In the inter-war period the area that now belongs to Zelmer S.A. was occupied by the Field Kitchen and Military Equipment Factory “Mars” Sp. z o.o.

 

On April 20, 1937, after taking over the area occupied by the Field Kitchen and Military Equipment Factory “Mars” Sp. z o.o., the construction work of the H. Cegielski Machine Tool Factory, Branch Rzeszów commenced (private ownership). The State Treasury participated indirectly in the construction process through granting long-term loans.

 

In the autumn of 1937 the factory started its production activity. In addition to machine tools, the factory produced multi-tool turret lathes, single-spindle automatic lathes, multi-spindle automatic lathes, multi-radial drilling machines and military equipment (anti-tank guns, anti-aircraft guns, artillery support equipment).

 

During World War II the plant was destroyed as its three production halls were completely dismantled and all their elements and equipment, including machines, materials and raw materials, were taken away to the German Reich.

 

On May 11, 1951 the President of the Central Office for Small-Scale Production issued an ordinance establishing a state enterprise under the name “Rzeszów Bicycle and Pram Factory”.

 

1951 – employment reached 234 people. The main line of business was the manufacture of prams, bikes for children and wire fence.

 

1953 – the production of vacuum cleaners “alfa” and “gamma” was launched (eleven thousand units were produced). The Construction and Technology Bureau was established. Also the production of floor polishers F-1 started at that time.

1961 – as a consequence of the Heavy Industry Minister’s ordinance, the supervision over the company was passed on to the Metal Goods Industry Union. Number of workers increased to 448.

 

1969 – start of the production of vacuum cleaners “Zelmer 03”, “Alfa K-2L” as well as commutator motors. These products, together with the floor polisher, were awarded the “1” quality mark. At that time Zelmer employed over one thousand people.

 

1975 – the area of the plant expanded substantially. New buildings were made available: building of the PR-60 department, building of the tooling department, building of the PR-30 department. For the first time the production of commutator motors exceeded one million units.

 

1983 – the factory had over four thousand employees. Vacuum cleaner model 500 was awarded a gold medal at the Poznań International Fair. Zelmer started the production of combination brushes and churns.

 

1984 – a new galvanizing line was opened. Zelmer was awarded a diploma of recognition of the Foreign Trade Minister for outstanding export performance.

July 3, 2001 – the Minister of State Treasury made a statement
on the commercialization of the state enterprise “Zelmer” based in Rzeszów, transforming it into a public limited company with the State Treasury as the only shareholder.

 

November 30, 2004 – the Securities and Exchange Commission admitted Zelmer shares to public trading. On January 27, 2005 Zelmer  shares were quoted on the Warsaw Stock Exchange for the first time. Zelmer S.A. obtained a certificate of a stock exchange-listed company.

2007 – the company is developing rapidly and is systematically expanding its product portfolio. At present, Zelmer’s assortment includes almost fifty products.