International. "2019 has been a good year." This quote from CEO Peter Fenkl sums up the performance of fan and electric motor manufacturer Ziehl-Abegg in the previous year. Turnover increased from €583 million to €633 million. The boom regions were Asia, Europe and the United States. The company assured that the year 2020 also had a good start, until the coronavirus crisis.
Special ventilators for hospitals
Ziehl-Abegg supplied special ventilators to hospitals that were built in the cities of Wuhan, Shandong. and Shenzhen in just a few days. The German company has also manufactured the core equipment for negative or positive pressure in clinics in Italy and other countries.
"Customers want very fast service," says Fenkl, explaining why Ziehl-Abegg is setting up an additional production facility for energy-efficient EC electric motors in the United States. The new manufacturing facility in North Carolina will enhance the rapid implementation of specific customer requirements.
In an increasing number of countries, we are seeing a trend towards energy-saving elevator units and fans. "Sometimes high energy costs are the reason for the use of Ziehl-Abegg products, sometimes they are legal environmental requirements and, for example, in Germany, for both reasons," explains the company's CEO, Fenkl. This is due to the fact that more and more building operators are focusing on both the purchase price and ongoing energy costs.
Positive performance of the elevator division
The elevator division in Ziehl-Abegg also performed positively in 2019: in a fiercely competitive environment, Kupferzell elevator units have established themselves in the market thanks to their high quality and very good service.
Increasing the number of employees worldwide
Sales growth was also accompanied by an increase in the number of employees: in Germany, Ziehl-Abegg employs 2,400 people (previous year: 2,250), worldwide the figure is 4,300 (previous year 4,100).
