In 1949, the Liebherr family business was created by Hans Liebherr. His first claim to fame was the success of his inexpensive and easy-to-assemble mobile tower crane. It was upon this invention that the company's foundation flourished under. Now, Liebherr has grown to become among the leading manufacturers in the field of construction equipment. The business has also gained the reputation of being the accredited provider of user-oriented technically innovative products and services in a range of fields. The company has now become a "Group" working in each and every continent with over 35,000 employees and over 130 companies all over the globe.
To be able to guarantee a manageable operating size, the Liebherr Group has been divided into different company units. These units have been designed to operate independently. This set up allows the company the ability to be flexible to market signals and stay in tune with global competition. In addition, having so many individual company units additionally ensures customer proximity and keeps customer service operating at an optimum level.
The divisional control companies deal with the production for the individual product segments and the operative management of the sales companies. The Liebherr Group currently encompasses 10 different product divisions.
The holding company of the Liebherr Group is Liebherr-International AG. Liebherr-International AG is situated within Bulle, Switzerland and is operating by members of the Liebherr family. Currently, the family business is being managed by Dr. H.C. Isolde Liebherr and her brother Dr. H.C. Willi Liebherr in the second generation. Since the year 2012, several of the active individual divisions have been represented by 3rd generation members of the family including: Patricia Ruf, Stefanie Wohlfarth, Sophie Albrecht and Jan Liebherr. These family members have been working together to help set up the family business' course in the future. They are staying on top of residential buildings and large-scale industrial projects across the world.
Hans Liebherr started this quest in 1949, with his first business within the tiny South-German town of Kirchdorf/Iller. These days, Kirchdorf is one of over 20 major manufacturing sites of the Liebherr Group. They can average an annual output of approximately 2800 wheeled excavators and employ over 1400 people in that particular workforce. The company has enjoyed diversity and immense growth ever since it initially opened its doors. The Liebherr Group continues to remain devoted to engineering and implementing innovative designs. They have earned a positive and successful place within the material handling industry.