English - Nooteboom Giants on the Road Magazine English - Nr. 4 - 2017 | Page 28

GIANTS ON THE ROAD
■ Kahl had already tried out a Manoovr for a few months and based on the positive experiences they bought two 10-axle MPL semi low-loaders
THE HISTORY OF KAHL UNTERNEHMENSGRUPPE Andreas : ‘ My father and uncle , Hans and Helmut KAHL , started a branch of Konrad Kahl & Söhne in Duisburg in 1953 . The brothers were only 23 and 17 years of age and the fleet consisted of two old GMC trucks from the surplus stock of the American army . In 1956 Hans u . Helmut Kahl oHG was founded and became what is now KAHL Schwerlast GmbH , the core of KAHL Unternehmensgruppe . After 1970 KAHL began to specialise more and more in the transport of steel and concrete elements . With more than 30 self-steering dollies KAHL were the best-known company in the region for the transport of concrete beams . Before 1980 we already had modular trailers , which suddenly gave us much more load capacity and flexibility . A highlight was the arrival of the first MAN 4-axle tractor in 1981 , which we developed and manufactured in our own workshop and was equipped with a 420 hp industrial engine and a vessel bridge .’
CHANGES AFTER 2005 Andreas : ‘ In 2004 I founded KAHL Schwerlast GmbH together with my brother Rainer and took over the entire company in the process . To grow further we are always on the look-out for people with experience . In 2006 KAHL + Jansen Schwerlast was founded . Ferdinand Jansen brought new customers with him and thanks to the input of Ferdinand we acquired customers in the automotive sector and the wind industry . A few years later , in 2009 , Pieper Schwertransporte became part of the KAHL Unternehmensgruppe . Marcus Pieper , the son of the founder of the well-known transport company Pieper , brought us a wealth of experience , new markets and new customers . In 2011 KAHL + Jansen GmbH International Logistics and Engineering was born . A new activity - the transport of transformers and industrial moves - was created by taking over rolling equipment , the assembly department and around 20 employees from Westfracht in Essen . Udo Gärtner is in charge of these activities and his experience also brought the KAHL Unternehmensgruppe new customers , techniques and markets . We are proud of the achievements of all our employees , but Ferdinand , Marcus and Udo helped to change the vision at KAHL Schwerlast . We used to think in trucks and trailers , now we think in systems and processes .’
28