CSZ Consulting Engineers

What CSZ Consulting Engineers does

CSZ Consulting Engineers is a privately held German multidisciplinary engineering group headquartered in Darmstadt, founded in 1983 by Dr.-Ing. Volker Cornelius, Dr.-Ing. Peter Schwarz, and Dr.-Ing. Winfried Zeitler. The group operates as a holding structure with wholly-owned subsidiaries covering structural design (CSZ Ingenieurconsult), building physics (CSZ Bauphysik), technical building services (CSZ Ingenieurconsult TA), fire protection (CSZ Brandschutz), sustainability consulting (CSZ Green Engineering), and total planning (CSZ Consulting Engineers Inc.), serving public authorities, real estate developers, industrial companies, and institutional clients through ~149 employees across nine German cities, Calgary, and Chennai.

The firm delivers fee-for-service engineering consultancy through direct commissions and competitive tendering, with services spanning structural design, infrastructure, bridge design, building physics, building services, fire protection, green engineering/sustainability certifications (DGNB, LEED, Passive House), structural design review, and project management. Workflows are digitalized via BIM+ (Building Information Modeling) and project communication systems. The customer base is diversified across at least five verticals (public/government, real estate, industrial, heritage, education), with 7,500+ projects completed worldwide across Germany, Canada, China, Georgia, Nigeria, and Ukraine.

Revenue is generated project-to-project on a professional-services basis; pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed. Distribution is direct via project managers and directors, with no resellers or intermediaries. The firm is founder/management-owned (currently led by Managing Directors Christoph Cornelius and Sascha Millich), with no institutional investors, private equity backing, or public listing identified. Notable achievements include the 2014 German Steel Construction Prize for the Ölhafenbrücke Raunheim and a long-standing partnership with Thoma Architekten.

Name

CSZ Consulting Engineers

Legal name

CSZ Ingenieurconsult CORNELIUS - SCHWARZ - ZEITLER GmbH

Website

https://csz.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1983

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

CSZ Consulting Engineers is a German multidisciplinary engineering group (founded 1983, ~149 employees) delivering structural design, building physics, building services, fire protection, sustainability consulting, and project management to public authorities, developers, and industrial clients across Germany, Canada, and India.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Engineering Consultancy Services

NAICS

Engineering Services (54133), Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services (5413), Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services (54169)

SIC

Services-Engineering Services (8711), Services-Management Services (8741)

akta.pro primary industry

Civil & Structural Engineering Consulting (BPAHAIAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Sustainability & ESG Consulting (BPAHACAK), Systems Engineering & Technical Program Management (BPAHAIAI)

Keywords

• Structural engineering services
• Building physics consulting
• Fire protection engineering
• Bridge design services
• Sustainability consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

Darmstadt

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices9 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Engineering Consultancy Services: Fee-for-service engineering consultancy covering structural design, building physics, technical building services, fire protection, structural testing/review, project management, and green engineering/sustainability consulting. Revenue is project-based, generated through commissions and public/private tenders. Clients include public authorities, developers, industrial companies, and institutional clients across Germany and internationally.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

CSZ is a multidisciplinary engineering consultancy providing structural design, building physics, technical building services, fire protection, bridge and infrastructure design, structural design review, project management, and sustainability/green engineering services to public authorities, real estate developers, industrial companies, and institutional clients. Services are delivered through wholly-owned specialized subsidiaries across Germany, Canada, and India using BIM+ digital project processes.

Product overview

CSZ Consulting Engineers is a group of independent engineering consulting companies offering a diversified portfolio of services. The group comprises CSZ Ingenieurconsult GmbH & Co. KG (structural engineering), CSZ Bauphysik GmbH & Co. KG (building physics), CSZ Ingenieurconsult TA GmbH & Co. KG (technical building services), CSZ Brandschutz GmbH (fire protection), CSZ Green Engineering GmbH (sustainability consulting), and CSZ Consulting Engineers Inc. (comprehensive planning). The core services include Structural Design, Infrastructure, Bridge Design, Building Physics, Building Services, Fire Protection, International Services, Green Engineering, Structural Design Review, and Project Management. The company operates across multiple locations in Germany and internationally with over 140 specialized employees.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• CSZ Green Engineering: Sustainability and green consulting services including energy efficiency, biodiversity, climate resilience, circular construction, and certification systems (DGNB, LEED, Passive House).
• CSZ Ingenieurconsult (Bauphysik)
• CSZ Ingenieurconsult (Technische Ausrüstung)
• CSZ Brandschutz
• CSZ Global Consulting

Products and services

• Structural Design (Tragwerksplanung) Structural engineering services for buildings and infrastructure, providing stable, durable, and efficient load-bearing structures for commercial, residential, public, and industrial projects.
• Infrastructure Planning (Infrastruktur) Planning and consulting for infrastructure projects, providing precise technical solutions for complex engineering challenges in public infrastructure works.
• Bridge Design (Brückenbau) New construction, renovation, and inspection services for bridges and pedestrian/cycle bridges, including award-winning long-span steel and pedestrian bridges.
• Building Physics (Bauphysik) Strategic planning for thermal performance, acoustics, energy efficiency, and comfortable indoor environments with verifiable results, including CO2 indoor airflow simulation.
• Building Services (Technische Ausrüstung) Technical equipment planning for functional and reliable building systems including HVAC, electrical, and plumbing, plus specialised systems like capillary tube ceilings for heating/cooling and heat pump systems for research facilities.
• Fire Protection (Brandschutz) Conscientious and preventive fire safety planning to ensure secure building designs and compliance with regulations, including fire protection consultancy for large commercial, public, and heritage buildings.
• International Engineering Services Global engineering services with international presence including offices in Canada and India, delivering projects in China, Georgia, Nigeria, Ukraine, and other countries.
• Green Engineering (Sustainability Consulting) Innovative sustainability consulting including accessibility, biodiversity, certification systems (DGNB, LEED, Passive House), circular construction, climate risk analysis, energy efficiency, environmental monitoring, materials ecology, and sustainable construction.
• Structural Design Review (Baustatische Prüfung) Personal, careful, and fast structural inspection services for verifying structural safety and compliance, including metal and solid construction review engineering.
• Project Management (Projektsteuerung) Comprehensive project management support including client representation, control and management, quality and sustainability integration, contract and procurement management, and organizational consulting.

Quantifiable outcome

• Awarded German Steel Construction Prize for Ölhafenbrücke Raunheim pedestrian and bicycle bridge (2014)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers20 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Thoma Architekten (Zeulenroda)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing architectural partnership with Thoma Architekten on multiple construction projects including the Grundschule Gießerstraße Leipzig, student residence Steglitzer Damm Berlin, and Young Living in Marzahn Berlin. CSZ provides engineering services while Thoma provides architectural design in coordinated project delivery.
• Schulich School of Engineering, University of CalgaryminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCSZ supports sustainable capstone projects for engineering students and provides guest lectures on the role of structural engineers in large-scale projects. Also main sponsor of the CISC-Canadian Steel Conference 2024.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• Arup: Arup is a global engineering consultancy with structural, building services, fire, and sustainability practices. Provides overlapping services to CSZ but at far larger scale, with a much broader international footprint and global client roster.
• WSP: WSP is a global professional services firm with major engineering, building physics, and sustainability practices acquired through European engineering buyouts. Comparable services but at massive scale; competes with CSZ on German and European projects and public tenders.
• BuroHappold Engineering: BuroHappold is a larger international engineering consultancy with deep structural engineering, sustainability, and building physics practices. Comparable to CSZ on services and project complexity, though operates at much greater scale and global footprint.
• Sweco: Sweco is a European engineering consultancy with strong structural, building, and sustainability practices across the Nordics, Germany, and the Netherlands. Provides comparable multidisciplinary engineering services, though at significantly larger scale and broader geographic reach than CSZ.

Direct peers

• Werner Sobek: Werner Sobek is a Stuttgart-based engineering firm specializing in structural engineering, facade design, and sustainable construction. Comparable to CSZ on structural design depth, sustainability focus, and award-winning bridge and high-profile building work in Germany and internationally.
• Ingenieurgruppe Bauen: Ingenieurgruppe Bauen is a German engineering consultancy group offering structural design, building physics, technical equipment, and project management. Operates a comparable multi-subsidiary multidisciplinary model and serves similar real-estate developer and public clients in Germany.
• Drees & Sommer: Drees & Sommer is a large German engineering and management consultancy with deep expertise in structural engineering, building physics, sustainability (DGNB), and project management — directly comparable to CSZ's multidisciplinary offering and target client base of developers, corporates, and public clients.
• Bollinger + Grohmann: Bollinger + Grohmann is a German-headquartered structural engineering consultancy with international offices in Frankfurt, Berlin, Munich, Vienna, Paris, and elsewhere. Closely comparable to CSZ on structural design, complex building projects, and German/European client base.
• Krebs + Kiefer: Krebs + Kiefer is a Darmstadt-headquartered (same city as CSZ) German engineering consultancy offering structural design, infrastructure, and construction management. Highly comparable on location overlap, public-sector infrastructure focus, and multidisciplinary engineering services.
• Schüßler-Plan: Schüßler-Plan is a German engineering consultancy with strong positions in structural design, bridge engineering, infrastructure, and project management. Directly comparable to CSZ's portfolio across public infrastructure, bridges, and complex building engineering in Germany.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/csz-consulting-engineers

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Subsidiaries11 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 CSZ Consulting Engineers