Demag Cranes

Demag Cranes AG

Industry	Engineering and service
Founded	1910
Headquarters	Düsseldorf, Germany
Products	bridge cranes, hoists, material handling equipment, gantry cranes and port technology.
Number of employees	5,893 reported 5/4/11
Website	www.demagcranes-ag.de

Demag Cranes AG is a German heavy equipment manufacturer now controlled by US based Terex. The roots of Demag date back prior to its formation, but became Märkische Maschinenbau-Anstalt, Ludwig A.-G in 1906 as the biggest crane building company in Germany employing 250-300 people. The company was a manufacturer of industrial cranes that included types like, bridge cranes, hoist (device), overhead cranes, Gantry crane to name a few. In 1910 came the hour of the Deutsche Maschinenfabrik in Duisburg – known worldwide by its telegram abbreviation Demag (now Demag Cranes & Components GmbH). In 1973 The Mannesmann group assumed ownership of Demag. Since that time the company has continued to grow and change. Parts of the company under core business structuring moved from its ownership to focus the main concept of the company.

The Demag company was formed finally 1910 in Duisburg through the union of the Märkische Maschinenbau-Anstalt L. Stuckenholz AG, the Duisburg Mechanical Engineering AG, and the Benrath Machine Works GmbH.

The Märkische Maschinenbau-Anstalt L. Stuckenholz AG traces back to the machine factory Mechanische Werkstätten Harkort & Co., founded 1819 in Wetter an der Ruhr, already beginning the manufacturing of cranes in 1840.

In 1908, they designed what was then the world's largest floating crane, built for Harland & Wolff in Belfast, which would be used for the building of the passenger liners RMS Olympic and RMS Titanic.

Starting in 1925, Demag also manufactured excavators. They expanded to manufacture locomotives and railroad cars. During the Second World War, armoured fighting vehicles (in particular Bergepanther) were built in the Berlin Staaken plant.