Berlin, Esbjerg, Houston, Kiev, Nottingham, Nuuk, Ostrava, Reggio Emilia, Sao Paolo, Shanghai, Tashkent, Vienna – what do all these cities and many more have in common? They all host Zeppelin offices and sites!
But how did we manage to expand our international footprint to become the diverse and global company that Zeppelin Group is today? We are active in 43 countries and regions around the world with more than 220 local sites. But how did it all start?
After beginning to produce metal containers and silos in 1950 in Friedrichshafen /Germany, Zeppelin soon diversified its portfolio, taking on the Caterpillar dealership for Western Germany in 1954. After the fall of the Berlin wall, Zeppelin expanded eastwards and established new branches in former Eastern Germany and, at the beginning of the 1990s, also in the Eurasian region. Zeppelin’s internationalization is a success story – and we are a truly diverse and international company. Have a look at the timeline below and find out when we established our business in different countries. In some cases, we started with one business field and later on added other activities and sites (so we list the year when we first started our activities in that country / region).
We will present you our local companies and activities in separate blog contributions!
1950: Germany
- Zeppelin is founded in Friedrichshafen.
1990: Belgium
- Foundation of Zeppelin Systems Benelux N.V. (plant engineering solutions)
1991: Czech Republic & Slovak Republic
- Zeppelin becomes Caterpillar dealer in the former Republic of Czechoslovakia. Since 1993, we are active both in the Czech and Slovak Republic. Having started out with the distribution and service of Caterpillar products, we later on added rental services.
1992: Austria & India
- Zeppelin becomes Caterpillar dealer in Austria. Later on, we added rental services.
- Zeppelin acquires a first stake in Pneumatic Conveying Systems which today is known as Zeppelin Systems India Pvt. Ltd. In 2017, Zeppelin enters into a Joint Venture with Smart Controls India Ltd.
1996: Ukraine
- Zeppelin starts out as Caterpillar dealer in Ukraine
1997: Singapore
- Zeppelin founds a company offering plant engineering solutions which today is known as Zeppelin Systems Singapore Pte. Ltd.
1998: Brazil, USA & Russia
- Zeppelin buys a predecessor company of today’s Zeppelin Systems Latin America Ltda., which offers plant engineering solutions (the predecessor company was established in 1987).
- Zeppelin first sets foot on US-American ground, founding Zeppelin Systems USA Inc. in Houston which offers plant engineering solutions. Later on, we added Tampa to our locations in the USA.
- Zeppelin starts out as Caterpillar dealer in the North-West region of Russia in 1998. In 2002, we also took over distribution and service of Caterpillar products in South-West Russia. In 2012, Zeppelin Power Systems Russia LLC was founded to bundle all business related to engines and power systems solutions.
2000: Italy
- Zeppelin crosses the Alps and founds Zeppelin Systems Italy SRL which offers plant engineering solutions. In 2018, services were expanded when Zeppelin acquired Nuova Ciba S.p.A.
2001: Tajikistan, Turkmenistan & Uzbekistan
- Zeppelin becomes Caterpillar dealer in Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan.
2002: Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Mongolia, Romania & Switzerland
- When Zeppelin acquired MaK Deutschland GmbH & Co. KG at the end of 2002, we did not only take over distribution and service of MaK ship engines in Germany, but also in a number of countries.
2003: China
- Zeppelin starts business in China by founding Zeppelin Systems China (Beijing) Ltd. In 2010, Zeppelin enters into a Joint Venture with Shanghai Dekai Industrial Technology Inc., which operates as Zeppelin Systems China (Shanghai) Co. Ltd. today.
2004: Belarus
- Zeppelin takes over distribution and service of Caterpillar products in Belarus.
2005: Armenia & Poland
- Zeppelin becomes Caterpillar dealer in Armenia.
- Zeppelin launches its activities in Poland in 2005 with the sales and service of HYSTER forklifts. In 2017, the Zeppelin Group acquired shares in INTRAC Polska Sp. z o.o, thereby extending its activities. INTRAC Polska provides sales and service for MANITOU handling technology.
2007: United Kingdom
- Foundation of Zeppelin Systems UK Ltd. in the United Kingdom (plant engineering solutions).
2008: Saudi Arabia
- Zeppelin starts to offer plant engineering solutions in Saudi Arabia via its legal entity Zeppelin Systems Gulf Co. Ltd.
2009: France & South Korea
- When Zeppelin acquired Reimelt Henschel GmbH in 2009, we also took over a company in France that today operates as Zeppelin Systems France SARL and offers plant engineering solutions. The company was first established under the name “Reimelt France” in 1989.
- The same is true for Zeppelin Systems Korea Corporation – it was first established under the name “Reimelt Korea” in 1992.
2019: Sweden, Denmark, Greenland, Faroe Islands, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Finland and Iceland
- Zeppelin takes over responsibility for the distribution and service of Caterpillar products in Sweden, Denmark, Greenland and the Faroe Islands.
- Zeppelin acquires Baltic Marine Contractors (BMC) (headquartered in Estonia) and thus takes over the distribution and service of MaK engines and products in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Finland and Iceland.
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