85 Years of Driving Force in Berlin's Economy

On September 7, 1927, Kurt Menzel founded a company in Berlin. Initially, this one-man-operation focused on the repair and production of rotating electric motors and transformers. Today, Menzel Elektromotoren GmbH is an internationally successful medium-sized company with more than 100 employees and several locations in Germany, the United Kingdom, Sweden, France, and Italy. Menzel has established itself as a reliable partner for the delivery of large electric motors, including special models, within the shortest possible time.
In between lie 85 years of German history whose milestones have also shaped the company. Despite the Great Depression that began in 1929, Kurt Menzel succeeded in keeping his enterprise on course for continued growth, establishing business relationships that reached far beyond Berlin. After bombings in the Second World War and subsequent dismantling, Menzel made a fresh start in July 1945. Withstanding the Berlin Blockade, the company recovered and grew rapidly, requiring a move to a 10,000 m² property in Berlin-Tiergarten in 1958. Since then, two warehouses in Brandenburg have been added.
In mid-2011, these were joined by a new subsidiary in Peine that specializes in low-voltage motors. Since 2007, capacities at Menzel's Berlin headquarters have been expanded considerably to keep pace with increasing demand: in addition to a new assembly line, two new crane systems and a state-of-the-art paint shop have been put into operation. Built in 2011, a new in-house testing facility is currently being extended to enable load tests with up to 1,800 kW under load and up to 10,000 kW at idling speed. In 1977, Kurt Menzel was awarded the German Federal Cross of Merit for his entrepreneurial commitment. Since his death in 1984, his son, Kurt Menzel Jr., has been heading the company. With the grandson Mathis Menzel, the third generation of the founder's family has entered the company management: Mathis Menzel has been mainly responsible for international sales since 2005.