The Zelmer brand

Zelmer site in Poland in 2012. (Source: BSH Press Fotos)

The company Zelmer was founded in 1937, producing field kitchens and military equipment in its factory, if only for a brief period. The short-lived history ended again with the German attack on Poland in 1939.

The location in south-eastern Poland was occupied by the German armed forces on September 10, 1939, the factory buildings dismantled and machinery and materials brought to Germany. The remaining production halls and installations were destroyed.

Reconstruction

The nationalized company developed into the leading household appliances manufacturer in the Polish People's Republic following the end of the Second World War. Production now primarily included small household and kitchen appliances. Zelmer was reprivatized in 2005 in the framework of the IPO on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. The majority shareholder at this time was the Polish private equity investor "Enterprise Investors" with a stake of 49 percent.

With a workforce of around 1,000 employees, the Zelmer brand was one of the leading brands in Poland. The company also had a presence in key Eastern European markets, such as Russia, Ukraine and Slovakia, with large market shares and an international sales network.

Regional Brand Hub

BSH made a public takeover bid to Zelmer through its Polish subsidiary BSH Sprzet Gospodarstwa Domowego Sp. z o.o in December 2012. Apart from expanding its presence in Central and Eastern European countries, the goal was primarily to expand the Consumer Products (CP) sector. The regional small appliance brands were bundled in Poland and a Regional Brand Hub (RBH) was established, which was managed by the Zelmer team and assumed responsibility as entrepreneur for the CP product portfolio of the regional BSH brands in the small appliances segment. Streamlined processes were introduced to ensure increased efficiencies and a low cost position for the appliances that were distributed under the regional brands. In addition to Zelmer, the regional brands included Pitsos, Profilo and Ufesa.

Zelmer becomes part of BSH

The formal takeover by BSH was concluded successfully in June 2013 and BSH acquired the Zelmer legal units. The initial consolidation of Zelmer was reflected in figures of 142 million euros for the 2013 business year, thus highlighting the significance of the BSH expansion on the Eastern European market.

The integration process was completed gradually. The consolidation of the sales organization in Poland was followed in 2014 by the merging of BSH and Zelmer in Russia and the Ukraine and in 2015 by the merger in the Czech Republic and Romania. Following the integration of Zelmer's national companies in the BSH subsidiaries as well as process improvements and the introduction of the BSH system landscape, the structure of Zelmer's corporate headquarters appeared no longer fit for purpose. Restructuring and adjustment of employee numbers, especially in administration, was necessary. Realignment of the PCP brand strategy led to the dissolution of the RBH.

Zelmer S.A. was integrated in BSH Poland on December 30, 2016 following full integration of the subsidiaries. In addition to products under the Zelmer brand, Bosch products were increasingly also produced at the production location in Rzeszow. BSH sells its brand Zelmer to the Spanish company B&B Trends, effective January 1 2020.