Zollern GmbH & Co. KG
A 300-year-old German family-owned metal-processing group producing drive, material and component solutions, from investment castings and forged profiles to gearboxes, winches and automation systems.
Last updated September 27, 2026
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Overview
ZOLLERN (formally Zollern GmbH & Co. KG) is a German industrial group in the metal-processing sector, headquartered in Laucherthal, a district of Sigmaringendorf in Baden-Württemberg. Founded in 1708 by Prince Meinrad II of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen as the Fürstlich Hohenzollernsche Hüttenwerke, it is described as the oldest surviving family-owned company in the state of Baden-Württemberg and today is owned by the eleventh generation of the Hohenzollern family together with the Merckle Unternehmensgruppe. The company operates under the ZOLLERN brand and is part of the Unternehmensgruppe Fürst von Hohenzollern. ZOLLERN develops and manufactures customized drive, material and component solutions for demanding applications. Its product and process portfolio spans investment casting (including vacuum investment casting and EQX, DS/SX technology), sand casting, forged parts (open-die and drop forging, ring rolling), special profiles (hot and cold rolling, cold drawing, inductive hardening), gearboxes (electric drive systems, slewing gearboxes, travel drives, winch gearboxes, industrial and tunnel boring gearboxes), winches (hoisting, pulling, free-fall, lifeboat and special winches), electro motors (torque and synchronous motors), hydrostatic bearing systems, rotary table systems and automation solutions. The group serves demanding industries including aerospace, shipbuilding and engine construction, energy and information technology, automotive and mechanical engineering, and is a development partner and one of the leading foundries in Europe. The company's history is one of continuous transformation. It began as an iron smelting works using locally found bog iron ore, was assessed in 1715 as the "best iron works in Swabia," and shifted away from blast-furnace operation toward metal processing as that became unprofitable in the late 19th century. Over the 20th century it added bronze founding, plain bearings, investment casting, rods and bars, gearboxes, special profiles and automation. From 1989 the entrepreneur Adolf Merckle became a 50% shareholder, and in 2004 the group's companies were unified under the ZOLLERN brand as part of a globalization strategy. ZOLLERN crossed the €500 million revenue threshold for the first time in 2008. Today the ZOLLERN Group operates production sites in Germany, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia and China, with subsidiaries in the Netherlands, Italy, India and the USA. Its German operations include the Laucherthal plant (steel profiles, investment casting, sand casting and forging), the Herbertingen plant (drive technology, gearboxes and winches, automation, direct drives, hydrostatic bearing systems, rotary table systems) and Friedrich Blickle & Co. GmbH in Winterlingen. The company remains privately held, with ownership split equally between Karl Friedrich von Hohenzollern and the Merckle Unternehmensgruppe.
History
ZOLLERN traces its origins to 1708, when Prince Meinrad II of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen founded the Fürstlich Hohenzollernsche Hüttenwerke in Laucherthal, where the group is still headquartered today. The works initially smelted bog iron ore found at the surface, and in 1715 it was assessed as the "best iron works in Swabia." In the second half of the 19th century, operating the blast furnace became increasingly unprofitable amid growing competition, and the blast furnace ceased operation from 1879; by then the company had long since shifted its focus to metal processing. From 1906 to 1924 the company owned the Annahütte steelworks, described as the oldest still-existing steelworks in Europe. In the 20th century the company diversified its metal-processing activities. A bronze foundry went into production in 1890, plain bearing production began in 1935, investment casting production began in 1950, and rods and bars production began in 1971. Gearbox production started in 1972, the Herbertingen plant began production in 1976, special profile production began in 1978, and the first automation technology projects followed in 1984. During the crisis of the metal industry in the 1970s and 1980s, the princely house responded not with layoffs, as most other metal companies did, but by investing in plastics companies and selling its own real estate to get through the crisis without redundancies. This largely succeeded, but one consequence was the end of the purely family-owned company: at the urging of banks, investors were sought, and in 1989 the entrepreneur Adolf Merckle acquired 50 percent of the Zollern works. The group then operated under the name Fürstlich Hohenzollernsche Werke Laucherthal GmbH & Co. After Merckle's suicide in 2009, his son Ludwig guaranteed that the Zollern shares would not be sold. The 1990s and 2000s saw international expansion and acquisitions. An investment casting plant was built and started up in Portugal in 1991. In 1996 the group took over BHW Braunschweiger Hüttenwerk GmbH, with its three plants in Germany and Brazil (plain bearings). In 1997 a Chinese works was built and started up in Tianjin under the name ZOLLERN Speed Reducer Company Ltd. (gearboxes). In 1999 it took over Friedrich Blickle & Co. GmbH (cutting metalworking) and Dorstener Maschinenfabrik AG (gearboxes). In 2003 it took over ZOLLERN Tlc. in Les Mureaux near Paris (plain bearings) and GMH Gleitlagerfabrik und Metallgießerei GmbH (plain bearings). In 2004, following the group's globalization strategy, all the companies began operating under the ZOLLERN brand name. Also in 2004, the Zollern Group bought Mimtec AG, founded in 1999 and based in Rorschach, Switzerland, extending its capabilities into Metal Injection Molding (MIM). In 2008 ZOLLERN exceeded the €500 million revenue threshold for the first time. In August 2011 it acquired its Dutch competitor Eurocast B.V., part of the listed Aalberts group, to strengthen its competitive position in investment casting for high-tech applications in aerospace, the optical industry, medical technology and the electrical industry; the brand and plant were transferred to the then Zollern plant in Soest. In September 2011 ZOLLERN opened a plant for the post-processing of castings in Romania. A subsidiary was founded in India in 2014, and in 2015 the rotary table manufacturer Rückle and Treibacher Auermet d.o.o. in Ravne, Slovenia, were acquired. In January 2019 the German Federal Cartel Office prohibited a planned joint venture with the Austrian Miba AG that would have combined the two companies' plain bearing businesses. The companies then applied for ministerial authorization, which was granted in August 2019. The joint venture was ended in the summer of 2024. In August 2021, Zollern Maschinenbauelemente GmbH & Co. KG in Aulendorf (guide shafts, strips), with 84 employees, was sold to Audita Consult, an auditing and management consulting firm from Hanover. Today the ZOLLERN Group includes, in Germany, Zollern GmbH & Co. KG with the Laucherthal plant (steel profiles, investment casting, sand casting and forging), the Herbertingen plant (drive technology; gearboxes and winches, automation, direct drives, hydrostatic bearing systems, rotary table systems) and, with Friedrich Blickle & Co. GmbH, a plant in Winterlingen. Outside Germany the group includes Zollern & Comandita with its Portugal plant (casting technology), Zollern (Tianjin) Machinery Co., Ltd. with its China plant (drive technology, gearboxes and winches), Zollern North America L.P. with its USA plant, S.C. Zollern S.R.L. with its Romania plant, and a plant in Slovenia. As of April 2022, ZOLLERN had production sites in Europe (Germany, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia) and Asia (China), plus subsidiaries in the Netherlands, Italy, India and the USA. A mining museum (Bergbaumuseum Laucherthal) was established in the former blast furnace building at the Laucherthal headquarters, built from 1707, at a cost of about one million euros; it opened in September 2009 and explains the history of the Fürstlich Hohenzollernschen Hüttenwerke Laucherthal and the operation of the blast furnace.
- 2015
Acquisition of rotary table manufacturer Rückle and Treibacher Auermet d.o.o. in Ravne, Slovenia.
- 2014
Subsidiary founded in India.
- 2011
Acquisition of Dutch competitor Eurocast B.V.; opening of a castings post-processing plant in Romania.
- 2009
Bergbaumuseum Laucherthal mining museum opens in the former blast furnace building.
- 2008
ZOLLERN exceeds €500 million in revenue for the first time.
- 2004
All group companies operate under the ZOLLERN brand name; acquisition of Mimtec AG (Switzerland), adding Metal Injection Molding.
- 2003
Takeover of ZOLLERN Tlc. in Les Mureaux near Paris and GMH Gleitlagerfabrik und Metallgießerei GmbH (plain bearings).
- 1999
Takeover of Friedrich Blickle & Co. GmbH (cutting metalworking) and Dorstener Maschinenfabrik AG (gearboxes).
- 1997
Construction and start-up of the Chinese works in Tianjin as ZOLLERN Speed Reducer Company Ltd. (gearboxes).
- 1996
Takeover of BHW Braunschweiger Hüttenwerk GmbH with plants in Germany and Brazil (plain bearings).
Products and positioning
Premium engineering-driven supplier of customized drive, material and component solutions for demanding industrial applications, combining over 300 years of tradition with innovation, precision, safety and long-term reliability.
Investment casting
Includes vacuum investment casting and EQX, DS/SX technology, and aluminium investment casting; used for turbine wheels, VTG vanes, flap plates and bushings.
Sand casting
Sand casting, croning/shell casting, ceramic casting and centrifugal casting.
Forged parts
Open-die forging and drop forging, ring rolling.
Special profiles
Hot rolling, cold rolling, cold drawing and inductive hardening.
Gearboxes
Electric drive systems, slewing gearboxes, travel drives, winch gearboxes, industrial gearboxes and tunnel boring gearboxes.
Winches
Hoisting, pulling and free-fall applications, lifeboat and special winches, with integrated planetary gearboxes.
Electro motors
Torque motors and synchronous motors as kits or integrated units.
Hydrostatic bearing systems
Spindle units, center bearings, bearing components, linear guide units and round guide units.
Rotary table systems
Milling tables, turning tables, grinding tables, rotary swivel tables, measuring tables and pallet changers.
Automation
Automation solutions and complete systems.
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