Günther Ziehl

Signature of Günther Ziehl

Günther Ziehl (born September 5, 1913 ; † July 20, 2002 ) was a German engineer and managing director. His father Emil Ziehl founded the Ziehl-Abegg company , which Günther Ziehl later inherited and rebuilt.

Life

childhood

Günther Ziehl was born on September 5, 1913 in Berlin-Weißensee . At that time, his father Emil Ziehl's company had just been up and running for three years. Emil Ziehl often took his son into the company and thus aroused his interest in technical issues.

Entry into Ziehl-Abegg

After graduating from high school, Günther Ziehl began studying engineering at the Technical University in Berlin-Charlottenburg in 1934 . Emil Ziehl gave him general power of attorney for the company shortly before his death in 1939 ; Günther Ziehl was just preparing for the exam. The general power of attorney was explicitly valid beyond the death of the company founder, and Günther Ziehl became owner and driver of Ziehl-Abegg at the age of 25. The student took over the responsibility for more than 1000 jobs.

A few weeks after his father's funeral, Günther Ziehl graduated as an engineer. He concentrated on the family company and pushed the further expansion of Ziehl-Abegg. Production in Berlin-Weißensee grew so that in the early 1940s the majority of all German elevator motors were supplied by Ziehl-Abegg.

End of the war and reconstruction

The Ziehl-Abegg production facilities in Berlin-Weißensee survived the war largely unscathed. The Russian occupiers expropriated after the war, Guenther Ziehl and called on him to dismantle the complete production and have loaded onto rail cars. Everything should be brought to Russia . Günther Ziehl himself was in danger of accompanying the transport and having to restart production in Russia. Therefore, he saw no other solution for himself and his family than to flee secretly.

The company was dismantled and the villa in Berlin was confiscated. Günther Ziehl started out as a simple transport worker in Füssen to earn a living for his family. In the evenings he went to the farmers in the area to repair electrical appliances - he took food as payment. His open manner and his knack for electric motors allowed his customer base to grow quickly. Therefore, in 1947, he applied for official approval as an electrical company.

The reliability of Ziehl-Abegg as an engine builder and supplier led Stahl Elevator Technology to contact the Ziehl family again. The Swabian company was relocated from Stuttgart to Künzelsau to protect against Allied bombers in wartime . And there the elevator manufacturers were looking for a reliable expert in all things electric motors.

An important prerequisite for the use of the company name and all patents was that Günther Ziehl had been the sole managing director of Ziehl-Abegg until the end of the war. This facilitated the quick restart as an engine construction company. In addition, Günther Ziehl was able to take numerous construction documents with him when he fled.

From 1949 Ziehl-Abegg in Künzelsau grew again into a respected company and developed into a reliable supplier. After his imprisonment, Heinz Ziehl was brought to the new Ziehl-Abegg Society by his brother Günther. Both brothers continued to run the company.

Volunteering

In Künzelsau, Günther Ziehl was committed to the needs of older people. He was one of the drivers of the House of Encounters , a meeting place for senior citizens. To do this, he made a building available that he had bought privately. Every year he organized visits to the old people's homes in the district, where he and the Hohenloh wine queens brought small gifts with him. The “House of Encounter” found nationwide recognition because it was one of the first facilities of its kind in Germany. In addition, Günther Ziehl was involved in organizations for older people nationwide and also took on voluntary functions there. He was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit for his commitment . Günther Ziehl died on July 20, 2002 in Künzelsau.

Further honors

The ZA Kupferzell plant in the Hohenlohe business park has been located on Günther-Ziehl-Strasse since summer 2014. By naming the street after the eldest son of the company's founder Emil Ziehl , the city and local councils in the intermunicipal industrial area are honoring the life and work of Günther Ziehl.