On October 1, 1847, 11 days before operations began, Werner von Siemens and precision mechanic Johann Georg Halske completed the official founding of the company. On October 12, 1847, Siemens started operations as a small factory workshop with ten employees producing pointer telegraphs in a courtyard behind a building on Schoeneberger Strasse in Berlin. Now, 175 years later, Siemens has more than 300,000 employees worldwide and, with around 62 billion euros in annual revenues, is one of the world’s largest technology powerhouses.
175th anniversary
Today, October 12, 2022, Siemens celebrates its 175th birthday with a celebratory event at the Schaltwerk factory in the Siemensstadt section of Berlin. German Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz, along with numerous guests from the fields of politics, business, and academia, will join the anniversary event.
Siemens laid the foundations for the industrial age 175 years ago. With its innovations today, Siemens is also helping to drive the dual digital and ecological transformation. I want to offer my heartfelt congratulations on 175 years in which Siemens has electrified, moved, connected, and reinvented the world again and again. In short, 175 years of success made by Siemens, made in Germany!
Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
Since Siemens was founded, the company has not only been an employer but also a home and a way of life for millions of people. To date, around four million people worldwide have worked for the company.
For decades, Siemens has reinvented itself to anticipate new technologies and trends to remain relevant to our customers. We want to continue to play a leading role in helping customers and communities meet their most significant challenges now and in the future. On our 175th anniversary, Siemens is future-ready and exceptionally well-positioned in strategy, business, and technology and leading the way in digitalization and sustainability.
Roland Busch, President, and CEO of Siemens.
Germany remains Siemens’ most important business location. In fiscal 2021, the company employed around 86,000 people and generated revenues of more than €11 billion in Germany. The German market alone, the company employed around 4,000 people in the fiscal 2021.
Siemens has been an inseparable part of Berlin for 175 years. Generations have worked at various locations in the Siemenstadt district for this global Berlin company. The world has Siemens to thank for many inventions and developments that have changed and improved our lives. As innovations of their time, they have all been of great technical and economic significance and were also associated with Berlin. Entirely in keeping with the company’s tradition. “This success story now continues digitally with the Siemens campus. We are proud to have Siemens, a strong company of international importance, here in Berlin.
Mayor of Berlin, Franziska Giffey.
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Industrial and technological history
Over the past 175 years, Siemens has made industrial and technological history, transforming the daily lives of people around the world. Werner von Siemens achieved one of the most important innovations in 1847 when he built the pointer telegraph, the first product of the future global company. His invention enabled electricity to transmit messages much more quickly and reliably over long distances. Such advances marked the beginning of global connectivity. Even more innovative was Werner von Siemens’ invention of the dynamo machine in 1866. This typewriter-sized box was the first device capable of converting mechanical energy into electrical energy economically, and this capability paved the way for the age of electricity.
Siemens, however, has done more than set technological milestones. The company was also ahead of its time regarding social issues. For example, the company introduced a pension fund for its employees in 1872. In Germany, it was not until some 20 years later that comparable government benefits were enshrined in law.
We are part of an epochal change like the most recent one the world experienced in the 19th century. Looking back 175 years, it was the beginning of the industrial revolution, which Werner von Siemens helped to initiate. Today, digitalization is transforming our societies as profoundly as industrialization, and the spread of electricity did back then. Werner’s experiences remain highly relevant to us to this day. And the company he founded is once again helping to shape and drive an epochal change.
Nathalie von Siemens, a descendant of the company’s founder.
Digital transformation
Today, the Company focuses on industry, infrastructure, transportation, and healthcare and is a leading technology company in digitalization. Since 2008, it has invested €10 billion in software companies. In the fiscal year 2021, Siemens invested around €5 billion in research and development, and Siemens researchers recorded around 4500 inventions. The above represents about 20 inventions per day. To shape the digital transformation, Siemens combines hardware and software, combining the real and digital worlds in operational technology and information technology. These capabilities enable customers and partners to increase their productivity and competitiveness and accelerate innovation.
