The Liebherr family business was started in 1949 by Hans Liebherr. The business initially gained fame from its mobile tower crane which was noted for its ease of assembly and affordability. It was upon this invention that the foundation of the company flourished under. Today, The Liebherr business has grown to become one of the world's leading manufacturers of construction machines. The company has also gained the reputation of being the accredited supplier of technically innovative user-oriented services and products in different fields. The company has currently become a "Group" working in every continent with more than 35,000 employees and over 130 companies all over the globe.
The Liebherr Group has been divided into different company units in order to guarantee a manageable operating size. These individual units operate independently. This particular set up enables the business the ability to be flexible to market signals and stay in tune with worldwide competition. Moreover, having so many individual company units additionally keeps customer service operating at an optimum level and ensures customer proximity.
The divisional control companies handle the operative management of the sales companies and the production for the individual product segments. The Liebherr Group currently has ten various product divisions.
Liebherr-International AG is the Liebherr Group's holding company. They are situated in Bulle, Switzerland and are completely owned by the Liebherr family members. Now, the family business is being managed in the 2nd generation by Dr. H.C. Isolde Liebherr and her brother Dr. H.C. Willi Liebherr. Since 2012, several of the active individual divisions have been represented by 3rd generation members of the family including: Sophie Albrecht, Jan Liebherr, Patricia Ruf and Stefanie Wohlfarth. These members of the family have been working together in order to help set up the course of the family business in the future. They are staying on top of large-scale industrial projects and residential buildings across the world.
Hans Liebherr began this quest during 1949, with his first company in the tiny South-German town of Kirchdorf/Iller. These days, Kirchdorf is one of more than 20 major manufacturing sites of the Liebherr Group. They employ more than 1400 people in that specific workforce and are able to average an annual output of around 2800 wheeled excavators. The company has enjoyed diversity and immense growth since it first started. The Liebherr Group continues to remain very dedicated to engineering and implementing innovative designs. They have earned a positive and successful place within the material handling business.