From flatbed trolleys to AGVs - 100 years of material handling from Moosburg
100 years ago, the Steinbock company was founded in Moosburg. Today, the site is one of the centres for state-of-the-art material handling. Jungheinrich builds and develops high-tech forklift trucks and automated solutions for the whole world here.
When Jungheinrich was founded in Hamburg in 1953, production had already been underway for three decades at a location that would later become one of the Group's most important sites. One hundred years ago, at the turn of the year 1922/23, Maschinenfabrik München-Moosburg and Sähmaschinenfabrik Moosburg merged to form Steinbock. The ten-man company initially focussed on agricultural machinery. But just a few years later, the focus shifted to so-called aids for soil transport. By the 1930s - Steinbock now employed well over a hundred people - the factory was already producing solutions for loading and unloading processes and product flow. At the same time, the company was a world leader in the production of lifting platforms for cars and lorries.
After the Second World War, the development of forklifts was driven forward. The prototype of the first German electric forklift truck had already been constructed in Moosburg in 1943, but was not produced due to the war. Things really took off after the currency reform. In addition to the first series of electric forklift trucks, attachments followed and, from 1953, internal combustion forklift trucks.
The potential of in-house logistics solutions was quickly recognised
From a forklift pioneer, the company developed into one of the leading European manufacturers with a broad portfolio. Standards such as truck endurance tests on the company's own fully automated circular test track and the receipt of ISO 9000 certification as the first forklift truck manufacturer in Germany were trend-setting. With the takeover by Jungheinrich in 1994, this expertise flowed into the Group and thus created the best conditions for optimally positioning itself in the industry worldwide. The Bavarian production site in Moosburg thus became a nucleus for Jungheinrich's success today.
With the laying of the foundation stone for a new plant for narrow-aisle forklift trucks in the Degernpoint commercial and industrial area - in the immediate vicinity of the Moosburg site - the course was set for a further ‘Centre of Excellence’ for warehouse and system vehicles in July 2012. Following the opening in 2013, production in Moosburg was significantly increased as a result.
Jungheinrich continues to invest sustainably in the Moosburg site. From the production of modern lithium-ion forklift trucks to driverless forklifts and ‘premium system trucks’ - the two plants in Moosburg and Degernpoint focus on development and thus achieve large market shares.
