Pfeifer Holding GmbH + Co. KG

Pfeifer Holding GmbH + Co. KG (stylised as PFEIFER) is the parent company of the Pfeifer Group, a German industrial group headquartered in Memmingen, Bavaria. The group operates in four principal fields: rope technology (Seiltechnik), structural engineering (Bautechnik), lifting technology (Hebetechnik) and lashing/tensioning technology (Anschlag-/Zurrtechnik). In several product areas the company is regarded as a world market leader. The origins of the business reach back to the Pfeifer family's rope-making activities in Memmingen, with the oldest evidence dating to 1579. For centuries it remained a small craft workshop; only in the 20th century, under Hermann Pfeifer, did it develop into an industrial enterprise. Today the company is in its twelfth generation of family ownership, represented by Gerhard Pfeifer, although in August 2024 it was announced that the family-owned Pfeifer Group had been sold to the private-equity firm Flowframe SE. Pfeifer's rope technology portfolio includes crane and elevator ropes as well as ropes for industry, maritime applications and mining. The structural engineering division produces technical built-in components for lifting, moving, fastening and connecting precast concrete elements. The lashing/tensioning and lifting technology business develops, manufactures and distributes consumer and capital goods for lifting and moving loads. The group maintains its own operating companies in 15 countries and runs production sites in Germany, Poland and China. Its German production companies are Pfeifer Seil- und Hebetechnik GmbH in Memmingen and Pfeifer Drako Drahtseilwerk GmbH in Mülheim an der Ruhr. Subsidiaries and branches are located in China, Denmark, the United Kingdom, Qatar, Luxembourg, Austria, Poland, Romania, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Hungary, the United States and the United Arab Emirates. The Memmingen plant's floor area was expanded by more than 40 percent in 2008.

The Pfeifer family's rope-making tradition in Memmingen is documented as far back as 1579, making it one of the oldest continuously documented industrial lineages in the region. Until 1950 the business remained a craft workshop with only a few employees. It was Hermann Pfeifer who, through personal commitment and foresight, transformed the workshop into an industrial enterprise. Today the company is in its twelfth generation of family ownership, represented by Gerhard Pfeifer. From the 1990s onward the company developed into the internationally active group it is today. In 1994 it acquired Gustav Kocks, a leading manufacturer of elevator wire ropes based in Mülheim an der Ruhr. In 2008 the floor area of the Memmingen plant was enlarged by more than 40 percent. In August 2024 it was announced that the previously family-owned Pfeifer Group had been sold to the private-equity firm Flowframe SE, ending centuries of continuous family ownership. The group today operates in 15 countries with its own operating companies and runs production sites in Germany, Poland and China. Its German production companies are Pfeifer Seil- und Hebetechnik GmbH in Memmingen and Pfeifer Drako Drahtseilwerk GmbH in Mülheim an der Ruhr. Branches are maintained in China, Denmark, the United Kingdom, Qatar, Luxembourg, Austria, Poland, Romania, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Hungary, the United States and the United Arab Emirates.

• 2024

  Announcement that the family-owned Pfeifer Group was sold to the private-equity firm Flowframe SE.

• 2008

  Floor area of the Memmingen plant enlarged by more than 40 percent.

• 1994

  Acquisition of Gustav Kocks, a leading manufacturer of elevator wire ropes in Mülheim an der Ruhr.

• 1950

  Until this year the company remained a craft workshop with only a few employees.

• 1579

  Oldest evidence of the Pfeifer family's rope-making activity in Memmingen.

Industrial technology group and world market leader in selected rope and lifting product segments.

• Crane ropes

• Elevator ropes

• Ropes for industry, maritime applications and mining

• Technical built-in components for lifting, moving, fastening and connecting precast concrete elements

• Consumer and capital goods for lifting and moving loads

1. 1Pfeifer Holding (Wikidata)wikidata.org
2. 2Pfeifer Holding (German Wikipedia)de.wikipedia.org