Our beginnings
The two photographs show the early years of our business from different perspectives: on the left, the Zörb family can be seen a few years before the workshop photograph was taken; on the right are company founder and master blacksmith Johann Friedrich Zörb (1837–1920), his son Friedrich Zörb (1870–1961) and a journeyman at the anvil in front of the forge. The image on the right represents the company’s artisanal beginnings. The first jobs mainly involved the manufacture and repair of tools, wagon building and horseshoeing. Together, the two photographs offer a glimpse into the time when a family-run craft business laid the foundations for the company of today.
Second generation
By the beginning of the 20th century, the blacksmith’s business was already being continued by the second generation. The company sign reflects its modern direction: “Agricultural machinery of all kinds. Well-equipped repair workshop with electric operation.” In 1913, the family — and with it the business — acquired its first vehicle of its own, a Wanderer Puppchen W2 5/15. Technical progress had now entered everyday life, underlining the transformation from a traditional craft workshop into a forward-looking company.
Third generation
Under the leadership of Ludwig Zörb, the mechanisation of the business continued to advance. As agricultural technology developed, the demands placed on the workshop also changed. Alongside traditional blacksmithing, the repair, maintenance and adaptation of agricultural machinery became increasingly important.
Step by step, the business evolved – from a traditional blacksmith’s craft into a modern, technically oriented trade enterprise. Ludwig Zörb accompanied this change over many years and carried forward the family’s craft tradition with an eye to the new possibilities offered by agricultural technology.
The photographs show him once as a young man and later at the workbench. They symbolise a period in which experience, craftsmanship and technical progress were closely intertwined.
Fourth generation
With Erwin Zörb (1936–2000), agricultural technology moved even more clearly to the heart of the business. Farming was undergoing profound change at the time: tractors and modern machinery increasingly replaced earlier ways of working and shaped everyday life on farms.
The photograph from 1961 shows Erwin Zörb on the first tractor sold by the company – a Deutz D 50. This image symbolises the step into a new technological era and the growing importance of selling and repairing agricultural machinery.
The second image shows Erwin Zörb studying for his master craftsman’s examination, which he passed in 1966. With professional skill, determination and great personal commitment, he continued the family’s craft tradition and consistently developed the business in the field of agricultural technology. Together, the two photographs unite two important aspects of this generation: technological progress and the personal expertise on which the company’s further development was built.
Fifth & sixth generation
The photograph from 1991 shows three generations of the Zörb family together in front of a Schlüter EuroTrac: Erwin Zörb, Stefan Zörb representing the fifth generation, and Sebastian Zörb as the sixth generation.
The image symbolises the connection between experience, responsibility and the future. While Erwin Zörb shaped the business over many years and continued to expand its agricultural technology activities, Stefan Zörb followed in the family’s footsteps as the next generation. With Sebastian Zörb, the generation after that is already present in the picture.
In this way, the photograph brings together the company’s past, present and future: the craft tradition, technological development and family cohesion that have accompanied the business since its beginnings.
