# KHD Humboldt Wedag

KHD Humboldt Wedag (KHD) is an international engineering company that supplies machinery, automation solutions, spare parts, and services, including process engineering and project management, to the global cement industry.$^{[1]}$
Based in Cologne, Germany, the company employs more than 850 people worldwide, operating subsidiaries covering the Americas, India, the CIS, and the Asia-Pacific Region, as well as sales offices in Türkiye, Dubai, and Iran.$^{[2]}$
The holding company KHD Humboldt Wedag International AG is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.$^{[3]}$

## History

Early Years: 1856 - 1945
KHD traces its roots back to the mid-19th Century and the foundation of predecessor company, Maschinenfabrik für den Bergbau von Sievers & Co., by Martin Neuerberg, Wimmer Breuer, and Hermann Sievers in the Cologne suburb of Kalk.$^{[4]}$ The company initially focused on the manufacture of perforated steel sheets for screens, jigs, and percussion tables used in the mining industry. Under the leadership of Neuerberg, the product range expanded, and the company established a name for itself within the European mineral processing industry.$^{[5]}$
In 1871, the company adopted the name Maschinenbau A.G. Humboldt, in honor of German scientist, Alexander von Humboldt, before being liquidated and reformed as Maschinenbau Anstalt Humboldt in 1884.$^{[6]}$ In the 1890s, the company moved into the manufacture steam locomotives, delivering its first locomotive in 1898.$^{[7]}$
In the early 20th Century, another German industrialist, Peter Klöckner, began to have an increasing influence on the company. Klöckner had been appointed to the supervisory board in 1903, becoming chairman shortly before the World War I. Among his other business activities, Klöckner was also on the supervisory board of engine manufacturer, Gasmotorenfarbrik Deutz, which he merged with Maschinenbau Anstalt Humboldt in 1930 to form Humboldt-Deutzmotoren AG. In 1938, Klöckner-Humboldt-Deutz AG was created via a joint-interest agreement between Humboldt-Deutzmotoren AG and another of Klöckner’s companies, Klöckner-Werke AG. $^{[8]}$ The company has been known by these initials ever since.
1945 – 2000: continuity and change
After World War II, Klöckner-Werke AG and Klöckner-Humboldt-Deutz AG were required to sever connections, with the latter focusing on the processing of minerals and coal and on cement production.$^{[9][10]}$ The company would have a significant impact on the latter through the second half of the 20th Century, developing various technologies that would become standard in cement plants around the world. These would include:
* The introduction of the cyclone preheater in the 1950s.$^{[11]}$
* The introduction of precalciner technology using flash-type calciners in the 1960s. $^{[12]}$ The first precalciner was built at the Dotternhausen cement plant in 1965.$^{[13]}$
* The introduction of the roller press for cement grinding in the 1980s.$^{[14]}$
Other KHD inventions include the short kiln, the static v-shaped separator, the multi-channel jet burner, and the low-NOX calciner with staged combustion.$^{[15]}$
As the 20th Century drew to a close, however, the company was brought to crisis point after taking substantial losses on three cement projects in Saudi Arabia. Consequent restructuring and a string of divestments would see the company focus on its cement and mineral processing businesses. The latter would be divested in 2009 as MBE Coal & Minerals Technology and MBE Cologne Engineering, leaving KHD to concentrate solely on cement.$^{[16]}$
The 21st Century
KHD survived the crisis of the late 20th Century. Into the new millennium, it continued its tradition of developing new technologies.
Through the first two decades of the 21st Century, the company launched a range of technologies aimed at reducing the environmental impact of cement production, notably to cut NOx emissions and to enable higher rates of alternative fuel use at cement plants.
This period also saw increasing moves by the cement industry to cut its greenhouse gas emissions as part of global efforts to mitigate the impacts of climate change under the Paris Agreement. In 2023, KHD launched its Cement beyond Carbon vision, acknowledging that the task to cut emissions had become the driving force within the cement industry and would continue to be so in coming decades.$^{[17]}$
Supporting the journey to net zero and empowered by the emergence of the Industrial Internet of Things and advanced machine learning, KHD also invested heavily in digital technologies that optimize the cement-making process and support the integration of the solutions noted above. These latest digital advances build on the company’s more than five decades’ experience in cement plant automation dating back to the 1970s and its XPERT systems.

## Corporate affairs

Corporate structure
KHD is administered via a central holding company, KHD Humboldt Wedag International AG, which is headquartered in Cologne, Germany, and is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.
The Cologne headquarters houses all central group functions, including the Center of Excellence, as well as Humboldt Wedag GmbH, the company’s subsidiary for EMENA & APA. Four regional subsidiaries cover remaining key markets:
* CIS/Central Asia: ZAB Zementanlagenbau GmbH Dessau) in Dessau, Germany.
* India and SSA: Humboldt Wedag India Pvt Ltd in New Delhi, India.
* Americas: Humboldt Wedag Inc. in Atlanta, USA.
* China: KHD Humboldt Wedag Machinery Equipment (Beijing) Co. Ltd in Beijing, China.
Humboldt Wedag GmbH also houses the company’s three regional sales offices in: Istanbul, Türkiye; Dubai, UAE; and Tehran, Iran.
Center of Excellence and Technical Center
Research and development has been a feature of KHD’s operating principles since the early days under Martin Neuerberg and Wimmer Breuer. In the 19th Century, Neuerberg built a test stand to test new machines and technologies for individual contracts. A research center was constructed about 1912 at the same location and became the center for innovation for the company, with research staff undertaking laboratory and prototype testing of new processes and equipment. The research center moved into new facilities in 1995 and would continue to grow through the 20th Century as the company entered new market segments. In 1982, the research division moved again to a larger complex in Cologne-Porz. It stayed here until 2001, when it was moved back to its original location in the Kalk district of Cologne.$^{[18]}$
Today’s KHD Center of Excellence and Technical Center are the descendants of Neuerberg’s original test stand. Located at group headquarters in Cologne, the Center of Excellence provides the company’s regional subsidiaries with process engineering, plant layout, and machine design support. It also houses the Technical Center, which plays a key role in ensuring the company’s latest developments work in real-world conditions. The Technical Center also provides small-batch up to industrial-scale testing of raw materials as the basis for grinding plant design and machine selection. $^{[19]}$
Management
As per German corporate law and governance code for publicly-traded companies, KHD is managed by a two-tier board structure:$^{[20]}$
* The management board is responsible for day-to-day running of the company.
* The supervisory board is responsible for supervision and control of the management board.
As of March 2024, the management board of KHD comprises:
* Jianlong Shen, CEO
* Jürgen Luckas, CFO
* Matthias Jochem, COO
* Matthias Mersmann, CTO
As of March 2024, the KHD supervisory board comprises:
* Jiayan Gong, Chairman
* Gerhard Beinhauer, Vice Chairman
* Xiaodong Wu
* Jingnan Yang
The management board is assisted by the general managers of KHD’s subsidiaries:
* André Sybon, general manager for the KHD Center of Excellence, Humboldt Wedag (Germany)
* Rainer Krüper, general manager for sales and execution, Humboldt Wedag (Germany)
* Ashok Dembla, general manager, Humboldt Wedag India Pvt Ltd
* Dwayne Holland, general manager, Humboldt Wedag Inc.
* Wolfgang Pajonke, general manager, ZAB Zementanlagenbau GmbH Dessau
* Sibo ‘Steven’ Yan, general manager of KHD Humboldt Wedag Machinery Equipment (Beijing) Co. Ltd
Ownership
Ownership of KHD has changed a number of times over its history. As of March 2014, the China State-owned Assets Supervision & Administration Commission is the largest shareholder in KHD Humboldt Wedag International AG with a 89.02% stake, via AVIC Beijing Co. Ltd, a subsidiary of Aviation Industry Corporation of China.$^{[21]}$