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. We are pioneers and stalwarts of the steel construction industry, and we are the driving force behind the Zeman Group’s success. The Zeman Group has always operated sustainably, has solidified its position through innovations in mechanical engineering, and has expanded 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 employees and 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. to manufacture 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 sourcing trapezoidal profiles from the Swedish company Gavle Verken, Zeman & Co was able to construct higher-quality industrial buildings, which allowed the company to significantly expand its business and product range. In 1969 and 1971, the Zeman & Co. plant was expanded.

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 machinery also laid the foundation for Zeman-Maschinenbau.

1976

Zeman & Co Goes International

Zeman took its first steps into the international market by exporting fully air-conditioned prefabricated homes to Saudi Arabia. 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 corrugated sheet metal arches represented a new architectural and structural element that enabled Zeman to enter the European market.
In addition to its successful use in Austria, the LEGATO arch system is marketed throughout Europe under licensing agreements. The Zeman Mechanical Engineering Division manufactured and exported the machines. The first customer in 1988 was the Finnish company Rannila; other exports went to Germany and Portugal, among other places, and later also to the Czech Republic, Italy, and Russia.

1985

European Steel Design Award

The first internationally acclaimed award for Zeman & Co—the European Steel Construction Award—was presented for the “El Dorado” truss pyramid, built in 1982 in Vösendorf. This project was the culmination of a series of highly interesting projects carried out 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 Girders

Zeman was the first company in the world to develop a fully automated production line for welded sheet metal beams with sinusoidally corrugated webs. Thanks to increased efficiency in production, the Zeman Group was able to handle order volumes of several thousand metric tons. From then on, SIN corrugated beams were increasingly and successfully used in all areas of steel construction.

Machines made by Zeman became a big export hit. The first machines for producing SIN corrugated web girders were sold to Montana in Switzerland, to Thyssen in Germany, and to other companies, 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 to 1992, KOVOVE profily was founded in the Czech Republic as a supplier of trapezoidal sheet metal and roof and wall cladding, and the project company Zeman HDF was founded in Poland, which is now regarded as the leading specialist in high-quality steel construction in Poland. In addition, the company GZP was founded, which has made a name for itself in the manufacture of steel structures.
Zeman also built a new facility for its mechanical engineering division, Zeman Bauelemente. Machinery was subsequently exported to the company Codeme in Brazil, and later to Turkey, Russia, Ukraine, and China. Thanks to its presence at trade shows in the U.S. starting in 1998—and later in Russia and other countries as well—Zeman Maschinen was able to win over customers on every continent.

2003

Expansion Through the Integration of Additional Companies into the Zeman Group

With the full acquisition of PEM Buildings, an international specialist in indoor facility construction, and its amicable integration into the Zeman Group, the steel construction project business has been successfully expanded from England across the Urals to China.

2005

European Steel Design Award

Zeman & Co received the second European Steel Construction Award for the “Airport Tower” project at Vienna-Schwechat Airport. To this end, Zeman & Co built a steel structure for an oversized projection surface, over which a translucent membrane is stretched. The assembly platform was constructed using SIN corrugated web girders. 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 “Zlote Tarasy” (Golden Terraces), an office, entertainment, and shopping center 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 design of the steel joints, Waagner Biro steel and glass developed the technology that had already been used in the construction of the roof of the Great Court at 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

Establishment of the company ZEKON Spolka z o. o.

ZEKON is the new production facility that emerged from GZP, a company that has been in business for 15 years. The company’s main area of business is the manufacture of steel structures for industrial and warehouse facilities, sports complexes, and shopping centers, as well as for the energy and petrochemical sectors.
ZEKON operates a modern, automated production line for manufacturing straight and convergent SIN corrugated web girders, which have been in high demand in recent years due to their relatively low weight and cost compared to welded, hot-rolled sections and truss structures.
ZEKON uses software developed by the Belgian company SCIA for the automatic control of production lines and CNC 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 Construction Award for Waagner Biro steel and glass and Zeman HDF for the Baku Airport toll plaza.

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 arch’s sleek design is accentuated by a clean transition at the contact points with the concrete base on which it rests, to ensure a seamless transition from the arch to the ground
The arch consists of a steel structure that supports a cable-net arrangement, which in turn supports the row of suspended gold-colored 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 canopy over the historic Salzburg Central Station.

The platform at the main building has its own roof, which is a designated historic landmark and was restored by Zeman & Co as part of the renovation work. The barrel vaults, which are over 100 years old and designated as historic landmarks, were restored and integrated into the new overall roof structure in such a way that they remain architecturally and structurally independent.
To achieve this, Zeman dismantled the riveted barrel-vaulted roof structure into thousands of individual parts, transported them to the factory, refurbished them there, and then reassembled them in a slightly offset configuration to meet the requirements of the new building. This historic construction was then integrated into the new platform roofs. Although the new roof construction has spans of up to 52 meters, 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 a fire, the strict fire protection requirements could be met 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

Other Companies in Which the Zeman Group Holds an Interest

In 2009, the Zeman Group became a partner in Zbs Alfaçelik, a company founded in 1999 that provides project management, production, and installation services for structural steel construction. Since 2015, the company has been a wholly owned subsidiary of the Zeman Group. From the very beginning of the partnership, Zeman Celik—the manufacturing facility of Zbs Alfaçelik—was equipped with state-of-the-art machinery from Zeman, enabling it to continuously expand its production capacity, win international steel construction awards, and broaden its business scope.

2020

Waagner Biro steel and glass Back Under Austrian Ownership

With the acquisition of Waagner Biro steel and glass GmbH—whose history dates back to 1854—the Zeman Group has expanded its expertise and range of services to include architecturally sophisticated steel and glass facades.
Both Waagner Biro steel and glass and the Zeman Group are based in 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. With its four offices in Vienna, London, Abu Dhabi, and Dubai, Waagner Biro steel and glass can now, as part of the Zeman Group, once again draw on the group’s own production facilities.

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, as well as welding robots and sorting systems. As the global market leader in this field, Zeman Bauelemente has long been courted by numerous companies. To meet rapidly growing demand, promote the further development of the family-owned business, and secure long-term competitive advantages, Zeman Bauelemente was sold to the U.S.-based Lincoln Electric AG in 2021.