems, control engineering, drive and automotive technology. The company has been achieving great things since it was founded by Emil Ziehl in Berlin in 1910, and today has its headquarters based in Künzelsau, Baden-Württemberg. This is also the location of our InVent development and competence centre, where revolutionary advancements and pioneering technologies are born.

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A place full of unique inventions to benefit our customers in the form of first-class products that are highly efficient and reduce emissions. We set high standards in our plans for targeted growth, profitability and for the future in general with consistently sound judgement and the premise of maintaining an environment that is worth living in, both for us now and future generations (e.g. the blue year initiative).

ZIEHL-ABEGG – 3,550 employees, 16 production sites, 27 companies, 97 sales offices.

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THE BLUE ERA | HISTORY

On 2nd January 1910 Emil Ziehl founded ZIEHL-ABEGG in Berlin Weißensee. This marked the beginning of the blue era, and from these early beginnings the company went from strength to strength. This story of success is founded on Emil Ziehl's pioneering inventions, such as his patented developments in the field of electric gyroscopes and the gyroscopic compass that formed the basis for the external rotor motor developed by Emil Ziehl at the turn of the century.

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THE BLUE WONDER CONTINUES

The way was clear, the Blue Wonder continued

In premises rented from well-known elevator manufacturers Stahl on the 1st floor of the Schlossmühle in Künzelsau, Günther Ziehl, now the father of two children Silke and Uwe, and his brother Heinz, the father of daughters Jutta, Margit, Helga and Karin, restarted the production of elevator motors. A positive start since Stahl were already familiar with the quality of ZIEHL-ABEGG motors. By the end of the Second World War ZIEHL-ABEGG was supplying 90 percent of the entire demand in Germany for elevator motors. Initially, the company started production with two elevator motor types, followed later by external rotor motors and with further developments in the pipeline. As before, the basis of these still lay in Emil Ziehl's invention – the external rotor – as it did for other future developments at ZIEHL-ABEGG, such as in fans, as a drive element and a design principle in the area of elevator technology. The idea of the brothers Günther and Heinz to use reinforced external rotor motors for ventilation systems was one that Heinz Ziehl in particular held on to – he saw great potential for its use across the ventilation system industry. Günther Ziehl worked out the financial basis and concepts necessary to realise their plans. Developments took their course and ZIEHL-ABEGG's comeback as one of the leading industrial producers of fans, drive systems and control engineering was secured. 


1955 saw the first stage of construction of the new production and administration building. The development of external rotor fans begins in Künzelsau.

1960 employee numbers at ZIEHL-ABEGG already back to 600. The initial registration of the external rotor in an Ex-version was submitted and published.

1965 the Schöntal-Bieringen branch factory was built at a new production site, and affiliate ebm was founded with a 2/3 holding by the members of the Ziehl family. 

1966 extension of the Bieringen factory to accommodate the aluminium casting area with its highly automated production procedures.

1967 - 1969 successful further development of the external rotor motor with directly cast axial blades and built-in motor. Production of switchgear starts.

1973 first foreign sales offices in Sweden, England and Italy.

1980 the development of electronic switching and control devices begins.

1985 initial development of mains-operated EC drives.

1987 introduction of DIN EN ISO 9001 quality management system. 

1991 - 1995 foundation of the 12,000 m² Niedernhall branch factory for the manufacture of centrifugal fans. Extension of the Bieringen site to 22,000 m². Commissioning of the Power & Free assembly system for centralised production of the die-cast axial fan range. Foundation of the Marcali/Hungary production site.
 

1999 French firm FMV Lamel incorporated in the ZIEHL-ABEGG Group.

2001 the company becomes a family owned limited company under Chairman of the Supervisory Board Uwe Ziehl. In the same year: the new gearless synchronous drive ZAtop revolutionises elevator construction.

2002 commissioning of the 15,000 m² production centre for centrifugal fans at the Hohenlohe Business Park at Waldenburg. Further sales offices are established around the world (25 to date). 

2005 Ziehl Holding GmbH founded. Uwe Ziehl, son of Günther Ziehl and proprietor of Ziehl industrie-elektronik GmbH + Co in Schwäbisch Hall takes over 100% of the company with his family, and continues to act as Chairman of the Supervisory Board. With the transformation to a limited company and the crucial support of Uwe Ziehl, the way was clear for ZIEHL-ABEGG to realise many new ideas and visions. After the sales offices held jointly with ebm were wound up, new offices were established all over the world, at a rate of one a month.

2006 sees the start of amazing developments in EC technology. 

2007 ZIEHL-ABEGG China, production facility extended from 5,000 to 21,000 m² 

2008 followed by the no less spectacular opening of the visionary InVent Technology Centre at the Künzelsau site. The nature and size of this globally unique test chamber means it can also be used to carry out measurements on customer equipment for AMCA, DIN, ISO, etc. certification. Expansion of the production facilities at the
Hohenlohe Business Park to 27,000 m2. Expansion of the factory in Hungary to its present 19,000 m2.

2009 introduction of the highly efficient Vpro-ECblue fan and development of the globally unique axial fan with bionic profile – the FE2owlet-ECblue – both of which exceed the 2015 EUp energy performance requirements. The Fcontrol frequency inverter with its sine filter, the world's first series for controlling any type and number of motors running in parallel. 

2010 – 100 years of ZIEHL-ABEGG

In a class of its own – The Royal League

Through the "Premium Quality" and "Premium Efficiency" certifications for the organisation's entire product range, ZIEHL-ABEGG has set the highest of benchmarks for its employees and products for the next 100 years.

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