KHD Humboldt Wedag
German engineering and industrial equipment company serving the global cement industry with plant technology, machinery, automation, and lifecycle services.
Last updated August 22, 2026
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Overview
KHD Humboldt Wedag is a German industrial engineering brand focused primarily on cement-production technology. Based in Cologne, the company supplies machinery, process systems, automation solutions, spare parts, technical support, and project-management services to cement producers around the world. Its business covers the design and supply of individual machines as well as integrated production lines and modernization projects. The company traces its origins to a machinery manufacturer established in 1856 in Kalk, then an industrial suburb of Cologne. Its early activities centered on perforated steel sheets and equipment for mining and mineral processing. During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the business broadened into heavy machinery and locomotive production and became associated with the Humboldt name. Corporate combinations involving Maschinenbau Anstalt Humboldt, Gasmotorenfabrik Deutz, and companies connected with industrialist Peter Klöckner eventually led to the formation of Klöckner-Humboldt-Deutz AG in 1938, from which the KHD initials derive. After the Second World War, the company concentrated increasingly on mineral processing, coal handling, and cement production. Its cement activities became the most strategically important part of the business. KHD participated in the development and commercialization of technologies that became influential in modern cement plants, including cyclone preheaters, flash-type precalciners, roller presses for cement grinding, short kilns, static separators, multi-channel burners, and staged-combustion systems intended to reduce nitrogen-oxide emissions. The company experienced a severe crisis near the end of the twentieth century after losses on three cement projects in Saudi Arabia. Restructuring and divestments followed, including the disposal of its coal and minerals operations in 2009. The resulting business became more narrowly centered on cement technology, allowing KHD to focus its engineering resources on pyroprocessing, grinding, separation, plant automation, emissions control, alternative fuels, and services for existing facilities. KHD operates through a central holding structure, KHD Humboldt Wedag International AG, which is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. Its regional organization includes operations serving the Americas, India and sub-Saharan Africa, the CIS and Central Asia, China, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific region, supplemented by sales offices in markets including Türkiye, the United Arab Emirates, and Iran. The group employs more than 850 people worldwide according to the referenced company material. Research and testing remain important to the brand. The company’s Cologne Center of Excellence supports process engineering, plant layout, and machine design, while its Technical Center tests raw materials and equipment from laboratory scale through industrial-scale applications. KHD also applies industrial internet of things technologies, machine learning, and process automation to improve plant performance and energy efficiency. In the twenty-first century, environmental performance has become a central part of KHD’s positioning. The company has developed systems aimed at reducing nitrogen-oxide emissions, increasing the use of alternative fuels, lowering energy consumption, and supporting the cement sector’s response to greenhouse-gas constraints. In 2023, it introduced the “Cement beyond Carbon” vision, framing decarbonization as the long-term strategic challenge for cement manufacturing. KHD therefore presents itself not only as an equipment supplier but also as a process-engineering and modernization partner for cement producers seeking higher efficiency and lower environmental impact.
History
KHD Humboldt Wedag’s origins lie in the industrial expansion of nineteenth-century Cologne. In 1856, Martin Neuerberg, Wimmer Breuer, and Hermann Sievers established Maschinenfabrik für den Bergbau von Sievers & Co. in Kalk. The enterprise initially manufactured perforated steel sheets and machinery used in mining and mineral processing, including screens, jigs, and percussion tables. Under Neuerberg’s influence, it developed a broader engineering capability and built a reputation in European mineral-processing equipment. In 1871, the company adopted the name Maschinenbau A.G. Humboldt, invoking the scientific reputation of Alexander von Humboldt. It was later liquidated and reconstituted as Maschinenbau Anstalt Humboldt in 1884. During the 1890s, the business entered locomotive production and delivered its first locomotive in 1898. The company’s activities were therefore already diversified across mining machinery, heavy engineering, and transport equipment before the twentieth century began. Peter Klöckner became increasingly influential after joining the supervisory board in 1903 and later becoming its chairman. Through overlapping industrial interests, including his relationship with Gasmotorenfabrik Deutz, Maschinenbau Anstalt Humboldt was combined with Deutz in 1930 to form Humboldt-Deutzmotoren AG. In 1938, a joint-interest arrangement involving Humboldt-Deutzmotoren AG and Klöckner-Werke AG resulted in the creation of Klöckner-Humboldt-Deutz AG. The initials KHD remained associated with the enterprise thereafter. Following the Second World War, the corporate relationship between Klöckner-Werke and Klöckner-Humboldt-Deutz was severed. KHD subsequently concentrated on mineral and coal processing and cement production. Cement became the company’s defining field during the second half of the twentieth century. Its engineering work contributed to several important developments in cement manufacturing, including the adoption of cyclone preheaters during the 1950s and flash-type precalciner technology during the 1960s. The first KHD precalciner of this type was built at the Dotternhausen cement plant in 1965. The company later advanced grinding technology through the use of roller presses, which became an important method for reducing energy consumption and improving cement-grinding performance. Other technologies associated with KHD included short-kiln designs, static V-shaped separators, multi-channel jet burners, and low-NOx calciners using staged combustion. Its automation activities also extended back decades, with XPERT systems introduced during the 1970s to support cement-plant control and optimization. By the end of the twentieth century, KHD faced a major financial and operational crisis after incurring substantial losses on three cement projects in Saudi Arabia. The response involved restructuring and a series of divestments. In 2009, the company sold its worldwide coal and minerals operations, which subsequently became associated with MBE Coal & Minerals Technology and MBE Cologne Engineering. This transaction left KHD focused principally on cement rather than maintaining a broad minerals portfolio. The modern company operates through KHD Humboldt Wedag International AG, a Cologne-based holding company listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. Its regional subsidiaries and sales offices support customers across the Americas, India, the CIS, Central Asia, China, Europe, the Asia-Pacific region, and selected Middle Eastern markets. The Cologne headquarters includes central functions, the Center of Excellence, and the Technical Center. The research organization developed from an early experimental test stand established by Neuerberg. A dedicated research center was built around 1912, moved to larger facilities in Cologne-Porz in 1982, and returned to the Kalk area in 2001. In the twenty-first century, KHD has emphasized technologies that improve the environmental profile of cement plants. Its portfolio includes emissions-control systems, alternative-fuel solutions, process optimization, automation, and digital tools based on industrial internet of things technologies and machine learning. In 2023, the company articulated its Cement beyond Carbon vision, reflecting the cement industry’s growing focus on greenhouse-gas reduction and the implications of the Paris Agreement. KHD’s current identity consequently combines historical heavy-engineering expertise with specialized cement process engineering, plant modernization, digital automation, and decarbonization support.
- 2023
Cement beyond Carbon vision
[1]KHD presented a strategic vision centered on helping the cement industry address greenhouse-gas emissions and decarbonization.
- 2009
Disposal of coal and minerals operations
[1]KHD completed the sale of its worldwide coal and minerals operations and a manufacturing facility, concentrating the business on cement.
- 2001
Return of the research center to Kalk
[1]The company’s research facilities moved from Cologne-Porz back to the Kalk district of Cologne.
- 1980
Roller-press grinding technology
[1]KHD introduced roller-press technology for cement grinding during the 1980s.
- 1970
XPERT automation systems
[1]KHD introduced XPERT systems as part of its long-running development of cement-plant automation.
- 1965
First flash-type precalciner
[1]The first KHD precalciner using flash-type technology was built at the Dotternhausen cement plant.
- 1950
Cyclone-preheater technology
[1]KHD introduced cyclone-preheater technology during the 1950s, an important development in modern cement pyroprocessing.
- 1938
Creation of Klöckner-Humboldt-Deutz AG
[1]A joint-interest agreement involving Humboldt-Deutzmotoren AG and Klöckner-Werke AG created Klöckner-Humboldt-Deutz AG.
- 1930
Formation of Humboldt-Deutzmotoren AG
[1]Maschinenbau Anstalt Humboldt was combined with Gasmotorenfabrik Deutz to form Humboldt-Deutzmotoren AG.
- 1898
First locomotive delivery
[1]The company delivered its first steam locomotive after entering locomotive manufacturing during the 1890s.
Products and positioning
Specialist, technology-led engineering partner for cement producers, combining large-scale plant equipment with process optimization, automation, environmental performance, and aftermarket services.
Cement plant process equipment
Pyroprocessing systems
KHD supplies integrated technologies for the thermal processing of cement raw materials, including preheaters, precalciners, kilns, burners, and associated process equipment. The systems are designed to support clinker production, improve thermal efficiency, and help plants manage emissions and alternative fuels.
Cement grinding equipment · 1980
Roller press grinding systems
Roller presses are used to compress and grind clinker and other cementitious materials before or alongside finish grinding. KHD’s roller-press expertise is one of the company’s historically significant contributions to cement technology and is positioned around energy efficiency, throughput, and integration with separators and downstream grinding circuits.
Grinding and classification
Cement grinding and separation systems
KHD provides grinding circuits and separation equipment for cement plants. The portfolio includes systems intended to control particle-size distribution, improve product quality, and optimize the energy use of grinding operations. Equipment can be supplied for new installations or incorporated into modernization projects.
Industrial automation · 1970
Plant automation and digital solutions
The company supplies automation and process-control solutions for cement production. Its digital activities build on earlier XPERT systems and include industrial internet of things and machine-learning applications intended to stabilize production, optimize operating parameters, improve maintenance decisions, and support lower energy and emissions intensity.
Environmental process technology
Emissions and alternative-fuel technologies
KHD develops cement-process technologies aimed at reducing nitrogen-oxide emissions and enabling greater use of alternative fuels. Relevant equipment and process concepts include staged-combustion calciners, multi-channel burners, and plant systems designed to manage changing fuel and raw-material conditions.
Engineering services
Engineering, modernization, and lifecycle services
KHD supports cement producers with process engineering, plant layout, project management, equipment supply, commissioning support, spare parts, maintenance, and modernization. Its Center of Excellence and Technical Center provide design assistance and raw-material testing for new projects and upgrades to existing plants.
Marketing campaigns
- 2023Cement beyond Carbon
Global
KHD introduced Cement beyond Carbon as a strategic vision focused on the cement industry’s need to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions. The initiative frames process efficiency, alternative fuels, emissions control, digital optimization, and future decarbonization technologies as connected parts of the company’s offering.
Outcome. The vision strengthened KHD’s positioning as a cement-technology and decarbonization partner rather than only a machinery supplier.
Brand decisions
2023
Emphasis on cement decarbonizationStrategyBackground
Cement production faces increasing pressure to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions and respond to global climate policy and industry commitments.
Action taken
KHD launched its Cement beyond Carbon vision and placed emissions reduction and decarbonization at the center of its strategic communication.
Aftermath
The company presented its process engineering, alternative-fuel, automation, and emissions-control technologies as components of a broader low-carbon cement strategy.
2009
Exit from coal and minerals operationsStrategyBackground
KHD had undergone restructuring after losses on three Saudi Arabian cement projects and was seeking to concentrate its resources on its strongest remaining business areas.
Action taken
The company completed the sale of its worldwide coal and minerals operations and a manufacturing facility in Cologne.
Aftermath
The transaction left KHD substantially focused on cement production technology, engineering, automation, and related services.
Recent events
- 2023
KHD presents Cement beyond Carbon vision[1]
Campaign · Other
KHD described decarbonization as the central long-term challenge for the cement industry and presented its Cement beyond Carbon vision in response.
- 2009
KHD completes sale of worldwide coal and minerals operations[1]
M&A
KHD completed the disposal of its coal and minerals operations and a manufacturing facility in Cologne, reinforcing its strategic focus on cement technology.
Sources2 sources
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