In 1949, the Liebherr family business was established by Hans Liebherr. His first claim to fame was the success of his affordable and easy-to-assemble mobile tower crane. It was upon this creation that the company's foundation flourished under. Now, Liebherr has grown to become amongst the leading manufacturers in the world of construction machinery. The business has also gained the reputation of being the acknowledged supplier of user-oriented technically innovative services and products in different fields. The company has currently become a "Group" working in each and every continent with over 130 companies and more than 35,000 workers all around the world.
In order to ensure a manageable operating size, the Liebherr Group has been divided into different company units. These units have been designed to operate independently. This particular set up enables the company the ability to stay in tune with global competition and be flexible to market signals. As well, having so many individual company units additionally keeps customer service operating at an optimum level and ensures customer proximity.
The divisional control companies deal with the production for the individual product segments and the operative management of the sales companies. The Liebherr Group now has ten different product divisions.
Liebherr Group's holding company is Liebherr-International AG. Liebherr-International AG is situated within Bulle, Switzerland and is operating by the Liebherr family members. Now, the family business is being managed in the second generation by Dr. H.C. Isolde Liebherr and her brother Dr. H.C. Willi Liebherr. Since the year 2012, some of the active individual divisions have been represented by third generation members of the family including: Patricia Ruf, Stefanie Wohlfarth, Sophie Albrecht and Jan Liebherr. These family members have been working together to be able to help set up the course of the family business in the future. They are staying on top of residential buildings and large-scale industrial projects all over the world.
Hans Liebherr started to build his business during 1949, within a tiny town known as Kirchdorf within southern Germany. Kirchdorf, currently supports one of Liebherr's 20 manufacturing locations. They are able to average an annual output of roughly 2800 wheeled excavators and employ more than 1400 people in that particular workforce. The company has enjoyed immense growth and diversity since it first started. The Liebherr Group continues to remain devoted to engineering and implementing innovative designs. They have earned a successful and positive place in the material handling business.