Pioneering Underground Together
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Ideally prepared for the future underground

A strong foundation for future pioneering achievements

Keep moving forward is the battle cry in tunnelling. That's why we prove ourselves again and again at Herrenknecht. We create strong structures and push forward into unknown areas.

The Herrenknecht Group consists of the operating entity Herrenknecht AG as the parent company and around 80 subsidiaries and associated companies in Germany and abroad. The fields of activity are divided into the two traditional business units Traffic and Utility Tunnelling as well as the business areas Exploration, Mining and Group Brands. Herrenknecht is thus well positioned for the great issues of humanity such as urbanization and the development of new raw materials.

Herrenknecht in numbers

As market leader and a family-run business, Herrenknecht looks to the future with anticipation. The strong position in the market and the advancing megatrends will continue to form the basis of our success. Our numbers speak for themselves.

187

Trainees in 2018

5,426

Employees at year end 2018*

1,316

Total output 2018 in million Euro

1,137

Revenue 2018 in million Euro

1,398

Order inflow 2018 in million Euro

*without trainees, including temporary staff

Our fields of activity

Traffic Tunnelling

The mobility of people and goods places high demands on the logistics systems of the future. Herrenknecht is instrumental in creating modern underground transportation infrastructures.

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Utility Tunnelling

Constantly growing population numbers also increase the demand for underground supply and disposal systems. We deliver innovative solutions for this.

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Mining

Access to resources from underground mines is made safer and more efficient by Herrenknecht's mechanized tunnelling technology.

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Exploration

With our highly automated deep drilling rigs, new energy sources at great depths can be accessed safely and efficiently even in difficult terrain.

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Group Brands

Highly specialized individual companies within the Group provide individual solutions for all aspects of tunnelling and optimally complement our expertise.

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Traffic Tunnelling

The mobility of people and goods places high demands on the logistics systems of the future. Herrenknecht is instrumental in creating modern underground transportation infrastructures.

More

Utility Tunnelling

Constantly growing population numbers also increase the demand for underground supply and disposal systems. We deliver innovative solutions for this.

More

Mining

Access to resources from underground mines is made safer and more efficient by Herrenknecht's mechanized tunnelling technology.

More

Exploration

With our highly automated deep drilling rigs, new energy sources at great depths can be accessed safely and efficiently even in difficult terrain.

More

Group Brands

Highly specialized individual companies within the Group provide individual solutions for all aspects of tunnelling and optimally complement our expertise.

More

Our vision

Herrenknecht is the leading premium supplier worldwide for all-round technology solutions in mechanized tunnelling for tunnel infrastructures of all kinds, as well as for underground energy sources and raw materials extraction. Thanks to lasting megatrends and an increasing demand for energy, this market will continue to provide for enormous potentials in future.

Our Mission

We deliver premium quality

The success of our company is based on the high quality and technical standards of our core products, additional equipment and services. We continuously develop innovative potential with targeted research and development activities. These are oriented towards the challenges of our customers, their projects and the requirements of our worldwide markets.

We are team partners in all project phases

It is our ultimate goal to support the project challenges of our customers at the highest level at all times. In all project phases, Herrenknecht perceives itself as a team partner for all those substantially involved in a tunnelling project. Teamwork based on trust is our guiding principle.

We develop tailor-made full range solutions

We offer our customers complete tailor-made solutions in the sense of »full range solutions« which are comprehensively adjusted to their projects. Clear value propositions, measurable benefits for the customer and transparency play an important role in this process.

We work efficiently

The continuous guarantee of the highest degree of organizational, operative and entrepreneurial efficiency is an important goal for Herrenknecht. This contributes considerably to the fact that the Herrenknecht Group can maintain its entrepreneurial independence as well as its status as a professionally positioned family enterprise in the future. 

We value our employees

Experienced, committed, loyal and flexible employees are our greatest asset. Recognition of achievement and respectful and open relations with each other – irrespective of cultural and ethnic backgrounds – play an important role in our corporate culture.

We take responsibility

Our products secure the essential requirements for environmentally friendly mobility of people and goods, for a sustainable use of valuable natural resources and the targeted exploration of raw material deposits and energy sources. In this connection we remain aware of our social responsibility when promoting young talent, professional training, social commitment and sporting and cultural events.

The management of the Herrenknecht Group

“Think positive. Together we are building our future.”

Dr.-Ing. E.h. Martin Herrenknecht

Chairman of the Board of Management
To the biography

Martin Herrenknecht (born in 1942) is company founder and name giver, driving force and Chairman of the Board of Management of Herrenknecht AG. After completing his degree, the graduate engineer (FH) began his career as a design engineer in Switzerland. This was followed by several positions, some lasting several years, as project and design engineering manager in Canada and Germany. From 1971 to 1975, Martin Herrenknecht worked again in Switzerland as director of the mechanical engineering service at the Seelisberg Tunnel with "Big John", the world's largest tunnel boring machine at the time.

In 1975 he founded the Martin Herrenknecht Engineering Service Company, then in 1977 the limited company Herrenknecht GmbH, whose Managing Director he remained until it became a stock joint company. Martin Herrenknecht is responsible for Group Strategy, Business Development, Group Marketing & Communications, Internal Audit and Mergers and Acquisitions. Martin Herrenknecht has received numerous prestigious awards and honors, including an honorary doctorate (Dr.-Ing. E.h.) from the Carolo-Wilhelmina Technical University of Braunschweig (Brunswick), the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, entry into the Handelsblatt Hall of Fame of German Entrepreneurship, the Lifetime Achievement Award of the International Tunnelling and Underground Space Association (ITA) as well as the Werner von Siemens Ring for his outstanding lifetime achievement as an inventor and entrepreneur.

Martin Herrenknecht is married and has three children.

Since the beginning of 2017 Michael Sprang (born in 1978) has been Vice Chairman of the Board of Management of Herrenknecht AG and as Chief Financial and Human Resources Officer (CFO) responsible for central Group units. Previously the graduate industrial engineer worked in various positions within the company Herrenknecht, including as CFO for the commercial management of the Group's Business Unit Traffic Tunnelling.

Michael Sprang studied industrial engineering at the University of Karlsruhe and then majored in Finance at the University of Zurich. He began his professional career in 2005 at Siemens Management Consulting, part of Siemens AG. In 2010 he joined the Herrenknecht Group as assistant to the Chairman of the Board of Management, Dr.-Ing. E.h. Martin Herrenknecht.

Michael Sprang lives with his family in Lahr.

Dipl.-Wi.-Ing. Michael Sprang

Vice Chairman of the Board of Management and CFO

Günter Richter (born in 1960) is the Board of Management member responsible for the Group's Business Unit Traffic Tunnelling as well as the Group Brands. The graduate engineer joined Herrenknecht in 1985 after receiving his mechanical engineering degree from the Offenburg University of Applied Sciences. After positions in design engineering and field service, from early 1990 the graduate engineer (FH) worked in project management, where he quickly took on increasing management responsibility.

In 2004 he was entrusted with the technical management of the Business Unit Traffic Tunnelling, from 2006 he was a member of the Traffic Tunnelling Executive Board. In 2006, as a part-time student, he completed his EMBA at the University of St. Gallen (Switzerland).

Günter Richter is married and has two children.

Dipl.-Ing. (FH) Günter Richter, EMBA (HSG)

Member of the Board of Management

In the Board of Management of the Herrenknecht Group Ulrich Schaffhauser (born in 1964) is responsible for the Business Unit Utility Tunnelling and the Business Areas Mining and Exploration. He joined Herrenknecht in 1992 as a design engineer after completing his degree in mechanical engineering at the Offenburg University of Applied Sciences.

Since then the graduate engineer (FH) has held various management positions in the Business Unit Utility Tunnelling, including as Head of Production and from 2011 as Chairman of the Executive Board.

Ulrich Schaffhauser lives with his family in Friesenheim.

Dipl.-Ing. (FH) Ulrich Schaffhauser

Member of the Board of Management

The Herrenknecht AG Supervisory Board

From left to right: Prof. Dr. Christian Rödl (until December 31, 2019), Prof. Dr. Rüdiger Grube, Dirk Wilhelm (Employee representative), Jürgen Roth (Employee representative), Dr. Christian Holzherr, Dr. Karin Bäppler (Employee representative), Hans-Jörg Vetter (Chairman), Dr. h.c. Gerhard Schröder (Vice Chairman), Hartmut Kaiser (Employee representative), Eva-Maria Bauer (Employee representative), Dr.-Ing. E.h. Martin Herrenknecht (Chairman of the Board of Management of Herrenknecht AG), Peter Teuscher (Vice Chairman), Dieter Herrenknecht (former member of the Supervisory Board), Martin-Devid Herrenknecht (Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the familiy foundation), Rainer Hammerschmidt (Employee representative)

Your contact person Contact us

Achim Kühn Head of Group Marketing and Corporate Communications
+49 7824 302-5400 Download contact (V-Card)