Kramer-Werke GmbH is a manufacturer of compact

construction machines Heavy equipment, heavy machinery, earthmovers, construction vehicles, or construction equipment, refers to heavy-duty vehicles specially designed to execute construction tasks, most frequently involving earthwork operations or other large con ...

, such as

wheel loaders A loader is a heavy equipment machine used in construction to move or load materials such as soil, rock, sand, demolition debris, etc. into or onto another type of machinery (such as a dump truck, conveyor belt, feed-hopper, or railroad car). ...

, tele wheel loaders and

telehandler A telescopic handler, also called a telehandler, teleporter, reach forklift, or zoom boom, is a machine widely used in agriculture and industry. It is somewhat like a forklift but has a boom (telescopic cylinder), making it more a crane than ...

s located in

Pfullendorf Pfullendorf is a small town of about 13,000 inhabitants located north of Lake Constance in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It was a Free Imperial City of the Holy Roman Empire for nearly 600 years. The town is in the district of Sigmaringen south o ...

(

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg ( ; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a states of Germany, German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million i ...

), Germany. It was formerly one of the pioneers in tractor manufacturing. It is part of the

Wacker Neuson Wacker Neuson SE (formerly: Wacker Construction Equipment AG) is a German manufacturer of construction equipment and compact machines for concrete and construction site technology. Headquartered in Munich, Bavaria, Germany, the company is list ...

group.

History

Founding until end of its tractor production (1925-1973)

In 1925 the brothers Kramer started to develop and produce mowing machines and Tractors in Gutmadingen, Germany. These were the first ones built in Germany and a revolution in agricultural work. The company headquarters was moved to Überlingen (Bodensee) in 1952. Between 1957 and 1958, a special department for industrial and construction machines was set up. It caused a sensation, when Kramer introduced in 1968 the first German wheel loader with four-wheel drive and same-sized tires. Many other four-wheel steered machines followed this example. In 1973 an important change of direction occurred, when the company decided to close down the "tractor" manufacturing division of the business and focused on

. At this time the global tractor manufacturing business was changing with local companies suffering reduced market share as the major players consolidated and average tractor

horse power Horsepower (hp) is a unit of measurement of power, or the rate at which work is done, usually in reference to the output of engines or motors. There are many different standards and types of horsepower. Two common definitions used today are th ...

increased. Many of the post war European tractor manufactures failed.

Concentration on construction equipment (1974-2000)

In 1987 the company's focus was adjusted to the four-wheel steering based models. At the same time the Kramer 312 SL became the first wheel loader with four-wheel steering to be

mass-produced Mass production, also known as mass production, series production, series manufacture, or continuous production, is the production of substantial amounts of standardized products in a constant flow, including and especially on assembly lines. ...

2000 onwards

In 2000 the merger between Kramer-Werke GmbH and Neuson Baumaschinen GmbH took place. The company was renamed to Neuson Kramer Baumaschinen GmbH, situated in

Linz Linz (Pronunciation: , ; ) is the capital of Upper Austria and List of cities and towns in Austria, third-largest city in Austria. Located on the river Danube, the city is in the far north of Austria, south of the border with the Czech Repub ...

Since 2005 Kramer produces telehandlers for the agricultural machinery manufacturer

Claas } CLAAS is an agricultural machinery manufacturer based in Harsewinkel, Germany, in the federal state of North Rhine Westphalia. Founded in 1913 by August Claas, CLAAS is a family business and one of the market and technology leaders in ha ...

. As part of this cooperation, Claas acquired a minority interest in Kramer. In March 2007 the merger between the Wacker Construction Equipment AG,

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

and the Neuson Kramer Baumaschinen AG was announced. The Wacker Neuson SE was created following this merger On April 5, 2007, construction began on a 30 million Euro facility in

. The new production site has an area of about 16 hectare and the facility itself offers 160.000 square meters of factory space. The annual production capacity increased from 1000 to 6000 machines.Siegfried Volk: ''Startschuss für die Fabrik der Zukunft''. Website of the Newspaper '

Südkurier The ''Südkurier'' is a regional daily newspaper in Germany serving the regions northwest of Lake Constance, Hochrhein and Black Forest with its headquarters in Konstanz. The paper appears with a circulation of around 130,000, six times per we ...

'. 7. April 2007 File:Kraemer K18 Traktor Beschnitt.jpg, Kramer K18 from 1937 File:Kramer_Allrad_R02.jpg, Kramer Allrad File:Kramer 450 Export.jpg, Kramer 450 Export File:Kramer 312L frontleft.jpg, Kramer 312 SL

Locations

* Pfullendorf, Germany (production, administration, research & development)

Products

Wheel loader A loader is a heavy equipment machine used in construction to move or load materials such as soil, rock, sand, demolition debris, etc. into or onto another type of machinery (such as a dump truck, conveyor belt, feed-hopper, or railroad car). ...

s *Tele wheel loaders *

Telehandler A telescopic handler, also called a telehandler, teleporter, reach forklift, or zoom boom, is a machine widely used in agriculture and industry. It is somewhat like a forklift but has a boom (telescopic cylinder), making it more a crane than ...

Literature

* Walter Sack: ''Kramer Traktoren''. Podszun Verlag. März 2006. * Agrarvideo: "Kramer. Der Allesschaffer vom Bodensee", Firmen- und Trakorengeschichte auf DVD, http://www.agrarvideo.de/kramer-die-allesschaffer-vom-bodensee.html

References

External links

* *
Homepage of Kramer-Werke GmbH
{{Authority control Construction equipment manufacturers of Germany German brands Manufacturing companies established in 1925 German companies established in 1925