Liebherr

Company History

Liebherr was founded in 1949 by Hans Liebherr in Kirchdorf an der Iller in Swabia. With the development of the first mobile tower crane, he laid the foundation for one of Europe's largest family businesses. Today the company is run by the second generation of the Liebherr family and employs over 54,000 employees worldwide at more than 140 locations.

Product Divisions Overview

Earthmoving

Hydraulic excavators (crawler excavators from 20 to 800 tonnes, mobile excavators), wheel loaders, dozers, telescopic handlers and dump trucks. Liebherr Generation 8 excavators set standards for fuel efficiency and operator comfort. In particular, large excavators in the R 9000 to R 9800 class dominate the mining segment.

Cranes

Liebherr is the world's largest manufacturer of mobile cranes and tower cranes. The product range includes mobile cranes with load capacities from 35 to 1,200 tonnes (LTM series), crawler cranes up to 3,000 tonnes (LR series) as well as top-slewing and bottom-slewing tower cranes. The LTM 11200-9.1 is the world's most powerful mobile crane.

Concrete Technology

Truck mixers, concrete pumps and concrete technology components. The truck mixer division was modernized in 2024 with new lightweight drums.

Maritime Cranes & Port Technology

Port mobile cranes (LHM series), ship cranes, offshore cranes and container handling cranes. Liebherr Maritime, headquartered in Rostock, is one of the world's leading providers of port handling equipment.

Mining

Hydraulic excavators in the 100 to 800 tonne class, dump trucks (T 264, T 284) and drilling rigs. The mining division is growing strongly due to global demand for raw materials for the energy transition.

Other Divisions

Specialized deep foundation equipment, aerospace components (landing gear, flight controls for Airbus and Boeing), gear technology, automation and household appliances. This diversification makes Liebherr unique in the industry.

Financial Metrics

As a family business, Liebherr publishes an annual business report, but does not disclose detailed profit margins.

Revenue has grown by more than 40% over the past five years. Liebherr invests over 800 million euros annually in research and development — one of the highest R&D ratios in the industry.

Trend Topics & Future Strategy

Electrification & Battery Technology

Liebherr is developing battery-electric drives for several machine classes. The LB 16 unplugged is a drilling rig with battery-hybrid drive for specialized deep foundation work. In the mining sector, the largest order in the company's history was signed in September 2024: 475 zero-emission machines for Australian mining company Fortescue, including 360 autonomous battery-electric dump trucks of the T 264 type.

Hydrogen

Liebherr is researching hydrogen combustion engines as an alternative to batteries for heavy machinery. The in-house engine development in Bulle (Switzerland) and Colmar (France) is working on H2 concepts for mining trucks and large hydraulic excavators.

Autonomous Driving & Machine Control

In mining, Liebherr offers an Autonomous Haulage System (AHS) platform for driverless dump trucks. The T 264 can operate fully autonomously in open-pit mines. In the earthmoving sector, Liebherr relies on semi-autonomous features such as automatic grading functions and GPS-guided machine control (LIPOS).

Digitalization

The telematics platform LiDAT enables real-time monitoring of machine fleets. Through MyLiebherr, customers have access to documentation, spare parts orders and service requests. Predictive maintenance is being gradually integrated into control systems.

Market Position

Liebherr ranks among the top 5 construction machinery manufacturers worldwide. In Europe, the company holds a market share of over 50% in mobile cranes. In tower cranes, Liebherr is the global market leader. The degree of vertical integration — from hydraulic components to diesel engines to electronics — is unusually high and gives Liebherr a cost advantage over competitors who outsource components.