History
Founded in 1863 Businessman Friederich Carl Bauer established the principal firm in Stuttgart, Germany, from which the company GEZE later developed. Brothers Oskar and Hugo Hinderer took over the factory. The brothers' skiing hobby initiated the mass production of ski bindings as well as builder’s hardware.
1901 - Renaming - Master locksmith Victor Gretsch joined the company. The business was renamed Gretsch & Co. GmbH.
1908 - Vienna, Austria A subsidiary company was opened in Vienna, Austria.
1924 - A new era began A new business partner, Reinhold Vöster, amalgamated his firm, Vöster & Muller. The production programme was extended to include hardware for folding & sliding windows, smoke extraction & ventilation systems for industrial use and lift, garage and folding doors.
1938 - A proud jubilee The company celebrated its 75th anniversary and now had 380 employees. GEZE-Kandahar ski bindings were renowned throughout the skiing world and Gretsch & Co products were in wide use throughout the domestic and international markets.
1945 - New tasks Following the second world war there was a great demand from the construction, road building and transportation industries, and skiing became more popular. New technical, organisational and economic expertise was required. The factory at Feuerbach could not meet the demands.
1958 - Relocation : Leonberg Between 1955 and 1958 a new factory was built in Leonberg, incorporating state of the art technology and production lines. Reinhold Vöster and his son, Walter Vöster, worked closely on all the important issues relating to the company's growth and success. Five years after the death of Walter Vöster, owner Reinhold Vöster passed away aged 84. His life's work was handed over to his granddaughter Brigitte Vöster as sole proprietor.
1963 - Centenary Celebrations Success is not a question of age. The most significant announcement at the centenary celebrations comes from the financial department. Success has remained with the company, both in the ironwork and ski bindings sectors. But that is still no reason to leave things as they are. The new programme includes automatic door openers. And, in conformance with current demand, functional perfection is no longer regarded as completely satisfactory. Consequently, GEZE attaches major importance to modern design.
1968 - A New Beginning Five years after the death of Walter Vöster, owner Reinhold Vöster passed away aged 84. His life's work was handed over to his granddaughter Brigitte Vöster as sole proprietor. The young businesswoman proves to be a tremendous asset to the company and demonstrates strong leadership qualities. She marks the timely start of a new era at GEZE. Her open-mindedness and readiness to take risks is apparent in all divisions. The employees join forces wherever research into new technologies, or innovations and their implementation are involved. The consequence: GEZE shows above-average sales increases and earnings growth.
1980 - A new name The letters G.C. on Gretsch & Co packing cases provides the new company name GEZE GmbH. The company's product policy focuses on total solutions for doors and windows. The importance of automatic sliding and revolving door drives continues to grow.
1993 - DIN EN certification.
1996 - New horizons The company responds to ever increasing demand in the Asian market and also consolidates its competitiveness by opening of a new production plant in Tianjin, China.
1997 - The Slimdrive is launched An automatic sliding door drive with an installation height of just 7 cm is unveiled at Messe Bau '97, representing an innovative milestone in terms of product design and aesthetics. GEZE now sees innovative product design and problem solutions as its benchmark.
Formation of the subsidiary company GEZE Service GmbH, whose 60 employees are responsible for training, installation and maintenance work.
1999 - Completion of a new technical centre in the GEZE industrial complex in Leonberg.
Creativity and innovative development under one roof. Development, research and product management work closely together here.
Foundation of the GEZE subsidiary GEZE Sonderkonstruktionen GmbH begins production in Schweigern with 12 employees. This subsidiary manufactures drives for curved and semi curved automatic door systems in the famous 7 cm look of GEZE Slimdrive. Draught-screens with up to 3 m diameter and appropriate fittings as well as revolving-doors are part of their unique solutions.
Introduction of GEZE IGG (integrated all-glass systems). First presentation of this product at Messe Bau 1999.
2000 – A leading manufacturer With more than 13 subsidiary companies and well over 150 sales offices around the world, GEZE is now one of the leading manufacturers of innovative door and window technology.
2002 - TOP 100 Award Innovations, ideas and investment – the ingredients which make GEZE successful competitors against other medium sized companies in Germany to qualify for inclusion in the Top 100. Trend-setting developments within the range of door, safety and window technology and the recognition of current needs in the market, are the main elements the jury considered for their decision. With the award of this year, the renowned committee of the ‘TOP 100’ has certified the directive acting of GEZE.
GEZE Service GmbH Leonberg recently moved into their new building in the Reinhold Voester Strasse, directly beside "their mother". The constant development of the service team made this move into larger offices necessary.
2005 - TOP JOB In January 2005 GEZE is awarded the TOP JOB certificate for outstanding achievements in GEZE's human resources management. The certificate is awarded within a nation-wide study with more than 125 medium-sized companies taking part. Within the ranking of enterprises with 500 to 5000 employees GEZE made a very successful 8th position, within the category "salary concepts" a very good 5th position.
