WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Two years after establishing its state-of-the-art North American headquarters in Winston-Salem, global heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) manufacturing leader Ziehl-Abegg Inc. is experiencing an unprecedented wave of expansion. Driven by surging demand for high-efficiency air-movement and ventilation technologies across the United States, Canada, and Mexico, the company is rapidly scaling its manufacturing footprint, advancing localized research and development, and drastically outperforming its original economic projections.
Originally relocating from a much smaller operation in Greensboro, North Carolina, Ziehl-Abegg made the largest single capital investment in its corporate history to anchor its long-term future in the Piedmont Triad region. That gamble has paid massive dividends. Since mid-2024, the company’s regional workforce has skyrocketed from 321 to 662 employees—an astonishing 106% increase in just two years. Bolstered by this rapid momentum, leadership has officially doubled its long-term employment forecast, projecting that the North American workforce will swell to approximately 1,600 employees by 2030, up significantly from the original benchmark of 800.
As regulatory pressures, energy costs, and corporate sustainability mandates push the HVAC industry toward ultra-efficient solutions, Ziehl-Abegg’s localized infrastructure positions it at the forefront of the North American market. By consolidating manufacturing, logistics, administration, sales, and specialized engineering under one expansive roof, the company has transformed its Winston-Salem campus into a powerhouse of industrial innovation.
Main Facts
The ongoing success and expansion of Ziehl-Abegg Inc. in North America rest upon several key operational milestones and strategic advantages realized at the Winston-Salem campus:
- Massive Workforce Growth: The company’s headquarter staff and manufacturing personnel have expanded from 321 workers to 662 since mid-2024, reflecting a 106% workforce surge in a two-year window.
- Aggressive Future Projections: Buoyed by robust market demand, corporate leadership has officially doubled its 2030 employment target, aiming for roughly 1,600 regional jobs compared to its original projection of 800.
- Consolidated Operations: The Winston-Salem facility is nearly four times the physical size of the company’s former facility in Greensboro, merging manufacturing, R&D, logistics, sales, and corporate administration into a single, highly collaborative campus.
- Advanced Product Portfolio: The facility specializes in the production of high-efficiency air-movement equipment, fans, and motor technologies tailored for a diverse array of industrial, commercial, and refrigeration applications across the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.
- Strategic R&D Capabilities: The campus houses only the second dedicated research and development team for Ziehl-Abegg outside of Germany, ensuring that product lines are specifically engineered, tested, and adapted to meet North American standards and customer specifications.
Chronology of Expansion: From Greensboro to Winston-Salem and Beyond
To fully understand Ziehl-Abegg’s current trajectory, it is necessary to examine the timeline of strategic decisions that brought the German-engineered manufacturer to the heart of North Carolina’s Piedmont Triad.
The Foundation Years in Greensboro
For years, Ziehl-Abegg Inc. operated a successful yet spatially constrained facility in Greensboro, North Carolina. While the location served as a stable base for distributing and assembling select components for the North American market, it ultimately presented a ceiling for the company’s long-term ambitions. As the broader HVAC landscape shifted toward larger, more complex, and highly integrated air-handling systems, leadership recognized that a much larger footprint would be required to capture growing market share.
The Historic Winston-Salem Investment
The pivotal turning point arrived when the company elected to invest heavily in a sprawling, modern facility in Winston-Salem. Representing the largest single capital expenditure in Ziehl-Abegg’s global history at the time, the move was designed to solve logistical bottlenecks while bringing multiple business units under a single roof. When the doors officially opened, the facility provided nearly four times the operational floor space of the legacy Greensboro site. This expanded capacity allowed the company to transition from a regional assembler to a full-scale, end-to-end manufacturer capable of producing sophisticated, high-efficiency fans and motors locally.
The Two-Year Scaling Milestone (2024–Present)
In the two years following the grand opening, the Winston-Salem campus evolved rapidly. Rather than growing incrementally, the facility experienced exponential scaling. By mid-2024, the workforce had crossed the 300-employee threshold, but surging order volumes for data center cooling, commercial ventilation, and refrigeration equipment required an immediate ramp-up in shifts and labor. By breaking past 662 active employees, the company achieved a staggering 106% growth rate, validating the aggressive capital allocation made by the parent organization in Künzelsau, Germany.
Supporting Data and Economic Impact
The operational growth of Ziehl-Abegg Inc. is mirrored by compelling quantitative metrics that illustrate both internal corporate health and external economic ripple effects throughout the American Southeast.
Workforce Scaling and Projections
| Metric | Original Projection | Current Status / Updated Projection | Percentage Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Workforce (at 2-year mark) | N/A | 662 Employees | +106% (since mid-2024) |
| Long-Term Target (2030) | 800 Employees | ~1,600 Employees | +100% increase in target |
| Facility Footprint | Greensboro Facility | Winston-Salem Campus | ~4x larger space |
| Global R&D Hubs | Primarily Germany | Germany + Winston-Salem, N.C. | Expansion of localized engineering |
Regional Economic Contributions to the Piedmont Triad
Beyond internal hiring metrics, Ziehl-Abegg’s expansion acts as a vital economic engine for Winston-Salem and the greater Piedmont Triad region. The influx of hundreds of high-paying advanced manufacturing, engineering, and administrative jobs has contributed to local tax bases, stimulated regional housing and service sectors, and reinforced North Carolina’s reputation as a premier destination for international industrial investment.
Furthermore, by sourcing raw materials, logistics services, and sub-components from regional suppliers whenever possible, Ziehl-Abegg has woven itself deeply into the local industrial fabric. The collaborative synergy between the Winston-Salem campus and regional technical schools and universities has also created a pipeline for specialized talent, ensuring that workers are trained in the latest automation, quality control, and electro-mechanical engineering disciplines.
Official Responses and Executive Insights
Corporate leadership has been vocal about the strategic importance of the Winston-Salem facility, emphasizing that the success of the past two years is a testament to both executive foresight and frontline employee dedication.
Joachim Ley, Ziehl-Abegg Group CEO:
"When we made the decision to invest in Winston-Salem, we were investing in much more than a new building. We were creating the foundation for Ziehl-Abegg’s continued growth in North America. Two years later, the growth of our team and our capabilities demonstrates the importance of that investment and the strength of the opportunities we see in this market."
Ley further emphasized the global perspective of the project, noting that the capabilities being forged in North Carolina allow the company to stay nimble and responsive on an international scale while remaining deeply rooted in local communities.
Jimmy Mitchell, Managing Director of Operations:
"Our Winston-Salem headquarters gave us the space and infrastructure we needed to grow. Over the past two years, our team has expanded significantly while we have continued building our manufacturing capabilities. That growth is the result of a tremendous amount of work by our employees, and they are the reason we have been able to scale our operations successfully."
Carmen Deese, Vice President of Human Resources:
Highlighting the human element behind the production lines, Deese pointed out that scaling a high-tech manufacturing environment from 300 to over 600 employees while maintaining strict quality controls requires exceptional teamwork, comprehensive onboarding, and continuous safety protocols.
Florian Braun, Managing Director of Sales:
"Our customers are increasingly looking for high-efficiency solutions, strong technical support, and partners who can respond to their needs locally. We are closer to our customers, we have greater capabilities here in North America, and we have the capacity to support the opportunities we continue to see across the market."
Shane Cornuet, Vice President of Finance:
"The investment in Winston-Salem has increased our ability to deliver on those expectations, but we aren’t done growing."
Implications for the North American HVAC and R&D Landscapes
The rapid ascent of Ziehl-Abegg Inc. in Winston-Salem carries profound implications for the broader heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration (HVACR) sectors across North America.
1. Supply Chain Resilience and Localization
In the wake of global supply chain disruptions experienced earlier in the decade, industrial equipment buyers across the U.S., Canada, and Mexico have placed a premium on localized manufacturing. By building high-efficiency fans, blowers, and motor control systems directly within North Carolina, Ziehl-Abegg shields its customer base from international shipping delays, customs bottlenecks, and volatile trans-oceanic freight costs. Customers can secure critical components with significantly reduced lead times.
2. The Drive Toward Ultra-High Efficiency
With strict government regulations targeting carbon emissions and building energy consumption—coupled with corporate sustainability targets—the demand for energy-efficient air-movement technology has never been higher. Ziehl-Abegg’s specialized focus on biomimetic fan designs (such as fans modeled after owl wings and humpback whale flippers) offers quiet, ultra-low energy consumption. Having a dedicated North American R&D team stationed in Winston-Salem means these advanced designs can be rapidly customized to fit local voltage standards, building codes, and unique client applications without waiting for design clearances from European headquarters.
3. Future Outlook: Reaching the 2030 Vision
As Ziehl-Abegg Inc. looks toward its revised target of 1,600 employees by the end of the decade, the company is well-positioned to cement its status as a market leader. The first two years in Winston-Salem have proven that the infrastructure, talent pool, and market demand exist to sustain this accelerated trajectory. For the HVAC industry, the message is clear: Ziehl-Abegg is deeply rooted in North America, fully scaled for volume, and equipped to power the future of sustainable air technology.
