HOW IT ALL BEGAN : Curt vin Grueber's 'Technical Engineering Bureau' [1906-1919]

In 1906, the engineer Curt von Grueber established a company for the design and sale of Kent mills in Berlin. Curt von Grueber Technisches Bureau - the forerunner of Loesche GmbH - quickly became one of Europe's leading manufacturers of cement and phosphate mills. In 1912, the company began manufacturing its products in its own manufacturing facility, initially in Berlin-Hohenschönhausen and later in Berlin-Teltow. Its range of products included Maxecon mills, Hauenschild rotary grate kilns, and all kinds of machinery for cement production, including crushers and screw conveyors. Ernst Curt Loesche joined the company as a young engineer in July 1912. He soon worked his way up through the ranks to a management position and became partner in the company in 1919.

SUCCESS THROUGH INNOVATION : The entrepreneur and inventor Ernst Curt Loesche [1919-1939]


Despite the fact that the German cement industry found itself in a deep and sustained crisis after the First World War, Curt von Grueber Technisches Bureau managed to stay afloat by opening up a new market: in 1924, the company began supplying new coal-fired power stations with mills. In 1927, Ernst Curt Loesche developed the Loesche mill for the Klingenberg power station in Berlin-Rummelsburg. This mill proved to be a milestone in the history of roller grinding mill technology. The success of the Loesche mill helped the company to rapid growth. However, these positive developments were checked by the world economic crisis of the early 1930s. As the world economy recovered, so too did the company’s fortunes. Orders for its mills increased. Under national Socialist rule, it sold mills to customers all over the world. In 1937, Ernst Curt Loesche bought Curt von Grueber’s share in the company and became a sole owner.

HARD TIMES : From the war economy to Soviet expropriation [1939-1948]

The outbreak of the Second World War was a caesura in the history of Ernst Curt Loesche’s company. As was the case with many other machine manufacturers, the company was obliged to produce armaments for the German war effort: the Reich Air Ministry soon replaced the cement industry as the company’s largest customer. Following a damaging air raid in 1943, production of the Teltow works very nearly ground to a halt. In 1945, at the end of the war, the Soviet occupation forces insisted that the company’s machinery in Teltow be dismantled and transported to the Soviet Union. Only a few months later, the company was back in business working with out-dated machinery. When the Soviet Military Administration expropriated Curt von Grueber Maschinenbauanstalt without paying any form of compensation in April 1948, Ernst Curt Loesche decided to leave Berline and rebuild his company in one of the three western zones of occupation.

RISING LIKE A PHEONIX FROM THE ASHES : A new beginning with Ernst Guenter Loesche [1948-1969]

After the expropriation of the Berlin works, Ernst Curt Loesche and some of the employees who had worked for him in Berlin began rebuilding the company, which was now known as Loesche Hartzerkleinerungs- and Zementmaschinen KG, in a ruined building in Düsseldorf in the summer of 1948. When Ernst Curt Loesche died unexpectedly in November of the same year, his son, Ernst Guenter, took over the business. Under his leadership and with his own manufacturing facility in Neuss, Loesche KG re-established itself as world market leader in the 1950s and 1960s. During this period, Loesche’s engineers developed numerous new technologies that were of paramount importance to developments in the hard crushing sector, including the hydro pneumatic spring assembly and the pressure mill for grinding coal.


FOUR ROLLERS FOR WORLD MARKET SUCCESS : The international expansion of the company [1969-1983]

In the early 1970s, Loesche faced a new challenge: improvements in cement kiln technology necessitated the construction of ever larger mills. Loesche’s respinse to this development was to invent the four-roller mill and introduce a modular mill system. The four-roller mill quickly became a huge success in the international market. In order to provide their customers around the world with better local support, Loesche established subsidiaries in Spain and South Africa. In the late 1970s, Loesche’s engineers adapted the modular system for use in coal mills. After 35 successful years as managing director of the company, Ernst Guenter Loesche retired in late 1983.

THE THIRD GENERATION : Dr. Thomas Loesche and the challenges of globalization [1983-1992]

With Dr. Thomas Loesche at the helm, the third generation of the Loesche family was now managing the compay. The young engineer not only picked up where hisfather had left off, but also developed promising new business activities such as and after-sales service and the construction of mills for the iron and steel industry. Other innovations included the development of an improved hot gas producer and the use of Loesche mills for grinding coal and pear briquettes. The company continued to grow and in 1992, moved into a new, larger office on Hansallee.


TECHNOLOGY FOR THE 21st CENTURY : Laying the foundation for world market leadership [1992-2006]

In the early 1990s, Loesche came up with yet another ground-breaking mill design in the form of the 2+2 cement clinker mill. As was the case with previous Loesche innovations, this mill proved a resounding success around the world. In the years that followed, Loesche GmbH expanded its range of products and services and invested heavily in the development of new technology. The collapse of economies in South-East Asia in 1997 plunged the company into a deep crisis. However, new ideas and the introduction of a series of rationalization measures enabled the company to recover. Two of the innovations that date from this period are the slide-in procedure and the introduction of the so-called ‘redundancy concept’. By the time demand picked up again in 2003, Loesche had an impressive range of products that included state-of-the-art mills. Very soon, the company was once again leader in its field.