H. Cegielski – Poznań

The company was founded by Hipolit Cegielski in 1846 in Poznań. It grew from a small workshop in the Hotel Bazar to a large factory, first fixing and later building agricultural mechanical tools and vehicles, steam tractors, steam locomotives and railroad cars, trams and military equipment. In 1869 the company was already producing its own steam engines and had over 300 workers.

In 1880 Hipolit's son, Stefan Cegielski, renamed the company to "Factory of Agricultural Machines and Equipment H. Cegielski in Poznań" (Fabryka Machin i Urządzeń Rolniczych H. Cegielski w Poznaniu). In 1889 it was transformed from a family business into a privately held company and the name changed to "H. Cegielski Stock Company in Poznań" (H. Cegielski Towarzystwo Akcyjne w Poznaniu). The company was constantly growing, employing 490 people in 1917, 990 in 1920 and over 5000 in 1923, although the Great Depression forced it to downsize and slow production. In the late 1930s the company also branched into producing military equipment (artillery guns and anti-aircraft search lights).

During the Second World War the company was confiscated and turned over to Deutsche Waffen und Munitionsfabriken and Cegielski's factories were used to produce various equipment for the German war machine.

After World War II

In 1953, the government of the People's Republic of Poland renamed the company to the "Joseph Stalin Metal Works in Poznań" (Zakłady Metalowe im. Józefa Stalina w Poznaniu, ZISPO). In 1956, a strike action which began at Cegielski's factory and several other major factories in Poznań led to the first of massive protests against the communist government, known as the Poznań 1956 protests. After the protests and the resulting political thaw, the company regained its original name.

In the 1950s the company also stopped producing steam engines, instead acquiring Western licences for marine engines, e.g. for Sulzer diesel engines as used in the MS Mikhail Lermontov.

After the fall of communism, Cegielski became a joint stock company. Currently it has several international certificates (ISO 9001, ISO 14001). In 1994 it received a Golden Medal during the Poznań International Fair.