ZF Marine – By Sea, Land and Air

Martin Meissner, ZF Marine marketing manager. jokingly says “ZF is the biggest company no one’s ever heard of.”

Why? because as a world leader in drivetrain technology, most of what ZF makes is inside or under the vehicle where it can’t be seen. Fishermen building new boats may be the exception since a lot of them use ZF hydraulic transmissions in their boats. Unlike the manual transmission in their trucks, which might also be a ZF Gear product, the one in their boat is hydraulic, has just one gear, and therefore, one gear ratio.

While 2:1 or 2.5:1 ratio gears are common on lobster boats, on draggers and trawlers it’s 3:1 to 6:1 ratios. ZF also manufactures hydraulic transmissions, props, and thrusters for everything from small sailboats to ocean freighters. In the lobster boat market it is the combination of the light weight cast aluminum gear box, the robust construction, and German engineering that are its appeal.

A rugged gear box designed to hold up to the demands of the commercial marine environment and a dedicated service support system, Meissner says, are what ZF stands on.

“We are there after the sale. The vessel’s income is important and we provide the service support to cover it,” said Meissner.

Meissner said “the marine market is more a niche market for ZF when compared to their presence in the automobile, truck and bus drive train sector”. Most drivers if asked who made the transmission in their car would think the manufacturer of the car. But, in fact, ZF supplies transmissions and drive train components to many manufacturers including Ford, Chrysler, and BMW.

The city of Chicago’s 3,000 buses use ZF transmissions. Highway coaches (think Greyhound), along with ZF axles and steering systems, run a 10-speed automated manual transmission that ZF developed.

More land applications include transmissions and axles for agricultural and construction equipment. Most people have seen a concrete truck on the highway. Maybe they have wondered how that huge barrel of concrete is kept turning. ZF did too. There is an 80 percent chance the gear on the front of that barrel is a ZF product.

The company also has a presence in aviation. In fact the company and its interesting founder’s story are rooted are in aviation. In 1915, the German Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin was designing and building an airship. Unable to locate the kind of transmission he wanted he decided to build his own. The company established to build the transmission was called Zahnradfabrik, (ZF) which means “gear manufacturer.”

Zeppelin started other manufacturing companies while building the airship. ZF, along with many of these companies, became major manufacturers that are still in existence today.

A new Zeppelin airship was built recently, the 100-meter Zeppelin NT. With its ZF transmission, the NT has been selling around the world.

When Count Zeppelin died, he willed the companies and patents he owned to the town where they are still located, Friedrichshafen, Germany. ZF today is moving equipment all around the earth.