Siemens

Brand description

The origins of the company date back to the mid-19th century when German inventor and engineer Werner von Siemens founded the company Siemens & Halske in Berlin on October 12, 1847. In 1848, Siemens & Halske built the first long-distance telegraph line, 500 km long, between Berlin and Frankfurt am Main. In 1850, the younger brother of the founder, Carl Wilhelm von Siemens (Sir William Siemens), opened a representative office in London, and in 1855 another brother of Wilhelm Siemens – Carl Heinrich von Siemens opened a representative office in St. Petersburg. This was related to Russian orders for long-range telegraph lines. In 1866, the generator of direct current invented by Siemens, powered by a water mill, was used to generate electricity that powered the world's first electric street lighting in Godalming, UK. In 1895, the company won a tender for the construction of an electrical network and electrification of lighting in Łódź but did not undertake its implementation. In 1897, Siemens & Halske was transformed into a joint-stock company (Aktiengesellschaft – AG). In 1903, after acquiring Schuckertwerke, two production departments were created at Siemens AG; the first based on the existing Siemens & Halske AG – producing low-current devices and the second Siemens-Schuckertwerke GmbH, dealing with high-current devices. In 1929, the company's share capital amounted to 225 million reichsmarks, annual turnover was 800 million reichsmarks, and the number of employees was 137,000. By 1936, the company accounted for 31% of the entire electrical industry turnover. In 1938, the number of employees approached 190,000 people.