Bullish ZF celebrates 100th anniversary

Exactly 100 years after the company was first entered into the trade register, transmission specialist ZF invited some 1,500 international guests to Germany to celebrate the brand’s vibrant history.

“On September 9, 1915, Zahnradfabrik GmbH, headquartered in Friedrichshafen, Germany, was entered into the trade register of the Tettnang district court.

“The aim of the newly founded company was to produce gears and transmissions for aircraft, motor vehicles and motorboats,” ZF CEO, Dr Stefan Sommer, explained.

“It was not long before ZF began offering its technology to automobile manufacturers and advanced to become one of the leading automotive supply companies.”

Sommer added, “Even 100 years after its founding, ZF is still driven by its desire to invent new technologies and perfect existing ones. Reliability and innovation represent the general values of our company and are the basis of our actions.”

Sommer used the occasion to emphasise that in light of increasing digitalisation and networking in the automotive industry, it is not enough to simply collect components.

“Intelligently combining mechanics, electronics, and big data is decisive in developing adequate solutions for the mobility trends of the 21st century.

“The trend toward autonomous driving and electromobility will change automobile use and technology more than any other previous developments.”

However, Sommer also pointed out that it will probably still take more than two decades before electromobility achieves what he called a “dominating market share” – saying that the plug-in hybrid was an important bridge technology from today’s world of the combustion engine into the new world of pure electromobility.



Sommer explained that ZF intends to further bolster the “technology transfer” from the passenger car to commercial vehicles and industrial technology. “In view of our long-term strategy, we want to further expand the non-automotive segment to achieve greater diversification.”



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