ZKW
| ZKW
|
|
|---|---|
 |
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| legal form | GmbH |
| founding | 1938 |
| Seat | Wieselburg |
| management | Oliver Schubert (CEO) |
| Number of employees | approx. 9,700 (2018) |
| sales | 1.34 billion EUR (2018) |
| Branch | Automotive supplier |
| Website | www.zkw-group.com |
ZKW is an Austrian manufacturer of lighting systems and electronic components for cars, trucks and motorcycles . ZKW is a global system supplier primarily of front lighting for the automotive industry . The company develops and produces headlights , fog lights and daytime running lights in laser , LED , xenon and halogen technology, additional lights and electronic parts.
ZKW has been a wholly owned subsidiary of LG since 2018 .
Locations
The ZKW corporate headquarters are based in Wieselburg in Lower Austria . The group consists of ZKW Holding GmbH and ZKW Group GmbH. The group has eight locations in Europe, America and Asia. There is also a development department at all locations.
- ZKW Lichtsysteme GmbH in Wieselburg, Austria: headlight production, research & development
- ZKW Slovakia sro in Krušovce , Slovakia: production of headlights and auxiliary lights
- ZKW Lighting Systems (Dalian) Co., Ltd. in Dalian , China: Production of headlights and auxiliary lights
- ZKW México, SA de CV in Silao de la Victoria Mexico: Production of headlights and auxiliary lights
- ZKW Elektronik GmbH in Wiener Neustadt , Austria: Research & development, production of electronic modules and electronic boards
- KES - kabelové a elektrické systémy, spol. sro in Vratimov , Czech Republic: production of cable harnesses and electrics
- ZKW Lighting Systems USA, Inc. - in Troy (Michigan) , USA: Sales
In addition, ZKW is in the form of a joint venture in Neolite ZKW Lightings Pvt., Ltd. based in New Delhi , India.
history
ZKW was founded in 1938 by Karl Zizala in Vienna as a manufacturing and trading company for car, motorcycle and bicycle parts. The brand name ZKW is derived from the initials of his name in connection with the W for the Austrian capital Vienna to Z izala K arl W ien.
Karl Zizala maneuvered the young company ZKW through the Second World War. In 1950, despite the Soviet occupation, ZKW moved to a newly built plant in the Wachau . In 1954 the company was expanded to include a headlight factory in Wieselburg , which mainly produced components for the Lohner and Puch factories . In the 1950s, vehicle parts of all kinds were produced, such as exhausts, wheels and handles for mopeds. In 1959, ZKW took over the majority in KTM . Some years were also at ZKW mopeds from KTM including the built KTM Pony . Around 1960 ZWK took over the company Neuruhrer & Gruber , a wholesaler for bicycle, motorcycle and automobile material, spare parts and tuning. The takeovers of KTM and Neuruhrer & Gruber boosted business. In the mid-1960s, ZKW generated 40% of its sales in exports. ZKW grew into a large industrial company .
In 1973 Karl Zizala died of a heart attack. As a result, the company struggled with economic difficulties. The company, which had been family-owned until then, was taken over by the Mommert family in 1982. So it could be saved from bankruptcy. In 1983, ZKW's business went up and the company was back in the black.
In 1986, under the name CeWe-Lite, ZKW had a glare-free auxiliary headlamp design with doubled light output and a width of 80 degrees protected.
From metal component production for various motorcycle and truck manufacturers, specialization in innovative premium lighting systems and electronics developed in the decades that followed . The first headlight for passenger cars was mass-produced in 1989, followed by the first headlight for trucks in 1995. Since 1998 truck headlights and since 2003 car headlights have been manufactured with xenon technology . In 2005, the first cornering light went into production with the bend-lite® headlight .
In 2007 a company location was established in Krušovce , Slovakia. In the same year, the headquarters in Wieselburg received a Management & Innovation Center (MIC), in which around 450 employees worked in research and development in 2019 . A location in India was established in 2008. In the same year, ZKW expanded its location in Wieselburg. In 2010 a company was founded in China and the joint venture was expanded in India. Furthermore, a development network was set up across the entire ZKW Group.
In 2011, ZKW's AFS -capable full LED headlights came onto the market. This was later developed into the LED matrix system. In November 2011, ZKW received the BMW Supplier Innovation Award for the FULL LED main headlight of the BMW 6-series .
In 2012 a new electronics location was built in Wiener Neustadt. LED technology has been developed and produced there since April 1, 2013. In 2014, the construction of a plant in Silao de la Victoria in Mexico began . At the same time, a development center was established in Troy, USA. In parallel with technological development, the construction of an electronics factory in Austria and numerous awards, ZKW has become a global company.
In 2014, ZKW started production of the world's first laser light headlight for the BMW i8 . The BMW i8 was thus the first series vehicle in which laser light was optionally used. ZKW has been producing the LED matrix headlights for the Opel Astra K since 2015 .
In April 2018, ZKW was acquired 70% by LG Electronics and 30% by LG Corporation for 1.1 billion euros . The final closing took place in September 2018. The South Korean parent company gave a five-year location guarantee for the Austrian locations. ZKW should continue to produce under its own brand until further notice.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Key figures - ZKW Group - Bright Minds, Bright Lights. In: zkw-group.com. Retrieved April 12, 2019 .
- ↑ Jakob Zirm: ZKW Group: Ulrich Mommert and Hubert Schuhleitner «DiePresse.com. In: diepresse.com. September 12, 2014, accessed April 12, 2019 .
- ↑ Laser light for car headlights - noe.ORF.at. In: noe.orf.at. March 11, 2014, accessed April 12, 2019 .
- ↑ Götz Fuchslocher: ZKW LED matrix headlights in the Opel Astra. In: automobil-produktion.de. December 10, 2015, accessed April 12, 2019 .
- ↑ LG takes over the Austrian auto supplier ZKW. In: kurier.at. April 26, 2018, accessed April 12, 2019 .