140 years on the move – technology that sets standards
The experiences of yesterday are valuable. They make KSB successful today and strengthen the company for the challenges of tomorrow.
KSB – a company that combines tradition with innovation
Today KSB is one of the world’s leading suppliers of pumps, valves and related systems. Cutting-edge technology and the commitment of 15,000 employees ensure long-term success and satisfied customers.
It all started with an idea
In 1871 the mechanical engineer Johannes Klein was granted the patent for a “boiler feed apparatus”. Together with Friedrich Schanzlin and Jakob August Becker he established the Frankenthaler Maschinen- & Armatur-Fabrik Klein, Schanzlin & Becker [Machinery & Valves Factory], which employed a staff of twelve. By 1893 around 500 people were working in the Frankenthal plant; by 1913 it was 1,800.
Operating as a public limited company from 1887 onward, KSB grew steadily. Between 1924 and 1934 it acquired several other companies in Germany. These included the Armaturen- und Maschinenfabrik S. A. Hilpert [Valves and Machinery Factory] with sites in Nuremberg and Pegnitz.
Becoming an international group of companies
Jacob, the younger brother of company founder Johannes Klein, took over the management of the first foreign subsidiary in the United Kingdom in 1896. The establishment of KSB Compañía Sudamericana de Bombas in Argentina in 1941 marked the beginning of operations in the Americas. From 1953, KSB was represented on the Asian market for the first time with a subsidiary in Pakistan.
Otto Klein-Kühborth, the adopted son of Jacob Klein, transferred a qualified majority holding of KSB’s share capital to Klein Pumpen GmbH in 1964. The latter’s shares are in turn controlled by the KSB-Stiftung [KSB Foundation] which was set up in 1960. This ownership structure creates a stable footing for the successful long-term development of the company. Thanks to the work of Klein-Kühborth’s descendants not only at Klein Pumpen GmbH, but also in the Foundation and the Group as a whole, KSB has retained the character of a family-backed company to the present day.
In the 1980s KSB took over more companies and expanded its product portfolio. The leading French pump manufacturer Pompes Guinard S.A., Paris, was acquired in 1986 and three years later the second largest butterfly valve producer in the world, Amri S.A., Paris. The takeover of the US company GIW Industries Inc. in 1988 marked the Group’s entry into the market for slurry pumps.
In 1990 KSB integrated the Hallesche Pumpenwerke GmbH into the company; today it is a production centre for clean and waste water pumps.
Keeping an eye on tomorrow’s markets
Aiming to expand its commitment in key emerging markets such as China, India and Brazil, KSB established a number of new companies and joint ventures as from the mid-1990s.
Further enterprises in Europe such as DP Industries B.V. in the Netherlands and Bombas ITUR, S.A. in Spain joined the Group. In this way KSB boosted its product range and opened up new business prospects.
