The
Liebherr Group is a
German manufacturing complex established in 1949 by Hans Liebherr. The Liebherr Group's holding company is Liebherr-International AG in
Bulle,
Switzerland, which is entirely owned by members of the Liebherr family. Current-generation family ownership is held by
Willi and
Isolde Liebherr, who are listed among the
billionaires of 2005.
Beginning with the production of affordable
tower cranes, Liebherr has expanded to
aircraft parts and household appliances such as
refrigerators. The company is a major supplier of aircraft parts to
Airbus S.A.S. Liebherr also produces some of the largest mining and digging tools in the world, such as
loaders,
excavators and extreme-size
dump trucks.
Over the years, the family business has grown into what is today a group of companies, employing a workforce of approximately 25,000 in more than 100 companies in several countries.
In December 2004, one German site put Liebherr's dumpers in first and sixth place as the world's biggest, while their largest excavator got fifth position.
Liebherr currently produces one of the world's largest mining trucks, the
T 282 B. It also recently introduced the new nine-axle model LTM 11200-9.1 which received the prestigious award of Development of the Year (2007), for being the world's most powerful mobile crane, with a 100 metres (328 ft) telescopic boom.
Liebherr has locations in many countries, including Germany, Britain, Ireland, and the United States. The factory in
Killarney, Ireland manufactures container cranes, which are exported worldwide through the local port of
Fenit.
