Early Years: 1856 - 1945 KHD traces its roots back to the mid-19th Century and the foundation of predecessor company, Maschinenfabrik für den Bergbau von Sievers & Co., by Martin Neuerberg, Wimmer Breuer, and Hermann Sievers in the Cologne suburb of Kalk.[4] The company initially focused on the manufacture of perforated steel sheets for screens, jigs, and percussion tables used in the
mining industry. Under the leadership of Neuerberg, the product range expanded, and the company established a name for itself within the European
mineral processing industry.[5] In 1871, the company adopted the name Maschinenbau A.G. Humboldt, in honor of German scientist,
Alexander von Humboldt, before being liquidated and reformed as
Maschinenbau Anstalt Humboldt in 1884.[6] In the 1890s, the company moved into the manufacture
steam locomotives, delivering its first locomotive in 1898.[7] In the early 20th Century, another German industrialist,
Peter Klöckner, began to have an increasing influence on the company. Klöckner had been appointed to the supervisory board in 1903, becoming chairman shortly before the
World War I. Among his other business activities, Klöckner was also on the supervisory board of engine manufacturer, Gasmotorenfarbrik Deutz, which he merged with Maschinenbau Anstalt Humboldt in 1930 to form Humboldt-Deutzmotoren AG. In 1938, Klöckner-Humboldt-Deutz AG was created via a joint-interest agreement between Humboldt-Deutzmotoren AG and another of Klöckner’s companies, Klöckner-Werke AG. [8] The company has been known by these initials ever since.
1945 – 2000: continuity and change After
World War II, Klöckner-Werke AG and Klöckner-Humboldt-Deutz AG were required to sever connections, with the latter focusing on the processing of minerals and coal and on cement production.[9][10] The company would have a significant impact on the latter through the second half of the 20th Century, developing various technologies that would become standard in cement plants around the world. These would include: • The introduction of the
cyclone preheater in the 1950s.[11] • The introduction of precalciner technology using flash-type calciners in the 1960s. [12] The first precalciner was built at the Dotternhausen cement plant in 1965.[13] • The introduction of the roller press for cement grinding in the 1980s.[14] Other KHD inventions include the short kiln, the static v-shaped separator, the multi-channel jet burner, and the low-NOX calciner with staged combustion.[15] As the 20th Century drew to a close, however, the company was brought to crisis point after taking substantial losses on three cement projects in
Saudi Arabia. Consequent restructuring and a string of divestments would see the company focus on its cement and mineral processing businesses. The latter would be divested in 2009 as MBE Coal & Minerals Technology and MBE Cologne Engineering, leaving KHD to concentrate solely on cement.[16]
The 21st Century KHD survived the crisis of the late 20th Century. Into the new millennium, it continued its tradition of developing new technologies. Through the first two decades of the 21st Century, the company launched a range of technologies aimed at reducing the environmental impact of cement production, notably to cut
NOx emissions and to enable higher rates of
alternative fuel use at cement plants. This period also saw increasing moves by the cement industry to cut its
greenhouse gas emissions as part of global efforts to mitigate the impacts of climate change under the
Paris Agreement. In 2023, KHD launched its Cement beyond Carbon vision, acknowledging that the task to cut emissions had become the driving force within the cement industry and would continue to be so in coming decades.[17] KHD has incorporated digital technologies, including the
Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and
machine learning, to automate and optimize the cement production process. These developments are intended to assist in the reduction of carbon emissions and follow the company's previous automation history, which includes the XPERT systems introduced in the 1970s. == Corporate affairs ==