The Japan Times WORLD EYE REPORTS Baden-Württemberg
©THE JAPAN TIMES	Thursday, December 27, 2001

Reaching for the skies

With nearly 40 percent of the global market share in the mobile crane business, Liebherr-Werk Ehingen is a well-known name in Germany and around the world. After more than 30 years of activity, this Baden-Württemberg based branch of the Liebherr group is still exceeding industry growth levels and continues to set the standard, where technology and innovation are concerned.

When Hans Liebherr returned from Russia after World War II, he found his country in ruins. Allied bombs had destroyed many of Germany's railways, roads and bridges and the reconstruction of the country's infrastructure was the top priority. Liebherr, who had worked on the Russian front as a bridge builder, realized that the sheer scale of the job called for a different approach and that new machines were urgently needed. He immediately set about designing a new power crane and in 1950, he traveled to the Frankfurt exhibition to display his new invention. Initially, the building trade showed no interest in his crane. Undeterred, Liebherr put it to the test on his own sites. When he returned to Frankfurt a year later, the redesigned crane was an unqualified success. But he didn't stop there. He went on to design a hydraulic excavator and build a household goods business that is still going strong today. As Friedrich Bär, managing director of Liebherr-Werk Ehingen explained, this knack for seizing opportunities has been fundamental in the shaping of the company's activities.

Until recently, Friedrich Bär's fascination with Japan led him to visit up to six times a year.

"Ours is a very diversified group and, although most of our turnover is generated in the construction machinery sector, we also offer comprehensive product lines in a number of other areas. In the freight-handling sector we manufacture shipping, container, and cargo board cranes. In the automotive industry and in handling and assembly systems our machine tools are used extensively. And we have some involvement in aerospace and transport technologies.

"We are also present in other totally unrelated fields like the household goods and tourist industries," Bär added. "The Liebherr Group is a truly international entity able to bring to life projects for an array of international customers ranging from individual production cells to full-blown industrial facilities."

Last year, with a turnover of over $670 million, Liebherr-Werk Ehingen, was the largest single contributor to the group's total earnings of around $3.7 billion. The Baden-Württemberg based branch is still growing and its Ehingen headquarters have found it necessary to expand.

Liebherr-Werk Ehingen is currently number one in the worldwide mobile crane sector both in terms of sales and technology and this gives it a commanding position in markets worldwide.

North America is a particularly fruitful marketplace but, as Bär remarked, Japan has been pivotal in the success of Liebherr's mobile crane business. "We have been present in Japan since the 1960s, when we sold ship cranes to Japanese shipyards. This allowed us to establish a strong position on the Japanese market and later we were able to extend our activities to produce these products in Japan in partnership with NKK.

"Only in the 1970s did we begin to introduce mobile cranes in Japan," he continued, "In the beginning this was a very difficult market; domestic competitors like Tadano and Kato were very strong. But, even at that time, we were producing all-terrain cranes that were able to travel loaded on uneven ground and we were the only ones with this kind of product in the Japanese market. Furthermore, these were very compact machines made from materials that were not available in Japan in the 1970's. Combined in one package, these factors made our products irresistible."

As a direct result of the financial crisis in Asia, the Japanese market remains at a standstill. And, while Liebherr maintains its presence in Japan, the company is expecting a turnaround.

"We have excellent customers in Japan who are delighted with our products" said Bär, "and the Liebherr name has a good reputation there, so we will stay."

Revenue is not the company's only consideration. As a self-confessed lover of Japan, Bär is anxious for the market to pick up for an altogether different reason. "I used to visit Japan as many as six times a year and I love the country," he said. "Our Japanese employees are truly wonderful people, as well as being excellent engineers, so I'm really looking forward to a positive change in the situation for their sake."

The outlook for this group is excellent. For the mobile crane business in particular, it would seem that the sky is truly the only limit.

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