ZOLLERN

What ZOLLERN does

ZOLLERN is a German family-owned industrial manufacturer founded in 1720 and currently controlled by the Hohenzollern family in its 11th generation, operating as ZOLLERN GmbH & Co. KG with its headquarters in Sigmaringendorf-Laucherthal, Germany. The company operates two main divisions: Metals and Shaping (castings, forged parts, special profiles and finished parts) and Drive Technology and Automation (gearboxes, winches, electric motors, hydrostatic bearing systems, rotary table systems, and automation/special systems). Core technologies span seven casting methods (vacuum investment, open air investment, sand, Croning/shell, ceramic, continuous, and centrifugal casting), copper and copper alloy forging, hydrostatic and aerostatic bearing systems, planetary gearboxes, and permanent magnet synchronous torque motors with up to 2,200mm diameter and 100,000Nm torque capacity.

The company serves demanding industrial applications across heavy industry and mining (tunnel boring, construction machinery, mining equipment), marine and offshore (vessel cranes, port machinery, SOLAS-certified equipment), precision manufacturing (CNC machining centers, grinding, milling, turning), recycling and material processing (shredders, extruders, presses), and industrial process equipment (sugar mills, conveyor systems). Sub-brands include Dorstener for sugar mill gearboxes and Rückle Eimeldingen for rotary tables and automation. Manufacturing is distributed across Germany (Sigmaringendorf, Herbertingen, Laucherthal), Slovenia (Ravne), Portugal, and India (Sangli Service Center), with sales and service coverage across Europe, North America, and Asia.

ZOLLERN generates revenue primarily through custom-engineered hardware sales and project-based one-time orders, with quote-based pricing that is not publicly disclosed. Distribution is conducted through direct field sales to enterprise industrial customers, supported by regional sales offices, service centers, and a website-based inquiry system. Operational certifications include ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 50001, and NADCAP Welding (Laucherthal). Recent product additions include the ZOLLERN Drive Guard condition monitoring platform and the TorqSafe overload slipping clutch, and the company is investing in India-based service infrastructure and standardized modular product designs to expand addressable market reach.

Name

ZOLLERN

Legal name

ZOLLERN GmbH & Co. KG

Website

https://zollern.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1720

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

ZOLLERN is a 300+ year-old German family-owned industrial manufacturer, controlled by the Hohenzollern family, producing precision castings, forgings, gearboxes, winches, torque motors, hydrostatic bearings, and automation systems for heavy industry, marine, precision manufacturing, and recycling OEMs globally.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industrial precision components and drive technology

NAICS

Other Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing (3329), Custom Roll Forming (332114), Machine Shops (332710), Turned Product and Screw, Nut, and Bolt Manufacturing (33272)

SIC

Miscellaneous Fabricated Metal Products (3490), Construction, Mining & Materials Handling Machinery & Equip (3530), Special Industry Machinery (No Metalworking Machinery) (3550)

akta.pro primary industry

Aluminum Casting & Ingot/Billet/Slab Production (IMAKACAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Specialty & Alloy Steel (Stainless, Tool Steel, Electrical Steel, High-Strength/HSLA) (IMAKABAJ)

Keywords

• Precision castings
• Industrial gearboxes
• Drive technology
• Forged copper parts
• Hydrostatic bearings

Headquarters

HQ city

Sigmaringendorf

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Metal Castings: Customer-specific investment castings and individual component solutions from single pieces to large series production. Includes vacuum, open air, sand, cronning, ceramic, continuous, and centrifugal casting processes.
2. Forged Parts: Forgings and rolled products in copper and copper alloys including rods, rings, discs, bushings, die pressed parts, and seamless rolled rings
3. Gearboxes and Drive Technology: Industrial gearboxes including travel drives, slew gearboxes, winch gearboxes, tunnel boring drives, shredder gearboxes, sugar mill gearboxes, and electric drive systems. Also condition monitoring solutions (Drive Guard).
4. Winches: Hoisting winches, free fall winches, rescue boat winches, pull winches, and complete winch systems for marine, construction, and industrial applications
5. Electric Motors: Torque motor kits and synchronous motor kits/modules for direct drive applications with permanent magnet technology
6. Special Profiles and Finished Parts: Special profiles in hot-rolled, cold-rolled, or cold-drawn configurations, along with customer-specific finished parts ready for installation
7. Automation and Special Systems: Linear units, telescoping axes, rotary modules, gantry systems, robot traverse axes, storage systems, and complete systems with steel construction and control
8. Hydrostatic Bearing Systems: Hydrostatic spindles, rotary tables, bearings, guides, and testing applications for precision manufacturing

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

ZOLLERN manufactures customer-specific precision metal components and drive technology for demanding industrial applications. Its portfolio includes investment and sand castings, copper-alloy forgings, special steel profiles, planetary and industrial gearboxes, winches, permanent magnet torque and synchronous motors, hydrostatic bearing systems and rotary tables, automation modules, and condition monitoring — sold as project-engineered solutions to industrial OEMs and operators in heavy industry, marine, machine tools, and recycling.

Product overview

ZOLLERN is a German industrial manufacturing company offering customer-specific products and technical solutions for challenging applications. The product portfolio consists of two main divisions: Metals and Shaping (Castings, Forged Parts, Special Profiles and Finished Parts) and Drive Technology and Automation (Gearboxes, Winches, Electric Motors, Automation Systems, Hydrostatic Bearing Systems, Rotary Table Systems). The company operates as a single unified product portfolio with multiple specialized product lines that serve demanding industrial applications. ZOLLERN provides both standard products and custom solutions, with components including planetary gearboxes, permanent magnet motors, hydrostatic bearing systems, and complete winch systems. The company emphasizes vertical integration and development partnerships with customers from idea to finished product, maintaining over 300 years of manufacturing expertise.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ZOLLERN Drive Technology: Drive technology division specializing in gearboxes, winches, and electric drive systems for industrial applications
• ZOLLERN Investment Casting
• ZOLLERN Sand Casting and Forging
• ZOLLERN Steel Profiles
• Dorstener
• Rückle Eimeldingen

Products and services

• Castings Customer-specific casting solutions ranging from individual components to large series production, including vacuum investment casting, open air investment casting, sand casting, Croning/shell casting, ceramic casting, continuous casting, and centrifugal casting. Sold to industrial OEMs in heavy industry, energy, and general engineering applications. ZOLLERN is one of Europe's leading casting manufacturers with over 1,000 employees in the casting business sector.
• Forged Parts Forged components including rods, rings, discs, bushings, and die pressed parts. Includes forgings made of pure copper and copper alloys, semi-finished products, drop forged parts, seamlessly rolled rings, and seamlessly forged bushings. Available for individual pieces, small series, and large series production for industrial customers.
• Gearboxes Comprehensive industrial gearbox solutions including travel drives, slewing gearboxes, winch gearboxes, industrial gear units, tunnel boring drives, shredder gearboxes, jack-up gearboxes, sugar mill gearboxes (Dorstener brand), electric drive systems, and planetary gearbox designs with high efficiency and power density. Used by heavy industry, marine, mining, and recycling OEMs.
• Winches Winch systems for demanding conditions, including hoisting winches, free fall winches, rescue boat winches, pull winches, and complete winch systems. Used in marine, construction machinery, and industrial applications with high rope winding quality and low wear.
• Special Profiles and Finished Parts Precisely preformed steel profiles in hot-rolled, cold-rolled, or cold-drawn variants, including special profiles, coils, bars, and customer-specific finished parts. Enables up to 60% material savings and up to 70% production time savings. Applications include machinery construction, medical technology, and welded profiles.
• Electric Motors Permanent magnet synchronous and torque motors for direct drive applications. Includes torque motor kits (up to 2,200mm diameter, 100,000Nm torque), synchronous motor kits, and synchronous motor modules. Project planning, electrical design, engineering, production, and assembly handled internally for direct-drive applications.
• Automation, Special Systems Automation components and special systems including linear units, linear modules, gantry axes, portal units, telescoping axes, rotary modules, rotary tables, line gantries, area gantries, robot traverse axes, jig axes, storey lifters, lifting columns, fast conveyors, framing tenter handling systems, overhead systems, storage systems, complete systems with steel construction and control, grippers, and special solutions.
• Hydrostatic Bearing Systems Wear-free, precise hydrostatic bearing systems with high operational regularity, including hydrostatic spindles, hydrostatic rotary tables, hydrostatic bearings, hydrostatic guides, hydrostatic bearing segments for rotary tables, testing and special applications, and hydraulic units. Features excellent precision, damping, rigidity, and speed capability for precision manufacturing.
• Rotary Table Systems High-quality rotary table systems for milling, turning, grinding, and measuring applications, including hydrostatic rotary tables, aerostatic rotary tables, roller bearing mounted rotary tables, and products from the Rückle and Eimeldingen brands. The new 2025 hydrostatic rotary table series offers up to 30% cost savings, modular construction, and 3-year warranty with sizes from 600 to 1,200 mm (special sizes up to 4,000 mm).
• ZOLLERN Drive Guard Condition monitoring system for ZOLLERN gearboxes and winches that uses sensors to record and process status data including oil temperature and calculated remaining service life of components. Includes an online portal for visualizing status and sensor data to enable predictive maintenance and maximum equipment uptime.
• TorqSafe Overload Slipping Clutch Overload slipping clutch for drive systems specifically designed for the electrification of shredders, extruders, and presses. Addresses growing demand for sustainable and energy-efficient industrial machinery solutions.

Quantifiable outcome

• Steel profiles save up to 60% in material and gain up to 70% in production time
• +2 more outcomes

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Market position

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCW_tYV7MZphmP9SzhemhHSw?view_as=subscriber
• LinkedInde.linkedin.com/company/zollern-gmbh-&-co-kg
• Instagraminstagram.com/zollern_gmbh

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about ZOLLERN