60 years of KREBS+KIEFER: civil engineers design living environments

"Bauingenieure gestalten Lebenswelten" (civil engineers design living environments) was both the motto of the 60-year jubilee celebration and the title of the book that was presented during the event.

On 27th October 2010, the Otto-Bernd-Halle, which many of those present remembered as a cafeteria during their student days, shone with an unaccustomed sparkle. Many clients, business partners and guests from the worlds of politics and business were welcomed with jazz and sparkling apple wine at the start of a Hesse-themed evening to celebrate the 60th jubilee of KREBS+KIEFER.

Mr. Johannes Baron, District President in Darmstadt, included congratulations from the state government of Hesse in his speech which touched on the varied tasks of civil engineers and the questions of social responsibility that arise, especially in connection with controversial major projects.

In the second speech, the president of the German association of consulting engineers VBI, Dr.-Ing. Volker Cornelius, praised the entrepreneurial skills of the K+K management team. In his talk, he compared the qualities and goals of freelancers with those of enterprises and resolved this apparent contradiction, concluding that a modern engineering business can only succeed in today’s market by combining both.

In the third welcoming speech of the evening, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Udo F. Meißner, president of the Hesse Chamber of Engineers, emphasized the importance of K+K’s development from a small family-run engineering consultancy to an internationally active engineering business as a role model for current and future civil engineers.  

This was followed by a journey through 60 years of company history. K+K partners Prof. Günter Ernst and Dr.-Ing. Hans-Gerd Lind­lar presented an entertaining overview that brought the company’s history to life by connecting its milestones with contemporary political and social events. Key figures: in six decades, KREBS+KIEFER has processed 24.000 orders and projects, equivalent to a construction volume of 30 billion Euros. The presentation ended with a summary of the current situation: KREBS+KIEFER is now present at ten locations and has a total of 345 staff members.

KREBS+KIEFER Managing Partners Mrs. Heike Kiefer-Eisenträger and Mr. Dieter Hanel then presented the book that was produced as part of the 60th anniversary celebrations. It illustrates the wide range tasks handled by civil engineers, using many projects in which KREBS+KIEFER has been involved as examples. For instance, civil engineers plan construction and engineering projects, design bridges and tunnels, develop load-bearing structures for towers and other buildings, plan infrastructure and ensure smooth implementation of their plans with professional construction management.  

These many and varied aspects of civil engineering also impressed Dr. Matthias Alexander of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. In his essay "Kein schönerer Beruf" (A most attractive profession), which is included in the jubilee book, and in his speech, he describes the work of civil engineers as combining technology and creativity in an exciting way. Despite this, very few civil engineers succeed in conveying their enthusiasm for their profession to the general public. Dr. Alexander therefore challenged the civil engineers in the audience to put their modesty aside and give the best representatives of their profession the recognition they deserve. A substantial prize, like the German award for bridge construction, is an example of which there should be many more.

After the welcoming speeches and talks, the guests and hosts took the opportunity for dialog during a Hesse-themed buffet. Joint projects were discussed and technical opinions were exchanged. The event continued until the late evening with musical accompaniment by the jazz formation 2gether3.