Zehnder
| Zehnder Group AG
|
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| legal form | Corporation |
| ISIN | CH0276534614 |
| founding | 1895 |
| Seat |
Graenichen , Switzerland
|
| management | Matthias Huenerwadel ( CEO ) Hans-Peter Zehnder ( Chairman of the Board of Directors ) |
| Number of employees | 3'413 ( FTE 2019) |
| sales | 644.4 million euros (2019) |
| Branch | Supply technology |
| Website | www.zehndergroup.com |
| As of December 31, 2019 | |
The Zehnder Group AG , headquartered in Canton Aargau Gränichen is an international Swiss manufacturer of residential ventilation, air cleaning equipment, heat exchangers, radiators and radiant ceilings. The group of companies employed 3,413 people in the 2019 financial year and generated sales of around 644 million euros. Zehnder Group is listed on the Swiss stock exchange SIX Swiss Exchange listed .
Field of activity
The Zehnder Group operates in two business areas: ventilation and radiators.
The ventilation business area comprises the product lines of home ventilation, air purification devices and heat exchangers. The radiator business area includes the product lines radiators and heating and cooling ceilings.
The globally active company develops and manufactures its products in 16 of its own plants, five of which are in China and North America. Distribution in more than 70 countries takes place through our own local sales companies and agencies. In addition to the international Zehnder brand, the group also includes other local brands such as Runtal, Acova, Bisque, Greenwood, Paul, Core, Enervent and Recair.
history
The company was founded by Jakob Zehnder in 1895 as a mechanical workshop in Gränichen and named J. Zehnder & Sons in 1912 . The workshop initially carried out repairs of all kinds and occasionally sold bicycles , typewriters , sewing machines , washing machines and motorcycles . During the First World War , the company manufactured ammunition parts.
Zehnder motorcycles
After the end of the First World War, the workforce fell from 118 to just 25 in 1922. In search of a new product, the Zehnder brothers bought a German small motorcycle in 1923 and increased its engine performance. The modified light motorcycle was brought onto the Swiss market in autumn 1923 and was very well sold. It was this is a 50 kg lightweight motorcycle with a 112- cc - two-stroke engine that produces in a first large series of 1000 pieces and as "Zehnderli" became known. It has also been used successfully in various mountain and flat races.
At their peak in Switzerland, the Zehnderli achieved a market share of around ten percent. In 1927, however, sales fell for the first time. The model with a displacement of 225 cc , which was then brought onto the market in 1928, did not sell particularly well due to various shortcomings, among other things. As a result, the company J. Zehnder & Söhne, which had meanwhile been converted into a stock corporation, ran into a liquidity bottleneck. Under pressure from the creditors, the Zehnder brothers had to resign from all their offices in 1930. The previous company was thus effectively dissolved. The "Zehnderli" were offered for some time by a successor company, Maschinenfabrik Gränichen AG. However, in the second half of the 1930s, this allowed the now technically outdated Zehnder models to be phased out.
Reorientation towards heating technology
In 1930, the Zehnder brothers started producing radiators made of steel pipes at their previous location with their own successor company. As a result, the company specialized in heating technology. In 1959 the third generation took over the management of the company. In 1964, the company built its first production company for radiators abroad in southern Germany. In 1972 the production of radiators began in France.
The construction recession caused by the oil price shock resulted in a decline in sales of radiators in 1973 and 1974. As a consequence, the company took over the Haenni Group, which specializes in measuring instruments, with the aim of reducing its strong dependence on the construction industry.
At the beginning of the 1980s, the Zehnder family agreed to open the company, which has now grown into a corporate group, to the public. For this purpose, Zehnder Holding AG was founded as an umbrella company in 1984. The IPO was carried out in 1986, whereby only the bearer shares were made available to the public, while the registered shares are still owned by the Zehnder family or their related parties.
With Hans-Peter Zehnder, the fourth generation took over the chairmanship of the group management in 1993. Under his leadership, the company expanded both geographically and in terms of products in the radiator business, with all non-radiator activities being sold.
Entry into the ventilation business
In 2001 the group of companies entered the rapidly growing ventilation business. This was followed by innovations such as the central ComfoAir Q ventilation unit and the acquisition of ventilation companies such as Shanghai Nather in China, InteliVENT in Estonia, Enervent in Finland and Recair in the Netherlands. At the end of 2019, the ventilation business already accounted for almost 50% of the total sales of the Zehnder Group.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Annual Report 2019. In: www.zehndergroup.com. Retrieved March 4, 2020 .