Telefunken, logo

On the initiative of Emperor Wilhelm II, in 1903 the Allgemeine Elektrizitäts-Gesellschaft (AEG) and Siemens & Halske AG jointly founded the Gesellschaft für drahtlose Telegraphie System Telefunken - better known as Telefunken. This was a political reaction to the developments in radio technology that were in progress in Great Britain. After World War I, Telefunken engineers laid the foundation for the introduction of radio in Germany (1923). In the 1930s, Telefunken was substantially invoved in the development of electronic television. In 1941 Siemens transferred its Telefunken shares to AEG as part of the agreements known as the "Telefunken settlement", and AEG thus became the sole owner. From the beginning of the 1970s, technological change and competitive pressure led to the rapid decline of AEG, and its various holdings were gradually sold.

Building of the elevated railway and subway in Berlin, 1902

Siemens-Bauunion GmbH was founded in 1921 as a subsidiary of Siemens & Halske AG and Siemens-Schuckertwerke GmbH. Previously the Siemens parent companies had contracted out the civil engineering works necessary for the building of power plants, tramways and subways to external companies, but because they worked with these companies they had their own experienced staff of civil engineers and building workers. In order to make better use of this potential and to be in a position to offer large-scale building projects from a single source, it was clear that the parent companies would have to have their own construction company. In the 1920s, Siemens-Bauunion was responsible for the building of numerous hydroelectric power plants and subways (Athens, Buenos Aires). Much of the motorway construction in the 1930s was also carried out by the Bauunion. In 1972 Siemens sold the company to Dyckerhoff & Widmann AG.

KLANGFILM, logo

In Klangfilm GmbH, founded in 1928, AEG and Siemens & Halske AG pooled their expertise in sound-on-film technology. The focus was on the development, production and sale of cinema and sound film equipment. In 1941, as part of the agreements known as the "Telefunken settlement," Siemens & Halske AG took over the shares previously owned by Telefunken and AEG.

VES, view of the plant

Railroad signaling and safety are among Siemens' oldest sectors of activity. In 1897, mutual-interest agreements were concluded with competitors such as Max Jüdel AG and the Maschinenfabrik Bruchsal. In 1926, shortly after Max Jüdel AG merged with several other companies to become Eisenbahnsignalanstalten vorm. Jüdel, Stahmer, Bruchsal AG, Siemens & Halske secured a majority shareholding in the new company. With the additional participation of AEG, the Vereinigte Eisenbahn-Signalwerke GmbH (VES) was formed in 1928. After the currency reform of 1948, the VES was merged with Siemens & Halske and assigned to the Werner Works for Signal Engineering.

SIPLA, logo

Siemens-Planiawerke AG originated in the year 1872, when Werner Siemens and his brothers founded Gebr. Siemens & Co. for the manufacture of alcohol meters. The company also started manufacturing carbons for arc lamps in 1878 and carbon electrodes in 1905. In 1928 it merged to make use of synergies with Planiawerke AG in Ratibor in Upper Silesia and became Siemens-Planiawerke AG. Siemens brought a new graphitization plant in Meitingen into this new company, and Planiawerke brought in its amorphous artificial carbon plant. In the 1930s, around two-thirds of the total European demand for lighting carbons and electrodes was supplied by Siemens-Plania. The company was sold in 1972 when it no longer fitted into the Siemens brand concept.

SAM, offices in Wilhelm-von-Siemens-Straße in Marienfelde

Siemens Apparate und Maschinen GmbH was formed in 1933 by the merger of the Gesellschaft für elektrische Apparate (Gelap) and the Flugmotorenwerks der Siemens & Halske AG. It was involved in the manufacture and sales of communications and precision mechanics products for the army, navy and merchant marine. The Gesellschaft für elektrische Apparate had developed from the signals department of Siemens & Halske and produced communication and command systems for war and commercial ships, In 1936 the Flugmotorenwerk was spun off to the Brandenburgische Motorenwerke GmbH (Bramo), and in 1940, finally, the aircraft equipment sector was spun off to Luftfahrtgerätewerk Hakenfelde GmbH (LGW) After the war both SAM and LGW were dissolved.

Deutsche Grammophon, logo

The oldest and most traditional German record company was founded in 1898 by the brothers Emil and Joseph Berliner in Hanover. After progressing in a short time to become market leader, Deutsche Grammophon was affected by a dramatic drop in sales during the world economic crisis as the market for luxury goods stagnated. In addition, the owners and many of the signed musicians were forced to emigrate in 1933, which resulted in a decline in the artistic quality and variety of the record repertoire. In 1941 Siemens & Halske AG acquired Deutsche Grammophon within the scope of the Telefunken settlement. In the 1950s the company once again established itself as market leader and in 1962 was incorporated in the Phonogram joint venture together with Philips. In 1972 Philips and Deutsche Grammophon formed a joint company with the name PolyGram. Philips finally took over all Siemens' PolyGram shares. The label Deutsche Grammophon is still used by the current owner Universal Music Group.

KWU, installation of a steam turbine

In the 1960s, AEG and Siemens merged their activities in the sector of conventional and nuclear power plants. The high technological and financial expenditure in power plant construction required an increasing concentration of resources. It had also become evident that in the future only a single company would be able to supply the domestic and export markets. In 1969 therefore, after three years of negotiations, AEG and Siemens founded Kraftwerk Union AG and Transformatoren Union AG. With the unfavorable cost developments in Germany and the controversy about the safety of nuclear power stations, business however soon stagnated. The serious existential crisis at AEG obliged the company to transfer its shares to Siemens AG, which subsequently integrated them into its Power Engineering Group.

ZUSE, Z 3

Konrad Zuse (1910-1995) hatte seit 1935 die weltweit erste programmgesteuerte Rechenmaschine entwickelt. 1941 stellte er mit dem „Z 3“ den ersten unter Verwendung des binären Zahlensystems programmierten Computer vor. Mit seiner 1949 gegründeten Firma war Zuse der erste Produzent von Rechnersystemen für kommerzielle Zwecke. Bis zur Übernahme durch Brown, Boveri & Cie. im Jahr 1964 hatte sich die Zuse KG zu einer Spezialfirma für kleinere Computersysteme im Bereich der Kartographie, Vermessungstechnik und Textilindustrie entwickelt. Anfang 1967 erwarb Siemens zunächst eine Beteiligung von 70 Prozent von BBC, zwei Jahre später sollten die restlichen 30 Prozent folgen. 1971 wurde die Zuse KG organisatorisch in die Siemens AG eingegliedert.

HELL, Siemens-Hell-Lochstreifensender, 1950

Mit seinem "Hell-Schreiber" ermöglichte Rudolf Hell (1901-2001) die Fernübertragung von Nachrichten und Bildern und war so entscheidend an der Entwicklung der Fernschreib-, Fernseh-, Fax- und Scanner-Technologien beteiligt. Zu Hell besaß Siemens bereits seit den 1930er Jahren Beziehungen. Als der Gründer der Dr.-Ing. Rudolf Hell KG die Fertigung dem gestiegenen Kapitalbedarf anpassen wollte, bot sich Siemens & Halske mit einer Beteiligung an. 1971 schließlich übernahm das Haus Siemens 80 Prozent des Gesellschaftskapitals, 1990 verschmolz das Unternehmen mit der Linotype AG zur Linotype-Hell AG. Arbeitsschwerpunkte des neuen Unternehmens, das 1996 von der Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG übernommen wurde, sind Integrationslösungen für die graphische und Druckindustrie.

Siemens-Nixdorf, Scenic Rechner aus dem Jahr 1995

Heinz Nixdorf (1925-1986) hatte in Paderborn sein Unternehmen von einem Büromaschinenzulieferer zu einem bedeutenden Hersteller im Bereich Datenverarbeitung entwickelt. Frühzeitig erkannte er das immense Marktpotential für kleinere kommerzielle Rechenanlagen unterhalb der marktbeherrschenden Großrechner. Nach dem Tod des Gründers geriet das Unternehmen jedoch in Schwierigkeiten. In Siemens bot sich ein leistungsstarker Partner an, der die dringend erforderlichen Forschungs- und Entwicklungsarbeiten vorantreiben konnte. Zur Stärkung der eigenen Marktposition wurde der Siemens-Unternehmensbereich Daten- und Informationstechnik und die Nixdorf Computer AG 1990 in die Siemens Nixdorf Informationssysteme AG eingebracht. Die notwendigen Restrukturierungsmaßnahmen betrafen insbesondere den Personalbereich. 1997 war SNI der größte deutsche Computerhersteller. 1998 wurde das Produktgeschäft und das Produktservice-Geschäft in den neu gegründeten Siemens-Bereich Information and Communication Products (ICP) überführt (siehe Fujitsu-Siemens).

EPCOS, logo

EPCOS AG develops, manufactures and sells passive electronic components. The company was formed from the joint venture Siemens Matsushita Components founded by Siemens und Matsushita in 1989, which incorporated major parts of the Passive Components Group. Ten years after Epcos was formed, the company was listed on the stock exchange. Siemens and Matsushita remained the principal shareholders, each retaining a stake of 12.5 percent. In March 2006, Siemens completed its divestment by selling its remaining Epcos shares.

Infineon, logo

The production of modern transistors was begun in 1952 in the Siemens electron tube factory in Munich. It was only four years previously that the transistor effect had been discovered and the first germanium and silicon semiconductor elements developed, by Siemens among others. In 1999 the Siemens Semiconductors Group was spun off as Infineon Technologies AG and in March 2000 this was listed on the stock exchange, important prerequisites for the consolidation of its leading position on the global semiconductor market as an independent company. The record year 2000 with a world market volume of over 200 billion U.S. dollars was followed in 2001 by the worst market decline in the history of the semiconductor industry. This market crisis, triggered by the large drop in memory chip prices, forced Infineon to implement extensive restructuring programs. Siemens, which had been gradually reducing its stake in Infineon since 2003, completed its divestment of the semiconductor manufacturer – formerly a Siemens subsidiary – in March 2006.

Fujitsu Siemens Computers, logo

Until April 1, 2009 Fujitsu Siemens Computers was a joint operation of Siemens AG and Fujitsu Limited. The 50-50 joint venture was established in October 1999 through the fusion of Fujitsu Computers (Europe) Ltd. and the Siemens Division Computer Systems from the Group Information and Communication Products (ICP) (see Siemens-Nixdorf). Through the global cooperation between Fujitsu and Siemens, access was provided to the leading international technologies of the two parent companies. In the past decade the company has established a leading position in the EMEA market (Europe, Middle East and Africa) for IT infrastructure, earning a reputation for quality and innovation in the server, PC, and data storage fields. In November 2008 Siemens announced to sell its stake in the joint venture to Fujitsu. With this step Siemens continued its strategy of focusing on the sectors Industry, Energy and Healthcare.