Commitment, responsibility and highly efficient fans
Just three of the many factors that helped deliver good results even in a pandemic year
There were no signs at the start of 2020 or shortly afterwards that this year would experience a totally unexpected course of events; however, ZIEHL-ABEGG was one of the first German companies to issue warnings about travel from and to China and later Italy – “border closures, cut-off of material supplies, component shortages, continuous ups and downs, 2020 was like a rollercoaster ride,” said CEO Peter Fenkl. Despite this, by exploring every opportunity, both nationally and internationally, the company defied the crisis.
Right at the start of the pandemic the CEO of ZIEHL-ABEGG SE, Peter Fenkl, together his colleagues on the Executive Board, initiated key measures for the safety of all employees worldwide.
Forward-looking approach – motivated employees
Sheer hard work at every level of the company, a responsible and forward-looking approach on the part of the management, as well as the tireless efforts of employees around the globe, are the guarantee for highly efficient, climate-friendly high-tech fans for which ZIEHL-ABEGG is synonymous as a global technology leader in ventilation systems, control and drive technology. It is these factors that enabled the company to bring what was such an unpredictable year as 2020 to a successful conclusion, despite the many obstacles in the way, and to even post an increase in sales of almost 1% to 639 million euros (previous year, 633 million euros).
Investments in the future
Having the courage, particularly in these times, to commence global construction projects and invest in machinery on an almost counter-cyclical, proved to be a strategically well-founded approach for absorbing and exploiting to productive effect the global growth which had already begun to pick up once again from mid-2020, even though all the Corona regulations posed significant obstacles to production and sales and the fact that the sword of Damocles, represented by the continuing uncertainty about how the course of the pandemic would ‘pan out’, hung over everything.
Working together to achieving optimum performance
The combination of these business-orientated approaches, coupled with an incredible level of commitment, energy and motivation among all employees worldwide and innovative technologies will this year once again provide the foundation for achieving another profitable year whatever adverse conditions we face and consequently for maintaining and continuing the company’s successful course in 2021.
The number of employees remained constant in 2020: 2,400 employees at ZIEHL-ABEGG in Germany and a total of 4,300 globally. However this figure is not intended to stay at the same level according to CEO Peter Fenkl. The company is currently conducting an in-depth search for production personnel for the three locations in Germany.
