History
The KF Group’s story starts with the founding of a transport company by Joachim and Egon Kemmer in Berlin in 1948.
They started out with just one vehicle. As early as 1949, they got their first earthwork assignment. In the years that followed, the company kept growing at a steady pace, and the range of services grew, too: Soil engineering, water engineering, removal of warfare material, water treatment and the removal of asbestos were added to the portfolio. In addition, in 1973, the Kemmer brothers bought the former Harbauer GmbH und Co. KG.
Impressions from the historical photo album of the brothers Kemmer
The family-owned company’s history seemed to have come to an end in 1989, when the company was sold to the Philipp Holtzmann AG.
But at the start of the new millenium, in 2002, the Kemmer/Fischer family bought back Gebr. Kemmer GmbH and Harbauer GmbH, which were then part of Philipp Holtzmann AG’s insolvency estate.
In the years that followed, Kemmer Engineering was disincorporated from the warfare material removal department of Gebr. Kemmer GmbH. Likewise, Harbauer India pvt. LTD, which had emerged from a development project, was founded, initially as a joint venture between Harbauer GmbH and Pal Trockner pvt. LT. The share held in GBAV was also acquired during this time.
When Gebr. Kemmer GmbH was shut down in 2014, it was the end of an era. Throughout its existence, this highly esteemed building company had been very successful.
For KF Group, this was a chance for reorientation: Instead of construction, the new focus would be environmental engineering. Harbauer GmbH, formerly just a small sister company, became the group’s new centrepiece. Harbauer’s orientation and its experience combined with that of the subsidiary company from India, as well as the share held in in GBAV were the foundation for a new development.
Between 2013 and today, the group’s portfolio has been growing steadily.
New acquisitions and start-ups helped broaden its range and strengthen synergies. In 2013/14, the group acquired the drilling companies Daugs and Schüler. In 2017, it became a shareholder of GEH Wasserchemie and merged with Weil Wasser and ROWA Aquaristik.
