KRAFOTEC

What KRAFOTEC does

KRAFOTEC GmbH Lutherstadt Wittenberg is a German manufacturer of custom industrial crane systems headquartered in Lutherstadt Wittenberg with a 5,000m² production facility. The company has manufactured cranes at this site since 1883 and has been a member of the TeichmannGruppe since 2018. Its core product portfolio covers bridge cranes, portal/gantry cranes, automated cranes, container cranes, slewing cranes, and special cranes, supported by in-house steel construction, crane components (trolleys, winches, hook blocks, rail clamps, traveling units), and load handling equipment (spreader beams, container spreaders, grabs and tongs). Underlying technology combines custom mechanical engineering with frequency-converter control and SPS Simatic S7 programmable logic controllers, magnetic telescopic spreader systems, and camera-based automatic control integrated with warehouse management systems.

The company serves enterprise industrial customers primarily in steel production, energy from waste, construction and prefabrication, power generation, and ports/logistics. Visible enterprise customers include Salzgitter Mannesmann Grobblech, Salzgitter Flachstahl, EEW Energy from Waste (nine cranes delivered), Swiss Steel Group, ThyssenKrupp, Alleima Tube, EVN AG, OTTO QUAST Bau, and Hans Lamers Bau. Distribution is direct enterprise field sales with multi-year project contracts, custom-engineered per order with no catalog pricing. The company also runs a substantial after-sales business: crane modernization and retrofitting, UVV safety inspections, 24-hour service, crane runway surveying, expert assessments, and manufacturer-independent spare parts supply. Geographic reach spans Germany with European exports into the Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland, and Sweden, and an EU-funded inland-waterway crane R&D initiative (FlaSchuKra) targeting new transport applications.

Revenue is generated through one-time hardware sales of new custom crane systems, modernization and retrofitting projects, recurring professional services (safety inspections, maintenance, 24h service), and spare parts. The model is project-based with long sales cycles anchored by technical consultation, custom engineering, and on-site commissioning. As a wholly-owned member of the TeichmannGruppe consortium, KRAFOTEC shares group-level resources, service network, and purchasing power across the group's 13+ locations, while operating as the Wittenberg-based crane manufacturing arm.

Name

KRAFOTEC

Legal name

KRAFOTEC GmbH

Website

https://krafotec.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1883

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

KRAFOTEC GmbH is a German custom industrial crane manufacturer (bridge, gantry, automated, container, special cranes) based in Lutherstadt Wittenberg since 1883, serving enterprise steel, energy-from-waste, construction, power, and logistics customers across Europe as a member of the TeichmannGruppe.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industrial Crane Manufacturing

NAICS

Overhead Traveling Crane, Hoist, and Monorail System Manufacturing (333923)

SIC

Construction, Mining & Materials Handling Machinery & Equip (3530)

akta.pro primary industry

Cranes, Hoists & Overhead Material Handling (Industrial) (IMAHABAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Crane & Hoist Components (Wire Rope, Chain, Drums, Sheaves, Motors, Controls) (IMAHAJAK), Crane & Hoist Installation, Inspection & Maintenance Services (IMAHAJAM)

Keywords

• Industrial crane manufacturing
• Overhead bridge cranes
• Gantry and portal cranes
• Crane modernization services
• Crane spare parts

Headquarters

HQ city

Wittenberg

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. New Crane Sales: Design, manufacture, and sale of custom industrial crane systems including bridge cranes, portal cranes, container cranes, and special cranes. Products are engineered to customer specifications for specific industrial applications.
2. Crane Modernization & Retrofitting: Upgrade and modernization of existing crane systems including capacity increases, performance upgrades, and general overhauls. Conversion of manual to automatic operation.
3. Service & Maintenance: 24-hour service, UVV inspections (safety inspections), maintenance, and crane track measurement services. Ongoing service contracts with industrial customers.
4. Spare Parts: Supply of spare parts for cranes, compatible with all manufacturers and types. Herstellerunabhängig (manufacturer-independent) spare parts supply.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

KRAFOTEC designs, engineers, and manufactures custom industrial crane systems (bridge, portal/gantry, automated, container, special, and slewing cranes), steel construction, and load handling equipment for industrial customers. The company also delivers crane modernization, UVV safety inspections, 24-hour service, expert assessments, crane runway surveys, and manufacturer-independent spare parts supply across Europe.

Product overview

KRAFOTEC GmbH Kranbau Lutherstadt Wittenberg is a specialized crane manufacturing company and part of the TeichmannGruppe. The product portfolio centers on industrial crane systems including bridge cranes (Brückenkrane), portal/gantry cranes (Portalkrane), automated cranes (Automatikkrane), container cranes (Containerkrane), special cranes (Sonderkrane), and slewing cranes (Schwenkkrane). Supporting the core crane products are steel construction services (Stahlbau), crane components (Laufkatzen, Windwerke, Unterflaschen, Schienenzangen, Fahrwerke), and load handling equipment (Traversen, Spreader, Greifer & Zangen). The company also offers comprehensive after-sales services including modernization and conversion, UVV safety inspections, 24-hour service, expert assessments, crane runway surveys, and spare parts supply. The company operates from Lutherstadt Wittenberg with over 140 years of crane manufacturing tradition since 1883.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Bridge Cranes (Brückenkrane)

Quantifiable outcome

• 98.5% availability achieved for 3-shift steel mill operations
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• TeichmannGruppecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018KRAFOTEC GmbH has been a member of the TeichmannGruppe since 2018. The group is a consortium of independent crane manufacturing and service companies with 13 locations. KRAFOTEC serves as the Wittenberg-based manufacturing facility within the group, contributing specialized crane manufacturing capabilities and benefiting from shared resources, service network, and group purchasing power.
• Research Partners (FlaSchuKra)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFlaSchuKra project for innovative crane technology in inland waterway shipping involves research partners developing water-ballast-free stabilization technology for on-board crane systems. KRAFOTEC provides the crane manufacturing expertise.
• Brunnhuber Krane GmbHcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRelated company within TeichmannGruppe. Brunnhuber Krane has 140+ employees at 7 locations and specializes in industrial crane systems. Collaborative projects between KRAFOTEC and Brunnhuber include joint crane deliveries to customers like Salzgitter AG.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• Mammoet: Dutch-based heavy lifting and transport specialist offering engineered heavy lifting solutions, including gantry and crane systems for industrial and energy projects. Comparable in serving steel, power, and infrastructure customers with custom heavy-lift solutions.
• Sarens: Belgian global heavy lifting and crane rental/services company providing engineered transport and lifting solutions to energy, steel, and infrastructure clients. Comparable customer verticals and project-based engineering approach, though primarily rental/services rather than manufacturing.

Direct peers

• Brunnhuber Krane GmbH: Sister company within TeichmannGruppe specializing in industrial crane systems with 140+ employees at 7 locations. Highly comparable product portfolio and customer base; competes for and jointly delivers crane projects within the group.
• Demag (Terex Material Handling): Demag is a German-heritage crane brand now part of Terex, offering industrial cranes, hoists, and components. Direct overlap with KRAFOTEC in bridge/gantry cranes, hoists, and components for steel and industrial markets across DACH region.
• Stahl CraneSystems GmbH: German-based hoist and crane manufacturer (part of Columbus McKinnon) producing explosion-protected and standard hoists, bridge cranes, and crane components. Direct competitor in industrial crane components and systems for similar industrial verticals.
• Konecranes: Finland-based global leader in industrial cranes and lifting equipment, serving steel, manufacturing, ports, and energy customers with comparable bridge, gantry, and process cranes. Konecranes is the most direct scale competitor to KRAFOTEC across the same product categories and verticals.
• ABUS Kransysteme GmbH: German manufacturer of bridge cranes, gantry cranes, and hoists headquartered in Wetter, Germany. Closely comparable to KRAFOTEC in product portfolio, customization approach, and DACH-centric enterprise customer base.
• Manitowoc Company: US-based crane manufacturer focused on lattice-boom crawler and mobile cranes serving construction, infrastructure, and energy markets. Comparable as a specialty crane engineer with a similar customer base in heavy industrial end markets.

Broad incumbents

• Columbus McKinnon Corporation: US-based global hoist, crane, and material handling company. Overlaps with KRAFOTEC in industrial cranes, hoists, and components, with a broader geographic footprint and product portfolio including automation.
• Liebherr: Family-owned German/Swiss industrial group with a wide portfolio of cranes (mobile, crawler, harbor, and tower) plus construction and mining equipment. Operates in similar industrial verticals as KRAFOTEC but with substantially larger scale and product breadth.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC5v8Iyqjh-Bsu5TlMAKk5Vw?view_as=subscriber
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/krafotec-gmbh-kranbau-wittenberg

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about KRAFOTEC