During the year 1949, the Liebherr family business was established 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. Today, Liebherr has grown to become one of the leading manufacturers in the field of construction machinery. The business has also earned the reputation of being the acknowledged provider of user-oriented technically innovative products and services in a variety of fields. The business has currently become a "Group" working in every continent with over 35,000 employees and more than 130 companies all over the globe.
To be able to ensure a manageable operating size, the Liebherr Group has been divided into different company units. These units have been designed to operate separately. This set up allows the business the ability to be flexible to market signals and stay in tune with worldwide competition. In addition, having so many individual company units also keeps customer service running 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 presently has 10 different product divisions.
The holding company of the Liebherr Group is Liebherr-International AG. Liebherr-International AG is located in Bulle, Switzerland and is operating by members of the Liebherr family. Currently, the family business is being managed by Dr. H.C. Willi Liebherr and his sister Dr. H.C. Isolde Liebherr in the 2nd generation. Since 2012, several of the active individual divisions have been represented by 3rd generation family members including: Stefanie Wohlfarth, Patricia Ruf, Jan Liebherr and Sophie Albrecht. These family members have been working hard 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 began to build his business in the year 1949, within a small town called Kirchdorf within southern Germany. Kirchdorf, presently supports one of Liebherr's 20 manufacturing locations. They can average an annual output of around 2800 wheeled excavators and employ over 1400 individuals in that particular workforce. The company has enjoyed diversity and immense growth since it initially started. The Liebherr Group continues to remain very committed to implementing and making innovative designs. They have earned a successful and positive place within the material handling business.