EDAG Engineering Group AG (short ''Edag'', own spelling ''EDAG'') is an international corporate group active in the ''Engineering services'' sector.
Since 2015, it has been based in
Arbon
, neighboring_municipalities= Egnach, Roggwil TG, Berg SG, Steinach, Horn
, twintowns = Langenargen (Germany), Binn (Switzerland)
Arbon is a historic town and a municipality and district capital of the district of Arbon in the canton ...
,
Canton Thurgau
Thurgau (; french: Thurgovie; it, Turgovia), anglicized as Thurgovia, more formally the Canton of Thurgau, is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of five districts and its capital is Frauenfeld.
Thurgau is part ...
,
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
. The EDAG Group is one of the world's largest independent development partners to the
automotive industry
The automotive industry comprises a wide range of company, companies and organizations involved in the design, Business development, development, manufacturing, marketing, and selling of motor vehicles. It is one of the world's largest industry ...
and aviation industry.
The holding which incorporated the company was founded in
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
during 1969. During 1987, EDAG Group's first overseas branch office was opened in
Martorell (Barcelona),
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
. Since incorporation, its structure has been changed several times, including operations as an
Aktiengesellschaft
(; abbreviated AG, ) is a German word for a corporation limited by Share (finance), share ownership (i.e. one which is owned by its shareholders) whose shares may be traded on a stock market. The term is used in Germany, Austria, Switzerland (wh ...
, a
joint-stock company
A joint-stock company is a business entity in which shares of the company's capital stock, stock can be bought and sold by shareholders. Each shareholder owns company stock in proportion, evidenced by their share (finance), shares (certificates ...
and a
Kommanditgesellschaft auf Aktien
A limited partnership (LP) is a form of partnership similar to a general partnership except that while a general partnership must have at least two general partners (GPs), a limited partnership must have at least one GP and at least one limited p ...
. The main operational company of the EDAG Group is ''EDAG Engineering GmbH'', which is based in
Wiesbaden
Wiesbaden () is a city in central western Germany and the capital of the state of Hesse. , it had 290,955 inhabitants, plus approximately 21,000 United States citizens (mostly associated with the United States Army). The Wiesbaden urban area ...
, Germany. By November 2018, the company was reportedly operating from 60 sites across 19 countries.
It is active in the fields of
product development
In business and engineering, new product development (NPD) covers the complete process of bringing a new product to market, renewing an existing product or introducing a product in a new market. A central aspect of NPD is product design, along wi ...
, production plant development, plant engineering, limited series manufacturing, modules, and optimization.
History
On 1 February 1969, the company ''Eckard Design'' was founded by Horst Eckard in
Groß-Zimmern
Groß-Zimmern is a municipality in the district of Darmstadt-Dieburg, in Hessen, Germany. It is situated east of Darmstadt and right next to Dieburg
Dieburg () is a small town in southern Hesse, Germany. It was formerly the seat of the district ( ...
, outside
Darmstadt
Darmstadt () is a city in the States of Germany, state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it th ...
. The firm's first customer was the car manufacturer
Ford
Ford commonly refers to:
* Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford
* Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river
Ford may also refer to:
Ford Motor Company
* Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company
* Ford F ...
at their works in
Cologne
Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...
; the firm's first offices were also established in this city.
Before the end of its first year, another customer in the form of local car manufacturer
BMW had also been acquired. By the end of 1969, Eckard Design employed a total of eight staff members, some of whom would become key officials of the business for the next 30 years.
During 1970, a new head office was opened in
Fulda
Fulda () (historically in English called Fuld) is a town in Hesse, Germany; it is located on the river Fulda and is the administrative seat of the Fulda district (''Kreis''). In 1990, the town hosted the 30th Hessentag state festival.
History ...
; the city's central location meant that Eckard Design's headquarters were never more that 300 km away from any of the domestic car manufacturers.
Two years later, additional offices in neighbouring
Steinau were also secured; that same year, turnover breached DM 2 million for the first time. In 1973,
Volkswagen
Volkswagen (),English: , . abbreviated as VW (), is a German Automotive industry, motor vehicle manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1937 by the German Labour Front under the Nazi Party and revived into a ...
became a customer of the firm, while turnover rose to DM 3.3 million.
During the following year, the company was reorganised as ''Eckard Design GbR''; it also completed its first acquisition, that being of the
Mücke
Mücke is a municipality in the Vogelsbergkreis in Hesse, Germany.
Geography
Location
Mücke lies from 200 to 350 m above sea level in the northwest foothills of the Vogelsberg Mountains on the upper reaches of the river Ohm, a tributary to the ...
-based manufacturing company ''FFT''. In 1975, vehicle manufacturer
Opel
Opel Automobile GmbH (), usually shortened to Opel, is a German automobile manufacturer which has been a subsidiary of Stellantis since 16 January 2021. It was owned by the American automaker General Motors from 1929 until 2017 and the PSA Grou ...
became a client of Eckard Design, while a major order for
Karmann
Wilhelm Karmann GmbH, commonly known as simply Karmann, was a German automobile manufacturer and contract manufacturer based in Osnabrück.
Founded by Wilhelm Karmann in 1901, the company specialized in a variety of automotive roles, includi ...
was placed during the following year.
During the late 1970s, a close working relationship with
Audi
Audi AG () is a German automotive manufacturer of luxury vehicles headquartered in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany. As a subsidiary of its parent company, the Volkswagen Group, Audi produces vehicles in nine production facilities worldwide.
Th ...
also developed.
In 1981, company turnover exceeded DM 20 million for the first time; the Fulda office was enlarged during the following year.
In 1983, Eckard Design began investing in
computer-aided design
Computer-aided design (CAD) is the use of computers (or ) to aid in the creation, modification, analysis, or optimization of a design. This software is used to increase the productivity of the designer, improve the quality of design, improve c ...
(CAD) technology in line with clients such as Audi. Headcount reached 250 during 1984, while the firm's offices continued to expand.
Since 1986, the firm has also been involved in the construction of
prototype
A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and Software prototyping, software programming. A prototyp ...
s at its own experimental shop in Fulda. One year later, the company launched its first international activities, deciding to open its first overseas branch office in
Martorell (Barcelona),
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
.
During 1989, its 20th anniversary, turnover breached the DM 100 million milestone; the same year, the company received its first order from Italian luxury car specialist
Ferrari
Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988) in 1939 from the Alfa Romeo racing division as ''Auto Avio Costruzioni'', the company built its first car in ...
.
During the early 1990s, considerable investment was directed into growth into the international automotive market.
During 1992, the company's
Rechtsform was reorganised, when it became an
Aktiengesellschaft
(; abbreviated AG, ) is a German word for a corporation limited by Share (finance), share ownership (i.e. one which is owned by its shareholders) whose shares may be traded on a stock market. The term is used in Germany, Austria, Switzerland (wh ...
and the name Edag Engineering + Design AG came into being. In 1998, EDAG was the first automotive service provider to be admitted to the ''Verband der Automobilindustrie'' (English:
Association of the German Automotive Industry
The German Association of the Automotive Industry or VDA (german: Verband der Automobilindustrie e. V.) is a German interest group of the German automobile industry, both automobile manufactures and automobile component suppliers. It is member of ...
). During 2004, FFT Flexible Fertigungstechnik GmbH & Co. KG, which is presently called ''FFT Produktionssysteme GmbH & Co. KG'', was integrated into the company. In February 2006,
Lutz Helmig, owner of
Aton GmbH and founder of the
Helios-Kliniken, purchased EDAG from the nine founding families. In 2007, personnel service provider ''ED Work GmbH & Co. KG'' was founded.
As a result of the takeover by ''Aton GmbH'', the legal form of the company changed on 11 January 2008 from a
joint-stock company
A joint-stock company is a business entity in which shares of the company's capital stock, stock can be bought and sold by shareholders. Each shareholder owns company stock in proportion, evidenced by their share (finance), shares (certificates ...
to a
Kommanditgesellschaft auf Aktien
A limited partnership (LP) is a form of partnership similar to a general partnership except that while a general partnership must have at least two general partners (GPs), a limited partnership must have at least one GP and at least one limited p ...
. A further consequence of the re-structuring was that directors Klaus Blickle and Jürgen Böhm left the company on 8 April 2008, and were replaced by long-standing managers Jörg Ohlsen, Manfred Hahl and Rainer Bauer. As a consequence of the merger with ''Rücker GmbH'' during early 2014, the executive board was re-structured, while the head office was transferred to Wiesbaden. Since March 2015, EDAG has been operating under the name ''EDAG Engineering GmbH''. With the listing of ''EDAG Engineering Group AG'' on the German stock exchange in Frankfurt am Main (Prime Standard), ISIN 0303692047, EDAG Engineering GmbH became part of EDAG Engineering Group AG.
The vast majority of EDAG Group's revenue has typically been derived from its activity in the automotive sector, comprising 62 percent of turnover during 2017; other major contributors to turnover include its electronics businesses, contributing 20 percent that year, as well as a further 18 percent from production solutions activities for that same year.
According to market analysts Edison Group, EDAG has been increasingly moving its activities into the international market in recent years; however, it has been facing increasingly intensive competition from rivals on the global stage.
For several decades, EDAG has been active throughout the aerospace sector. During the early 2000s, aircraft manufacturer
AvCraft contracted EDAD to produce wing tooling for a new final assembly line at
Oberpfaffenhoffen for the
Fairchild-Dornier 328JET. The company has acted as an intermediate party between various other suppliers and the multinational aerospace conglomerate
Airbus
Airbus SE (; ; ; ) is a European Multinational corporation, multinational aerospace corporation. Airbus designs, manufactures and sells civil and military aerospace manufacturer, aerospace products worldwide and manufactures aircraft througho ...
.
Offices
The branch offices on five continents are mostly located at important sites of partner industries.
;Selection of sites in Germany::
Aachen
Aachen ( ; ; Aachen dialect: ''Oche'' ; French and traditional English: Aix-la-Chapelle; or ''Aquisgranum''; nl, Aken ; Polish: Akwizgran) is, with around 249,000 inhabitants, the 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, and the 28th- ...
,
Eisenach
Eisenach () is a town in Thuringia, Germany with 42,000 inhabitants, located west of Erfurt, southeast of Kassel and northeast of Frankfurt. It is the main urban centre of western Thuringia and bordering northeastern Hessian regions, situat ...
,
Fulda
Fulda () (historically in English called Fuld) is a town in Hesse, Germany; it is located on the river Fulda and is the administrative seat of the Fulda district (''Kreis''). In 1990, the town hosted the 30th Hessentag state festival.
History ...
,
Hamburg
(male), (female) en, Hamburger(s),
Hamburgian(s)
, timezone1 = Central (CET)
, utc_offset1 = +1
, timezone1_DST = Central (CEST)
, utc_offset1_DST = +2
, postal ...
,
Ingolstadt
Ingolstadt (, Austro-Bavarian: ) is an independent city on the Danube in Upper Bavaria with 139,553 inhabitants (as of June 30, 2022). Around half a million people live in the metropolitan area. Ingolstadt is the second largest city in Upper Bav ...
,
Cologne
Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...
,
Leipzig
Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...
,
Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
,
Rostock
Rostock (), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (german: link=no, Hanse- und Universitätsstadt Rostock), is the largest city in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the state, c ...
,
Ulm
Ulm () is a city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Danube on the border with Bavaria. The city, which has an estimated population of more than 126,000 (2018), forms an urban district of its own (german: link=no, ...
,
Wolfsburg
Wolfsburg (; Eastphalian: ''Wulfsborg'') is the fifth largest city in the German state of Lower Saxony, located on the river Aller. It lies about east of Hanover and west of Berlin.
Wolfsburg is famous as the location of Volkswagen AG's hea ...
;Selection of sites in Europe
*
Turin
Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...
–
*
Sant'Agata Bolognese
Sant'Agata Bolognese ( Western Bolognese: ; City Bolognese: ) is a small ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Bologna, Emilia-Romagna, in the north of Italy. It is notable for being the headquarters of the luxury automobile manufacturer Automobi ...
–
*
Fiorano Modenese
Fiorano Modenese ( Modenese: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the province of Modena in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about west of Bologna and about southwest of Modena. Neighboring municipalities are Formigine, Sassuolo, Serra ...
–
*
Mladá Boleslav
Mladá Boleslav (; german: Jungbunzlau) is a city in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 42,000 inhabitants.
Mladá Boleslav is the second most populated city in the region and a major centre of the Czech automotive ind ...
–
*
Břeclav
Břeclav (; german: Lundenburg) is a town in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 24,000 inhabitants.
Administrative parts
Town parts of Charvátská Nová Ves and Poštorná are administrative parts of Břeclav.
Etymol ...
–
*
Warwickshire
Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...
–
*
Győr
Győr ( , ; german: Raab, links=no; names of European cities in different languages: E-H#G, names in other languages) is the main city of northwest Hungary, the capital of Győr-Moson-Sopron County and Western Transdanubia, Western Transdanubia ...
–
*
Gothenburg
Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...
-
*
Helmond
Helmond (; called ''Héllemond'' in the local dialect) is a city and municipality in the Metropoolregio Eindhoven of the province of North Brabant in the Southern Netherlands.
Helmond is home to several textile and metal companies. The Vlisco fa ...
-
*
Kocaeli –
;
;Worldwide
*
São Bernardo do Campo
São Bernardo do Campo () is a Brazilian Municipalities of Brazil, municipality in the state of São Paulo.
It is part of the Metropolitan Region of São Paulo. The population is 844,483 (2020 est.) in an area of .
History
The city was founded b ...
(
São Paulo
São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...
) –
*
Troy
Troy ( el, Τροία and Latin: Troia, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒋫𒊒𒄿𒊭 ''Truwiša'') or Ilion ( el, Ίλιον and Latin: Ilium, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒃾𒇻𒊭 ''Wiluša'') was an ancient city located at Hisarlik in prese ...
(
Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...
) –
*
Puebla
Puebla ( en, colony, settlement), officially Free and Sovereign State of Puebla ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Puebla), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 217 municipalities and its cap ...
–
*
Yokohama
is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of To ...
–
*
Seoul
Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...
-
*
Shah Alam
Shah Alam () is a city and the state capital of Selangor, Malaysia and situated within the Petaling District and a small portion of the neighbouring Klang District. Shah Alam replaced Kuala Lumpur as the capital city of the state of Selangor in ...
(
Kuala Lumpur
, anthem = '' Maju dan Sejahtera''
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia
, pushpin_map_caption =
, coordinates =
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) –
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Pune
Pune (; ; also known as Poona, (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million ...
(
Maharashtra
Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...
) –
*
Shanghai
Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...
–
*
Automotive industry
EDAG is noted for its
concept car
A concept car (also known as a concept vehicle, show vehicle or prototype) is a car made to showcase new styling and/or new technology. They are often exhibited at motor shows to gauge customer reaction to new and radical designs which may or ...
s such as
EDAG Biwak estate concept on the Beetle, the EDAG
Pontiac Solstice
The Pontiac Solstice is a sports car that was produced by Pontiac. Introduced at the 2004 North American International Auto Show, the Solstice roadster began production in Wilmington, Delaware, starting in mid-2005 for the 2006 model year. It ...
Hardtop and the EDAG Show Car No. 8 based on
Smart
Smart or SMART may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Smart'' (Hey! Say! JUMP album), 2014
* Smart (Hotels.com), former mascot of Hotels.com
* ''Smart'' (Sleeper album), 1995 debut album by Sleeper
* ''SMart'', a children's television ser ...
mechanicals. EDAG has conducted design work for the application of 3D-printing (additive manufacturing) technology under their "Genesis project", in which
Fraunhofer,
Laser Zentrum Nord and
DMRC Paderborn participated.
Concept Cars and Prototypes
Source: ''edag.de''
* EDAG Scout (1999)
* EDAG 2000 (2000)
* EDAG
Keinath GT/C (2001)
* EDAG
Keinath GT/C Cabrio (2002)
* EDAG Pontiac Solstice Hardtop
*
EDAG Cinema 7D (2003)
* EDAG GenX (2004)
* EDAG/Rinspeed Chopster (2005)
*
EDAG Show Car No.8 (2005)
* EDAG
Pontiac Solstice
The Pontiac Solstice is a sports car that was produced by Pontiac. Introduced at the 2004 North American International Auto Show, the Solstice roadster began production in Wilmington, Delaware, starting in mid-2005 for the 2006 model year. It ...
Hardtop (2006)
* EDAG Biwak (2006)
* EDAG LUV (2007)
* EDAG Light Car - Open Source (2009)
* EDAG Light Car Sharing (2011)
* EDAG Genesis (2014)
* EDAG Light Cocoon (2015)
References
External links
Website of EDAG Group AGWebsite of EDAG Engineering GmbHWebsite of EDAG Engineering Group AG (Investor Relations)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Edag
Engineering consulting firms
Manufacturing companies of Germany
Aircraft manufacturers of Germany
Engineering companies of Germany
Auto parts suppliers of Germany
Manufacturing companies established in 1969
1969 establishments in Germany