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Kelvion.com (https://www.kelvion.com/) R Company (company/) R History s

HISTORY
FROM GEA TO KELVION
It has been a long journey from starting as GEA back in 1920 to
becoming Kelvion in 2015.

The origin of our heat

exchangers business goes
back to 1920, when GEA was
founded as Gesellschaft für
Entstaubungs-Anlagen‘ by
Otto Happel. Over the first
decades the company
strongly expanded its heat
exchanger activities,
becoming an early innovator
in thermal engineering and
setter of technological
standards. In 1999, GEA was
acquired by mg technologies
AG (the successor of
Metallgesellschaft), which was renamed to GEA Group AG in 2005. In 2010, GEA bundled all of its
heat exchanger activities in one segment (“HX”). In 2014, GEA Heat Exchangers was acquired by
Triton fund.
With a new name, the core business of the former GEA Heat Exchangers Segment has been
formally split from the GEA Group AG and is writing its own history as Kelvion. The other segments
of the Heat Exchanger
INDUSTRIES Division are
& APPLICATIONS now operating under its own
(INDUSTRIES/) names: DencoHappel
PRODUCTS (PRODUCTS/)(former Air
Treatment Business) and Enexio (former Power Cooling Solutions Business).
SERVICE (SERVICE/) COMPANY (COMPANY/)
The name Kelvion pays homage to Lord Kelvin (1824 - 1907). Lord Kelvin formulated the laws of
FAIRS & MEDIA (FAIRS-MEDIA/) PRESS (PRESS/)
thermodynamics and absolute units of temperature are stated in kelvin, in his honor.
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MILESTONES

1920: FOUNDATION OF GEA IN BOCHUM BY OTTO HAPPEL SR.

(BORN 1882)

Founded on 2 February 1920, GEA, abbreviated from the original German name of the company
“Gesellschaft für Entstaubungs-Anlagen mbH”, was the work of a man who was an entrepreneur
with heart and soul, a man gifted with an exceptional technical insight and filled with the desire for
pioneering technical innovations.

1922: HAPPEL’S CLOSED-CIRCUIT COOLING SYSTEM WITH

ELLIPTICAL FINNED TUBES

For Otto Happel, his first objective was clear: to introduce “closed-circuit cooling” in Germany and
to develop it as quickly as possible for use in large installations. Just two years after setting up his
small business he had achieved that objective, and Happel’s closed-circuit cooling system differed
from those of his European and overseas competitors in only one – but one very important –
aspect. Instead of the conventional heat exchanger (round tube exchangers with wrapped finning
or pressed-on rectangular fins) Happel installed the “elliptical finned tube”, his first independent
technical development which to this day is a key product in the GEA heat exchanger range.

1925: RENAMING TO GEA LUFTKÜHLERGESELLSCHAFT MBH

On 15 February 1925, Happel renamed his company “GEA Luftkühlergesellschaft mbH”, Bochum.
With its soundly engineered products, it quickly developed a good reputation. Just two years later,
on the basis of& the
INDUSTRIES elliptical finned
APPLICATIONS tubes GEA developed air coolers
(INDUSTRIES/) PRODUCTSfor transformers,
(PRODUCTS/)air-to-water
coolers for rectifiers, forced air coolers for compressors, coolers for diesel locomotives and steam-
SERVICE (SERVICE/) COMPANY (COMPANY/)
powered rail cars.
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1935: THE AIR COOLED CONDENSER – A TECHNICAL MILESTONE

In 1935, Otto Happel, in co-operation with the engineer Dr. Kurt Lang, began developing air-cooled
condensers for stationary steam turbines.

1948: OTTO HAPPEL SR. PASSED AWAY

In the midst of all the work and the hopes for a new start, Otto Happel Sr. passed away on 26
December 1948. His death left a great gap, for he had not only shaped his company as a far-sighted
engineer with pioneering ideas but also guided it through good times and bad as a wise
businessman and dynamic organiser. Against the advice of friends and close associates, his widow,
Elisabeth Happel, resolved to continue her husband’s life’s work for her son Otto who had been
born in February 1948.

1953: BEGINNING OF A NEW DIVISION

Early on, GEA engineers had attempted to introduce elliptical finned tubes into heating. Although
these efforts initially were not crowned with success, after the war they became the second
important step towards diversification and also the starting point for a profitable new division,
convectors and air heaters. To better introduce these new products on the market the first
independent subsidiary, “GEA Konvektorenbau Happel KG”, was founded on 1 January 1953.

1960S: ESTABLISHMENT OF NUMEROUS COMPANIES ABROAD

The increased demand for GEA plant and equipment plus the growing demand for local production
led to the establishment in the 1960s of numerous companies abroad. “James Howden – GEA Ltd.”,
a joint venture company later renamed “GEA Airexchangers Ltd. London”, with a production facility
in Northern Ireland, was founded in Glasgow in 1961. This was followed in 1963 by the
establishment of “GEA Scambiatori di Calore R.r.l.” in Italy and of “GEA Warmtetransport B.V.” in the
Netherlands. In the same year, “GEA Airexchangers, Inc.” was set up in New York. In 1964, the
Spanish subsidiary “Compania GEA Iberica S.A.” was established in Burgos with production later in
Yurre near Bilbao to overcome tariff barriers. In 1969, GEA Luftkühler GmbH & Co. purchased 85%
of the shares in
INDUSTRIES “Renzmann & Grünewald
& APPLICATIONS KG” in Monzigen anPRODUCTS
(INDUSTRIES/) der Nahe, later to become a
(PRODUCTS/)
specialist producer of water-cooled transformer coolers.
SERVICE (SERVICE/) COMPANY (COMPANY/)

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1970S FURTHER
CONTACT EXPANSION OF INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS.
(CONTACT/)

The engineering company “GEA Power Cooling Systems, Inc.” In San Diego, California, USA (1977)
and the manufacturing company “GEA Rainey Corp.” In Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA (1978) were the
conclusion of the first phase of expansion in the USA. The latter half of 1970 saw Corporate
the establishment
S
or take-over of such companies as “GEA Aircooled Systems Ltd.”, South Africa (1975), “GEA do
(en) D

Brasil Intercambiadores Ltda.” (1976), “GEA Power Cooling Systems, Inc.”, San Diego, California,
USA (1977), “GEA Rainey Corp.”, Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA (1978) and “GEA Ergé-Spirale S.A.”, France
(1978).

1975: DR. OTTO HAPPEL JR. TAKES OVER THE MANAGEMENT

After more than 25 years at the helm, Elisabeth Happel handed over the management of the
company for health reasons to her son, Dr. Otto Happel, who had just completed his engineering
studies at the Technical University in Aachen and received his doctorate.

1979: THE GEA GROUP LAUNCHES A NEW STRATEGY

The take-over of “Eduard Ahlborn GmbH” in Hildesheim, Germany, launched a new strategy of
diversification. Ahlborn, a manufacturer of food processing equipment, was specialised in plate heat
exchangers whose thermodynamic design was already carried out by GEA to improve its own
products.

1980S: REORGANISATION AND FURTHER ACQUISITIONS

The healthy progress made by the entire GEA Group made it necessary in 1980/81 to undertake a
basic reorganisation by departments, divisions and regions with a central management company,
“GEA GmbH”, at the top. The purchase and/ or establishment of additional companies –
“Batignolles Technologies Thermiques S.A.” in France, and “GEA Canzler GmbH & Co.” in Germany
(both 1985), “KÜBA Kältetechnik GmbH”, Germany (1987), “Happel Belgium N.V.” (1988) – resulted
in notable increases in sales and personnel for the GEA Group in their established fields and
 additional know-how in the area of food and process engineering. In the year 1988, some 30
companies belonged to GEA GmbH. In that year, the corporate structure was again changed and
“GEA AG & Co.”,
INDUSTRIES which assumed(INDUSTRIES/)
& APPLICATIONS the management of the Group, was created
PRODUCTS as the new holding
(PRODUCTS/)
company.
b
SERVICE (SERVICE/) COMPANY (COMPANY/)

FAIRS & MEDIA (FAIRS-MEDIA/) PRESS (PRESS/)

pGOING
1989:
CONTACT PUBLIC
(CONTACT/)

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GEA presented itself to the public as a “global and broadly diversified supplier of machines,
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systems and components in the field of energy, environmental and process engineering” when the
company went public in December 1989. Thus, after 69 years as a family-owned business the GEA
Group was to become a company with widespread ownership.

1990S: FURTHER ACQUISITIONS IN EUROPE

The political upheaval in eastern Europe had made that area particularly interesting for western
German industry. GEA took the opportunity in 1992 to purchase “EGI Contracting/Engineering Rt.”
In Budapest, Hungary (dry cooling at power stations), and “LVZ a.s.” in Liberec, Czech Republic
(heating, ventilation and air conditioning and air filters). These acquisitions involved companies in
the fields of thermal and energy and air treatment and refrigeration engineering, i.e. traditional GEA
fields.

1997: REORGANISATION OF THE GROUP

After the dynamic growth in the early 1990 years and because of the world wide recession,  the
years after 1995 showed a phase of integration and consolidation in order to “digest “ the new
activities. In 1997 GEA Group is structured in 9 Divisions.

1999: MG / GEA - THE TAKEOVER

In April 1999, GEA was acquired by mg technologies AG (the successor of Metallgesellschaft).

2004: FURTHER ACQUISITIONS

In 2004, the group acquired Goedhart, specialized in refrigeration technologies, and WTT, active in
the plate heat exchanger business.
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2005: RENAMING AND ACQUISITION OF FLATPLATE AND 2H
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KUNSTSTOFF
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The group was renamed to GEA Group AG in 2005. In the same year, GEA acquired the plate heat
exchanger company FlatPlate in the US, and 2H Kunststoff, a specialist for cooling tower fills as well
as for water and waste-water treatment.

2006-2008: FURTHER ACQUISITIONS

In 2006, GEA Group acquired ISISAN in Turkey, Denco as well as 2H Aqua in the UK. The lists
acquisitions of GEA continued with Aero Heat Exchangers (2007), Bloksma (2008), ViEx
(2008), Caldemon Iberica (2008), NEMA Air Fin (2008).

2010: REORGANIZATION OF THE GROUP

Reorganization of GEA's 9 Divisions into technologically distinct Segments. The largest segment is

the Heat Exchangers Segment (HX).

2011: ACQUISITION OF MASHIMPEKS

With the large acquisition of Mashimpeks, GEA expands its plate heat exchnager business to
Russia. 

2013: GEA ANNOUNCED TO SELL THE HX SEGMENT

In June 2014, the board of GEA Group announced their decision to sell the Heat Exchangers
Segment (HX). In October, GEA Group concludes the agreement on the sale of the Heat
Exchangers Segment to Triton.

2015: KELVION - A BRAND CHANGE IN HEAT EXCHANGE

In August 2015, the former GEA Heat Exchangers Segment started to launch their new brand with a
transitional phase. In this phase, the segment initially focused on its core business, which has given
the customers&guidance
INDUSTRIES and confidence
APPLICATIONS over the decades – and
(INDUSTRIES/) on its employees,
PRODUCTS who develop
(PRODUCTS/)
the products, manufacture them with precision and distribute them globally. The target: Give them
SERVICE (SERVICE/) COMPANY (COMPANY/)
both neutral scope, to allow an impression of the new corporate personality to arise, independent
of brand name
FAIRS & and logo.
MEDIA Both groups were able to visually
(FAIRS-MEDIA/) PRESSdiscover
(PRESS/)the creative appearance of the
new personality.
CONTACT (CONTACT/)
In November 2015, with a new name, the former GEA Heat Exchangers Segment has been formally
split from GEA Group and is writing its own history as Kelvion.

EXPERTS IN HEAT EXCHANGE - SINCE

1920

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