Zeman Group – Success through innovation, quality and tradition
Since the founding of Zeman & Co GmbH in 1965, the Zeman Group has brought together companies with more than 300 years of experience in steel construction. It is the pioneers and constants in the industry that make the Zeman Group so successful. The Zeman Group has been operating sustainably from the outset, consolidating its position through innovations in mechanical engineering and expanding with foresight. The fruits of success are harvested at the right time and invested in further sustainable growth. This is the secure basis on which our customers can rely.
1965
First constructions under a flying roof and open sky
In 1965, Hans Zeman and his partners founded the company Zeman & Co for the manufacture of steel structures. The first constructions were initially manufactured under a flying roof and in the open air, before the company’s first own factory hall was built in Scheifling, Styria, in 1966.
1968
Purchase of Gavle trapezoidal profiles
By purchasing trapezoidal profiles from Gavle Verken in Sweden, Zeman & Co was able to construct hall buildings of a higher quality, which greatly expanded the business area and product range. The Zeman & Co plant was expanded in 1969 and 1971.
1970
First major project: Vereinigte Aluminium-Werke Ranshofen.
This order, worth more than 12 million schillings, has resulted in an enormous growth spurt. The expansion of the company’s own production halls created the capacity to handle further major orders for General Motors, BMW and the Dürnrohr and Mellach district heating power plants.
1974
Start of own trapezoidal profile production
With the founding of Austroprofil, the Austrian market leader in the production of trapezoidal profiles was established. The adaptation of the mechanical equipment also laid the foundation for Zeman mechanical engineering.
1976
Zeman & Co goes international
Zeman took his first international steps in Saudi Arabia with the export of fully air-conditioned prefabricated houses. Further contacts in Jordan and Iraq were followed by major orders for the construction of turnkey cold stores and cattle farms.
1984
Development of the LEGATO arch system
A further innovative step was taken with the development of the sheet roll former and its worldwide patenting. The trapezoidal sheet metal arches represented a new architectural and construction element that enabled Zeman to open up the European market.
In addition to its successful application in Austria, the LEGATO arch system is marketed within Europe via license agreements. The Zeman mechanical engineering division produced and exported the machines. The first customer was the Finnish company Rannila in 1988, further exports went to Germany and Portugal, among others, and later also to the Czech Republic, Italy and Russia.
1985
European Steel Design Award
The first internationally sensational award for Zeman & Co, European Steel Design Award, was presented for the “El Dorado” lattice pyramid in Vösendorf, built in 1982. This project crowned a series of highly interesting projects implemented in Austria.
More information on the project
1989
First company foundation abroad
Immediately after reunification, the company Florprofile was founded in Poland, marking the opening of the group to the East. Equipped with the most modern roll formers and systems for the production of profiled sheets from its own machine production, Florprofile has made a significant contribution to the success of the company group over many years.
1990
Global innovation: fully automated production of SIN corrugated web beams
Zeman was the first company in the world to develop a fully automated production system for welded sheet metal beams with a sinusoidal corrugated web. Order volumes of several thousand tons became possible for the Zeman Group thanks to increased efficiency in production. From then on, SIN corrugated strut girders were increasingly and successfully used in all areas of steel construction.
Machines made by Zeman became an export hit. The first machines for the production of SIN corrugated web beams were sold to Montana in Switzerland, Thyssen in Germany and others, including Usinor in France. Machines for the LEGATO arch system also sold worldwide.
1992
Further company foundations, expansion of the Group’s own production capacities and export hits
From 1990-1992, the companies KOVOVE profily in the Czech Republic, as a supplier of trapezoidal sheet metal and roof and wall cladding, and the project company Zeman HDF in Poland, which is now regarded as the specialist for high-quality steel construction in Poland, were founded. In addition, the company GZP was founded, which has made a name for itself with the production of steel structures.
Zeman also built a new hall for the mechanical engineering division, Zeman Bauelemente. As a result, machine exports went to Codeme in Brazil, and later to Turkey, Russia, Ukraine and China. Thanks to the company’s presence at trade fairs in the USA from 1998 and later also in Russia and other countries, customers all over the world were won over by Zeman machines.
2003
Expansion through integration of further companies into the Zeman Group
With the complete takeover of the international hall construction specialist PEM Buildings and the friendly integration into the Zeman Group, the steel construction project business was successfully expanded from England via the Urals to China.
2005
European Steel Design Award
Zeman & Co received the second European Steel Design Award for the “Airport Tower” project at Vienna-Schwechat Airport. Zeman & Co has built a steel construction for an oversized projection screen on which a translucent membrane is stretched. The assembly platform was erected with SIN corrugated web beams. It was the largest membrane structure in Austria in 2005.
More information on the project
2007
European Steel Design Award
European Steel Construction Award for Waagner Biro steel and glass, Zeman HDF and Zeman & Co for the atrium roof of the “Zlote Tarasy” (Golden Terraces), an office, entertainment and shopping centre in Warsaw.
Like a cloth draped over seven spheres – this is the image that the impressive architecture of steel and glass evokes in the observer of the multifunctional building in the heart of Warsaw. At around 10,000 m², the geometrically complex grid shell is a huge free-form surface. Triangular glass panes ensure the greatest possible flexibility when designing the curvature. For the construction of the steel nodes, Waagner-Biro developed the technology that was already used in the construction of the roof of the Great Court in the British Museum. The use of this innovative technology has created an architectural landmark whose elegance is unique in the country.
More information on the project
2008
Foundation of a new company Zekon Spolka z o. o.
Zekon is the new production facility that has emerged from GZP, which has been in existence for 15 years. The company’s main area of activity is the production of steel structures for industrial and warehouse buildings, sports facilities and shopping centres, as well as for the energy and petrochemical sectors.
Zekon has a modern and automated production line for the manufacture of straight and convergent corrugated web beams SIN, which have been in great demand in recent years due to their relatively low weight and price compared to welded, hot-rolled profiles and lattice constructions.
Zekon uses the software invented by the Belgian company SCIA for the automatic control of production lines and numerical control machines. This software is integrated into steel construction software such as BOCAD, AUTOCAD, STEELFAB and HYPESTEEL.
More information about Zekon
2011
European Steel Design Award
European Steel Design Award for Waagner Biro steel and glass and Zeman HDF for the Baku Airport tollbooth.
The elliptical entrance arch with a width of over 72 metres and a depth of 28 metres welcomes visitors to Baku Airport both on arrival by road and in the air. To emphasise the geometric shape, the building is supported by just two concrete foundations. The smooth architecture of the arch is emphasised by a clear interface at the support points of the concrete base on which it sits to ensure a smooth transition from the arch to the ground
The arch consists of a steel structure supporting a cable net arrangement, which in turn supports the row of suspended gold-coloured perforated panels. To ensure an efficient construction time, the pipes and steel plates that make up the main construction ring or support frame were prefabricated off-site using special, customised moulds.
More information on the project
2013
European Steel Design Award for the roofing of Salzburg’s historic main railway station
European Steel Construction Award for Zeman & Co. for the roofing of the historic main railway station in Salzburg.
The platform on the main building has its own listed roof, which was restored by Zeman & Co GmbH as part of the renovation work. The over 100-year-old listed barrel roofs were restored and integrated into the new overall roof so that they remain architecturally and structurally independent.
To achieve this, the still riveted construction of the barrel roofs was dismantled into thousands of individual parts by Zeman, transported to the factory, refurbished there and then – in line with the requirements of the new building – reassembled slightly offset.The over 100-year-old listed barrel roofs were restored and integrated into the new overall roof so that they remain architecturally and structurally independent. This historic construction was then integrated into the new platform roofs. Although the new roof construction has spans of up to 52 metres, the slender structure fits snugly against the barrel roofs without touching them.
Thanks to the innovative fire protection concept, which takes into account the melting of the plastic membrane in the event of fire, it was possible to fulfil the strict fire protection requirements without additional fire protection measures and at comparatively low cost. The extensive construction work was carried out while the railway station was in full operation.
More information about the new platform roofs
More information on the renovation of the historic station concourse
2015
Further company investments of the Zeman Group
In 2009, the Zeman Group became a partner in Zbs Alfaçelik, which was founded in 1999 and offers project management, production and assembly for structural steel construction. The company has been fully integrated into the Zeman Group since 2015. From the beginning of the partnership, Zeman Celik, the production site of Zbs Alfaçelik, was equipped with state-of-the-art machines from Zeman and was able to continuously expand its production capacities, win international steel design awards and expand its business field.
2020
Waagner Biro steel and glass back in Austrian hands
With the acquisition of Waagner Biro steel and glass GmbH, with a history dating back to 1854, the Zeman Group has expanded its expertise and range of products to include architecturally sophisticated steel and glass façades.
Both Waagner Biro steel and glass and the Zeman Group come from Austria. They have been working together for more than three decades. For example, they worked closely together on the award-winning steel construction projects Złote Tarasy (Warsaw), Baku Airport (Azerbaijan) and Heartspace at Sheffield University. Waagner Biro steel and glass, with its four offices in Vienna, London, Abu Dhabi and Dubai, can now once again rely on the Group’s own production sites as part of the Zeman Group.
2021
World market leader in automated steel beam processing in demand
The Zeman Group’s factories are equipped with state-of-the-art, fully automated production lines for steel beams, welding robots and sorting systems. As the world market leader in this field, Zeman Bauelemente has long been courted by numerous companies. Zeman Bauelemente was sold to the US company Lincoln Electric AG in 2021 in order to meet the rapidly growing demand, promote the further development of the family business and secure long-term market advantages.