"I would like to thank our father for the outstanding technical development of the globally very well-positioned company over the past 20 years," he says. Sindia Ziehl is now also a member of the Supervisory Board of the Ziehl-Abegg Group. Dennis and Sindia Ziehl are the great-grandchildren of company founder Emil Ziehl. Dennis Ziehl is also the full-time Managing Director of Ziehl industrie-elektronik GmbH in Schwäbisch Hall and a member of the IHK General Assembly. Uwe Ziehl wishes his children on the Supervisory Board a happy hand and every success in the further development of Ziehl-Abegg.

Entrepreneur Uwe Ziehl hands over the chairmanship of the Ziehl-Abegg Supervisory Board to his son. © Ziehl-Abegg

Uwe Ziehl has always emphasized and promoted close family cohesion. A transition in the management of the company had to be smooth and safe. This is why his children Sindia and Dennis have attended more than 80 Supervisory Board meetings in recent years, even without a mandate. "In many companies, a generational change is bumpy and problematic - Uwe Ziehl has worked purposefully for decades to ensure that we can now smoothly continue our global success story as a technology leader," says CEO Peter Fenkl.

Uwe Ziehl is considered an entrepreneur with passion and great technical understanding. Finance and Economics Minister Nils Schmid has awarded the Business Medal to Uwe Ziehl from Schwäbisch Hall for his outstanding professional and entrepreneurial achievements and in recognition of his special services to Baden-Württemberg's economy. "You are representative of all those successful family businesses in Baden-Württemberg for whom international success and regional ties are not a contradiction in terms. You are a model entrepreneur and, through your work, have helped to ensure that Baden-Württemberg is and remains a strong and liveable state," praised Schmid "As an attractive employer and innovative company, Ziehl-Abegg has increased the competitiveness of the entire Heilbronn-Franconia region under your leadership."

Uwe Ziehl founded ZIEHL industrie-elektronik GmbH & Co KG in Schwäbisch Hall, a manufacturer of measuring and control devices, in 1967 while he was still studying engineering. Ziehl-Abegg grew to become one of the world's leading manufacturers of fans for ventilation and air-conditioning technology and drive motors for elevators.

Ziehl-Abegg began to internationalize as early as 1973. In 2001, the company was transformed into a family-owned stock corporation. In 2005, Uwe Ziehl took over as Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Ziehl-Abegg. This was possible because - at considerable personal financial risk - he had pooled all the shares in a family holding company. This made it possible to invest in research and development, which significantly strengthened Ziehl-Abegg's position as a technology leader.