CEO DIARIES
Double girder gantry crane 2x10t capacity, used at an underground constriction at Düsseldorf Kö.
business. But, of course, if you grow up in this business, it feels like both being an honour and an obligation to take over responsibility in the company and, furthermore, to support the industry as a whole on a voluntary basis. Although my job is mostly in administrative
tasks, from time to time I still find the chance to work on a crane with my own hands. And I think it is very important to do such basic tasks, as your own impression of the products cannot be replaced by any other means.
What makes your company stand out?
What defines us is the combination of over 100 years of tradition and consistent innovation in crane design. As a well-known market leader, we combine deep technical expertise with a strong commitment to quality, safety and reliability. Our customers value our tailor-made solutions, long- lasting products and personal service. We are proud to shape the future of crane technology while staying true to the values that have defined our company for generations. The history and development of the company itself is impressive. The predecessor
24 | July 2025 |
www.hoistmagazine.com
company Tillmanns began back in 1856 in Remscheid. In 1913, this company merged with a crane building company from Düsseldorf and was renamed Schenck & Liebe-Harkort AG. In 1922, they started the KULI brand for their electric lifting tackles. This was the beginning of the famous KULI wire rope hoists – the core product for our success.
My grandfather, Helmut Kempkes, started his business in 1947 in the city of Duisburg. At that time, Duisburg was a booming city with lots of opportunities to do business with the growing German heavy industry. As the beginning was with manual lifting equipment, in 1955 his company built its first complete crane. In 1957, he had the fortunate chance to buy the KULI factory in Remscheid and to fulfil his wish to build his own crane components. In the following years, he merged the two production sites in Remscheid and also moved his family. The integration of the KULI wire rope hoists in his own production has only been the starting point to build up a unique depth of production. This is a successful model that
we continue to develop today. Today we are building motors, gear boxes, steel structures, control panels and further components in- house. To this end, we have a well-equipped mechanical workshop with the ability to manufacture all the core-parts like gears by ourselves. All over the years we have been involved in leading developments. The company began exporting cranes to India as early as in the 1950s and, in 1962, we equipped the first crane with a remote control. This was the year also when the public radio Deutschlandfunk started in Germany.
Since the beginning, we have pursued the philosophy to build strong and robust hoists and cranes. So we are meanwhile manufacturing compact hoists with up to 63t capacity at four falls of rope or special hoists with up to 200t capacity. As far as we know, we hold the world record for designing and producing the strongest monorail hoist for a curved beam in the world with a capacity of 192t. Working since 2014 on a game-changing
system for reducing energy consumption, in 2018 we made the first installation in an
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