Brand history

In 1847, Werner von Siemens invented a product which was based on the telegraph, using a needle to point to a sequence of letters. The company, then called Telegraphen-Bauanstalt von Siemens & Halske, opened its first workshop that year.

In 1848 the company built the first long-distance telegraph line in Europe, 500km long from Berlin to Frankfurt. In 1850, Werner’s brother Carl Wilhelm started to represent the company in London and in 1855, another brother - Carl Heinrich, opened another brand in St Petersburg, Russia. In 1867 the company completed the Indo-European telegraphy line which connected Calcutta to London.

The company continued to expand and diversified into electric trains and light bulbs, but in 1890 Werner von Siemens retired from operational management. In 1897 Siemens and Halske transformed into a joint-stock corporation under the new management consisting of Werner’s brother Carl, and Werner’s two sons Arnold and Wilhelm.

Siemens & Halske (S&H) acquired various companies such as Elektrizitäts-Aktiengesellschaft vorm. Schuckert & Co. which they merged with their own power engineering branch to form Siemens-Schuckertwerke GmbH in 1903. Also in 1903, Siemens and AEG co-founded the Gesellschaft für drahtlose Telegraphie System Telefunken, which specialized in developing the new field of radio. In 1897, Siemens & Haske acquired a virtually uninhabited piece of land in Berlin, with the intention of expanding in this area. By 1914, after the construction of factory housing and communal infrastructure, a completely new city district has been developed, named Siemensstadt.

In 1919, Siemens & Halske along with two other companies jointly form the Osram lightbulb company, with Siemens holding a 40% stake in the venture. In 1932 another merger occurs, between S&H and Reiniger, Gebbert & Schall, who join to form Siemens-Reiniger-Werke AG. The joint venture quickly turns into the world’s largest company specializing in electrical medicine.

After the Second World War, Siemens was left in ruins and in an attempt to secure its future; they moved their headquarters to Munich and Erlangen. At the end of 1951 Siemens put in action their plans to build a steam power plant in Argentina.  The three branches, Siemens & Halske, Siemens-Schuckertwerke and Siemens-Reiniger-Werke join together legally and organizationally to become Siemens AG in 1966. Several years later in 1969, Siemens and AEG establish “Kraftwerk Union AG”, which was initially an equally split venture, and then became a wholly owned subsidiary of Siemens in 1977.

Siemens established Siemens Ltd. China in 1994, expanding their business globally into China’s developing market. In 2001 Siemens listed the company on the New York Stock Exchange for the first time, in order to expand the company’s presence in the American market.

Hi-res logo

Logo

The Siemens logo is simply the name "Siemens" in capital blue letters.

Advertising

PR

Siemens Corporate Responsibility Report

Sponsorships

In 2005, Siemens signed a major 12-year sponsorship deal with The Walt Disney Company, allowing the two companies to collaborate technologically in several platforms. The sponsorship includes promotional and marketing rights, theme park attraction sponsorships and a promotional presence that features Siemens products and services at Walt Disney World Resort Florida and Disneyland Resort Califoria.  As part of the deal Siemens will have their name above various rides and attractions at different Disney resorts including Epcot and MGM Studios, in return for the use of their products and expertise in the rides themselves. Siemens also work with Disney Media Network's and ESPN by sponsoring ABC's video board at Times Square in New York City.

Siemens made a £3.2m deal in 2006 to sponsor the Great Britain Rowing Team until 2012. They work with the GB Rowing Team on innovative ways to assist the team’s training and the performance of its men’s, women’s and adaptive crews.  Funding is also used to develop the new national rowing training facility and to add value to the ARA’s World Class Start Programme which is designed to support talented and emerging individuals. 

Siemens were a major sponsor of the F1 Mclaren team between 1997 and 2005.

Key people

 Peter Löscher, CEO

Peter Löscher is MBA graduate of the Vienna University School of Economics and studied at the Chinese University of Hong Kong and at Harvard Business School and Honorary Doctorate of Engineering from Michigan State University. Since July 2007, he represents Siemens AG as CEO and President. Before joining Siemens, he held the position as President and CEO of GE Healthcare Bio-Sciences of Operating Businesses of GE Healthcare Ltd. since 2004.

 Joe Kaeser, CFO

Since May 2006, Joe Kaeser has been the Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President of Siemens AG and serves as its Head of Corporate Finance and Controlling. After his Business Administration studies at the University of Applied Sciences Regensburg, he joined Siemens in 1980 already.