| 1899 |
Franz Klöckner founds
a switchgear production company in Cologne, Germany. |
The newly-founded
company makes hand starters with a new safety function for
use in DC machines. |
| 1910s |
Hein Moeller joins the
firm in 1911, as the chief engineer and sole director.
|
Hein Moeller succeeds
in a pioneering technical innovation, developing the first
three-phase oil contactor. |
| 1920s |
Greater customer
proximity is achieved by decentralizing the sales
organization. Assembly-line production is introduced at the
Moeller works. |
- Improvement of oil-immersed
contactors via new materials.
- Motor-protective
circuit-breakers and bimetal relays are added to the
product range.
|
| 1930s |
Kloeckner Moeller
Contactor relays are mass produced at six factories.
|
Production of the
first switchgear devices with a service life comparable to
that of the machines in which they are deployed. |
| 1940s |
Moeller starts to
deliver switchgear to electrical wholesalers and undergoes a
change in name to Klöckner-Moeller. |
Moeller begins to use
Andorit (a transparent plastic) as an insulating material in
power distribution board housings. |
| 1950s
|
The company expands to
1,500 employees and generates sales of 30 million. It sets
up its first foreign sales company in Belgium. By now
Moeller is represented by distribution partners in 42
countries of the world. In Austria, Prof. Dr. Ing.
Biegelmeyer develops the residual-current circuit-breaker. |
Product innovations:
- FAK foot and palm switches
- Four-pole contactors
- PKZ motor-protective
circuit-breakers
- Compact circuit-breakers
- First fully
insulation-enclosed power distribution system
- Residual-current
circuit-breakers
|
| 1960s |
Kloeckner Moeller
generates sales of 100 million with a workforce of 2,800
employees, and sets up sales subsidiaries in Switzerland and
South Africa. |
- The German Chancellor
inaugurates the country's first color broadcast by
actuating an FAK foot and palm switch made by Moeller.
- The RMQ range of control
devices devices is launched on the market.
|
| 1970s |
The company now has
5,000 employees and establishes sales companies in
Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Brazil, Japan, Australia and
Zaire. Works are built in England, France and the USA. |
|
| 1980s |
For the first time
Kloeckner Moeller generates sales in excess of 1 billion,
with the help of 7,000 employees in 75 countries. The
companies that make up the Moeller Group are united into
Moeller Holding Gmbh & Co. KG, and new sales subsidiaries
are set up in Spain, Austria and Denmark. |
Moeller becomes one of
the first suppliers of compact programmable logic
controllers (PLCs), with the PS3 PLC being launched on the
market to great success. |
| 1990s |
The company has 7,200
employees to its name and sales of 1.5 billion.
Distribution centers are set up in former East Germany, and
new subsidiaries are founded in Hungary, Poland and Italy.
The Kloeckner Moeller Test Laboratory in Bonn is the first
German laboratory to be accredited for industrial
low-voltage devices and systems, and the Kloeckner Moeller
Distribution Centre is taken into operation in Meckenheim,
near Bonn. |
Product innovations:
- MODAN 6000 and 2000 power
distribution and motor control systems
- Fuzzy PLCs
- ARCON internal arc protection
system
|
| 1998 |
Kloeckner Moeller
acquires Felten & Guilleaume AG, Cologne, a manufacturer of
electrical installation devices, cables and medium-voltage
systems, and lays the foundation stone for a fully-owned
factory in Suzhou, China. The company posts sales of 1.25
billion with 7,200 employees. |
Product innovations:
- easy control relays
- ZEV electronic motor
protection relays
|
| 1999 |
The company celebrates
on hundred years and undergoes a change in name from
Klöckner-Moeller to Moeller. |
|
| 2000
– 2003 |
The economic downturn
all over the world and growing competition on global markets
starts to impede the company's development, which is further
hampered by the owner's efforts to sell. Despite these
difficulties, Moeller continues to invest in forward-looking
production technology and the development of new product
series. |
Product innovations:
- RMQ-Titan command and
signaling devices
- easy 600/800 Control relays
- NZM 1-4/IZM circuit-breakers
- Rapid Link decentralized motor
control system
- MFD-Titan multi-function
relays
- LS-Titan position switches
- XC 100/600 control system
- Xpole service installation
switching devices
- Xcomfort building automation
system
|
|
12/09/03 |
A group of investors
advised by Advent International Cooperation, Boston, USA,
acquires 100 percent of the Moeller Group. The capital
structure of the company is improved and the management's
restructuring plan is implemented. |
|
| 2004 |
A presentation on the
company's business development is given at the annual press
conference on September 27 in Bonn. Moeller has succeeded in
achieving the turnaround and is again operating at a profit
in its core business areas. The Group focuses on its core
competencies to an unprecedented extent and continues to
consolidate its presence in global growth markets,
especially in Eastern Europe and Asia. By the end of 2005,
the Moeller Group will have virtually completely renewed its
product portfolio in its core business areas |
Product innovations:
- xStart contactor and
motor-protective circuit-breaker system
- xEnergy switchgear system
- Xboard consumer units
- Xpatch data network technology
- XC 200 control system
- XV 400 HMI PLCs
|
