Makers in demand: dare to take action!
75 years of Liebherr celebrates a history of technological and innovative prowess. This brings together the history of some notable individuals, their pioneering spirit and their creative energy as a whole. Four employees from the present day and recent history discuss how the unique Liebherr spirit keeps reshaping the future – yesterday, today and tomorrow.
f.l.t.r.: Stephen Albrecht, member of the Liebherr-International AG board of directors, Josef Gropper, former managing director Liebherr-Aerospace Lindenberg GmbH, Steffen Günther, member of the Liebherr-International AG board of directors, Wolfgang Remlinger, former managing director Liebherr-EMtec GmbH
For this pair, it feels a bit like coming home. When Josef Gropper and Wolfgang Remlinger walk into the foyer of the Liebherr-International AG company headquarters in the Swiss village of Nussbaumen, they are immediately greeted by distinctive elements of their own life works: to the right, the monumental main landing gear of an E-Jet E1; rising up next to it is the bright yellow 112 EC-H model crane with its boom extending right across the large open space.
Josef Gropper was managing director of production for Liebherr-Aerospace Lindenberg GmbH up until 2019, while Wolfgang Remlinger was commercial director for Liebherr-EMtec GmbH until his retirement in 2022. Their arrival here in Nussbaumen is eagerly anticipated. They are welcomed by two current members of the Liebherr Group executive board, Steffen Günther, who heads up the finance department, and Stephen Albrecht, who is responsible for all things technology and digitalisation. It is a meeting of minds between recent history and present day.
f.l.t.r.: Josef Gropper and Stephen Albrecht
Do you remember ...?
It doesn’t take long for conversation to start flowing. ‘Do you remember when we first met?’, Josef Gropper asks Stephen Albrecht, who replied without any hesitation. ‘It was 20 years ago in Lindenberg.’ Josef Gropper added, ‘Willi Liebherr had said to me, “There’s a young man here who wants to get to know the company. Could you show him around a bit?” And the rest, as they say, is history!’ The ‘young man’ in question can’t help but smile at the memory.
Stephen Albrecht studied mechanical engineering in Australia and completed an internship with Liebherr in Germany in 2003. All he set out to do was to get some work experience with a well-known machine manufacturer and to whip his German language skills into shape. ‘More than 20 years later and I’m still here,’ he says with a smile.
Continuity and thinking for the long term are two deeply ingrained aspects of the Liebherr DNA. They are also two aspects that shaped Josef Gropper’s career. ‘After I finished school, I thought to myself, ‘first, I need to learn something smart: toolmaker”.’ So, he completed his studies in production engineering. ‘After that, I spent 43 years at Liebherr, stationed in three different places: in Biberach, I was head of department for drive technology for many years, before moving to Nenzing to take up a managing director post in 1995, and then, last but not least, I came to Lindenberg.’ This career progression wouldn’t have been possible without the knowledge that short-term success alone is not enough. ‘At Liebherr, there is a fundamental self-belief in its own ability to develop, in terms of both production and service. And there is a sense of perseverance to guide products and services to success. It makes all the difference. We have the great fortune to do all this alongside people who are deeply rooted in the company.’
Building on tradition and creating the new
For Stephen Albrecht, in these particularly challenging times of great transformation, Liebherr’s many experienced employees are a major asset to the company: ‘We need both people with experience and new people with fresh perspectives in order to keep delivering the best possible quality in our products and our services, while also being able to embrace and tackle the latest hot topics, such as digitalisation and decarbonisation.’ He explained this further with the example of the hydrogen combustion engine, being developed as a drive of the future. ‘Having amassed perfect knowledge of diesel engines over the decades, we now have the opportunity to launch a high-performance form of drive based on green hydrogen. It is this willingness to embrace new technology that enables us to align construction site requirements with upcoming climate targets.’
Wolfgang Remlinger, former managing director Liebherr-EMtec GmbH
For Wolfgang Remlinger, the courage to innovate and the close proximity to customers and the markets were – and still are – the most notable values in Liebherr’s ethos. When the business graduate first joined this family-run company in 1987, he could never have dreamt that he would tread this path all the way to his retirement in 2022. As a passionate motorcyclist, one particular thing gave him a real inner drive: ‘At Liebherr, you always had more freedom than elsewhere. Doers with a ‘hands-on’ mentality can achieve so much. Of course, that especially appeals to young people who want to make change happen.’ Across all divisions, he explains, and throughout its history, the company has fully understood the importance of tailoring different products and product groups for different markets.
From a supplier market to a demand market
‘The foundation for long-lasting success lies in the concept of diversifying and decentralising product lines, while simultaneously centralising technology. In this way, we were able to develop and integrate electronics and components across products. This creates synergies and cost efficiency, while also speeding up the rate of development and increasing service quality,’ explains Wolfgang Remlinger. ‘Throughout all this, we have always oriented our products to the customers and their requirements, not the other way round. There was a shift in the paradigm from supplier market to a demand market. These days, you’d call it “customer centricity”.’
Steffen Günther, member of the Liebherr-International AG board of directors
Steffen Günther and Wolfgang Remlinger recall the first time they met some 20 or more years ago in Nenzing (Austria). At the time, Remlinger was on the board of directors at Liebherr-Werk Nenzing GmbH, and Günther worked in the auditing department of Liebherr-International Deutschland GmbH in Biberach (Germany). ‘You came along and presented a fantastic annual report. I was full of praise for you,’ recalls Günther. This raises a smile from Wolfgang Remlinger.
When Steffen Günther, now CFO, looks back at how the company has evolved and grown in the years since that first meeting, he is struck by how important diversification at a product level and the ongoing internationalisation have been to the company’s success. Add to this, the philosophy of reinvesting profits back into the Group. This creates growth that is healthy, sustainable and organic. All of which gives the whole Group a high level of flexibility and agility, not to mention extraordinary resilience. ‘Diversification means stability,’ emphasises Günther.
With feet firmly on the ground and faith in a bright future
The former directors, Josef Gropper and Wolfgang Remlinger, attribute this healthy and organic growth to the innate and intrinsic strength of the company being family-run. ‘After 75 years in business, Liebherr is now in its second and third generation, who still embody that same faith in the future first kindled by Hans Liebherr and have thereby integrated themselves as team players. This down-to-earth nature of the family and the success of the company are proof that this approach is effective,’ says Wolfgang Remlinger. Josef Gropper can testify to this: ‘What the company has achieved is nothing short of sensational. And what is particularly important for me, personally, is that it is the people that make it all possible. Liebherr can be hugely proud of them.’
For Steffen Günther, another key factor in the company’s success is the trusty commercial guidelines of the family-run company. ‘These should enable future Liebherr generations to continue the company’s commercial success,’ he stresses. He explains that the stable equity ratio and the greatest possible financial independence allow the company to think and plan in the long term as a global player. ‘That is an extremely strong foundation on which to build fantastic, custom-fit solutions for our customers. It comes with the clear message: “You can count on Liebherr”.’
f.l.t.r.: Wolfgang Remlinger, Steffen Günther, Josef Gropper and Stephen Albrecht
Always putting your best foot forward
How does Liebherr connect its past and future in this way? Our four guests in Nussbaumen are in total agreement, being a leader in innovation and technology is just as important to commercial success as the people, who devote their knowledge and their passion day in, day out. Former managing director of Aerospace Josef Gropper puts it neatly, when he says ‘the principle back then was the same as it is today: the best people for the best products in the best quality. The focus is and always will be on what’s ahead. Especially in times of great transformation.’
For Stephen Albrecht, this future-oriented perspective gives rise to a corporate strategy that is characterised by a technology-neutral approach: ‘These days, change is inevitable. Right now, nobody knows exactly where technology will go next. That’s why we, as a company, must keep up with all the latest issues affecting all divisions and do our utmost to find innovations.’ For Steffen Günther, one thing is for certain: ‘The future won’t be without its challenges. But I have every confidence that we – together with our employees, our expertise and our corporate culture – are in the best possible position to continue the company’s long-term success well into the future.’ On that note, Josef Gropper has a tip for current and future employees, that has always proven invaluable at Liebherr: ‘Have faith in yourself! Be a doer! Be a creator! Liebherr is always looking for doers – it is as true today and tomorrow as it was then.’
