Klaas Alu-Kranbau GmbH

About us
Tradition and progress
In its early history, there was really nothing to suggest that the company Klaas should take a leading role internationally with its products. Although the family business from Ascheberg has only been producing aluminum crane superstructures for 20 years, it has become one of the most successful companies in this segment. One reason for this: Klaas was the first company ever to use the versatile aluminum for the construction of cranes and elevators. “Today we are trendsetters in aluminum crane construction”, says Ludger Klaas, owner of the Klaas Group, about the development of the company.

inventiveness
It all started quite differently. As early as 1933, Theodor Klaas, the father of today’s company owner Ludger Klaas, founded his company in Werne, Westphalia. As a contractor, he mainly built large buildings such as schools and churches – and thought at this time not to elevators or even cranes. However, he quickly got to know the everyday problems of construction. With these experiences and a lot of new ideas Klaas developed after the end of the Second World War, the first Klaas inclined lifts and produced them first successfully with small series. The entrepreneur moved his company headquarters from Werne to the 17 km distant Ascheberg in order to expand further. The entry of son Ludger into the company in 1969 brought an additional development boost. A milestone in the history of the company was the development of the first aluminum crane. Initially, the trained electrician and master locksmith Ludger Klaas was smiled at because of the airy flyweight made of aluminum, but in 1993, the machine-building company achieved a breakthrough internationally with the new invention.