75 YEARS YOUNG!
Dear friends and partners of LUBING,
Dear employees,
LUBING turns 75 – a reason for us all to celebrate!
The day I am writing this would have been the 103rd birthday of LUBING company founder Ludwig Bening. When he founded his company, shortly after the Second World War, LUBINGs success story was not in the least foreseeable.
His values have shaped us for more than seven decades – despite his early and tragic death in an accident in 1968. His successor – and my predecessor – Egon Schumacher has lived and developed these values in a unique way. Without these two formative personalities, LUBING would not be what it is today: a market-leading, globally active mechanical engineering company in agricultural animal husbandry – and for some years now also in greenhouse air conditioning.
With the development of this market segment, as well as many other product developments, we at LUBING prove every day that we are as agile and innovative as we were when we were founded, and our decades-long success rests on the shoulders of our employees in development, administration and production and our long-standing partners and customers all over the world. I would like to take this opportunity to express my heartfelt thanks to all of you for your dedication, reliability and partnership.
With the chronicle you are holding in your hands, we look back at the history of our company and at the same time take a glimpse into the future. Let us celebrate together and continue on LUBINGs successful path!!
Yours,
Markus von der Assen, Managing Director
How it all began… the years 1949 to 1955
Like so many other children of his generation, the war robbed Ludwig Bening of his future even before it had begun.
He returned home in 1945 to a destroyed, hopeless country, but the young man, who had to grow up so quickly, reclaimed his world and began to work on what he saw as the greatest opportunity: establishing a functioning agriculture that could once again feed the local people. His ideas were new, technically adept and ambitious, and solved the pressing issues of the time – so he decided to put all his eggs in one basket.
In May 1949, before the currency reform, he founds Ludwig Bening Maschinenbau, or LUBING. The purpose of the company was to manufacture wind-powered pumps for cattle grazing. The drive for technical optimization, which has shaped the history of the company to this day, is already evident in these products: LUBING windmills are equipped with a storm protection system developed in-house, which works on a purely mechanical basis and automatically turns the wheel out of the wind in strong storms to prevent damage.
In 1950, this technology was even registered as a utility model, and his success proved him right: from three employees when it was founded, the company grew to almost 20 employees within eight years and continuously expanded its business areas.
LUBING presents its wind power pumps at a regional agricultural exhibition.
Inventor years before the German “Wirtschaftswunder”
Within a few years, Ludwig Bening succeeds in building up a flourishing company: from the first workshop on his fathers farm in Düste, production moves to Rechterner Straße in 1950, where Ludwig Bening builds a production building (120 m2), which also provides a home for him and his young family on the upper floor. The small company is barely able to meet the demand for the new wind turbines and continues to optimize the product: using the then new material polystyrene instead of sheet steel, the company manufactures its own blades, significantly increasing aerodynamics and efficiency.
Bold investments
Ludwig Benings inventive spirit developed in different directions: Oil tanks and efficient hot water and air heating systems as well as other pumps are developed in a very short time and in some cases discarded after a short time. The newly developed thick matter centrifugal pump is very successful – also an invention of the “handyman” Ludwig Bening – as the local daily newspaper calls him, which follows his successful path with interest. The now ten-strong team, which also repairs motor vehicles on the side, significantly expands its capacities, but no longer fits into the small business premises. Ludwig Bening bravely allowed himself to build a new home for himself and his young family next to the company building; the former apartment became the companys office. At the same time, a new production hall is built, which can start operations in 1955.
The German Wirtschaftswunder
In the 1950s, the German economic miracle is born: in just over a decade, economic output in Germany increases by 185 percent. The central figure in this success is Ludwig Erhard, the first Economics Minister of the newly founded Federal Republic of Germany.
However, this would not have been possible without the Marshall Plan, a large-scale US reconstruction program for the war-ravaged European countries. Real wages did not begin to rise seriously until the second half of the 1950s.
A new line of business: Drinking valves!
Success proves Ludwig Bening right
But as early as 1958 – with 30 employees by then – the next expansion becomes necessary. By the beginning of the 1960s, the number of employees had risen to 35. LUBING has increased its productivity by a factor of 50 within just under 10 years. The average wage of a locksmith has roughly doubled in the same period: from DM 1.20 to around DM 2.50 – per hour.
A new line of business: Drinking valves!
At the beginning of the 1960s, LUBING, which had grown rapidly in the meantime, disposed of unprofitable product areas – such as oil heaters and tanks – and hired a new employee who would shape the companys fortunes until after the turn of the millennium: Egon Schumacher was hired as an engineer on September 1, 1964 after studying mechanical engineering. His starting salary was DM 800 per month.
Another decisive step: In 1967, Ludwig Bening met the then Big Dutchman sales representative Josef Meerpohl, who was looking for suppliers for certain components for his companys feeding systems for laying hens and pigs. The LUBING founder is enthusiastic about the possibilities and opportunities of working together. Within a very short space of time, the entrepreneurs agree on a contract to supply drinking valves for Big Dutchman: the first order covers the enormous quantity of 500,000 units – in one year!
“I have always fought until things got better.”
Interview with
Egon Schumacher
Dear Mr. Schumacher, what are you for LUBING, what is LUBING for you?
ES: That is the hardest question right at the beginning. Let me put it this way: My life story is inextricably linked to LUBING, and of course LUBINGs story is also linked to mine. I come from a time when companies were shaped by personalities and personal contact was the deciding factor. However, I was not born with the idea that I would become one of the formative personalities behind LUBING.
What do you mean?
ES: I came out of my engineering degree in Hanover in 1964 as a very young graduate and was mainly looking for short-term employment to gain experience before my military service. So I applied for a job at LUBING and met Ludwig Bening.
What kind of person was he? Also personally?
ES: We had a very good relationship right from the start. His history as a pilot in the war, which was shared by so many at the time, had prevented him from getting the education that would have been right for him: a degree in engineering. He was open and honest about the fact that he envied me a little and was both inquisitive and cooperative. We complemented each other. He was a real inventor and tinkerer and at the same time tireless when it came to optimizing technology: “It has to be better!” Thats what drove him. At the same time, he knew his limits and was always open to the objectively better solution, but it didnt have to come from him.
What were the first years until his death like for you?
ES: I had joined the German army in 1965 and returned after 18 months of military service, still with the idea of staying for 1-2 years and then seeing what else would open up for me. A lot had happened at LUBING in the meantime. Ludwig Bening was sometimes quite impulsive when it came to introducing or abolishing product areas. He turned down the offer to get involved in the first polystyrene packaging for BASF (our windmill blades were made from this new material) and stopped building oil firing systems. Then came two fateful events. His meeting with Josef Meerpohl was a turning point in LUBINGs history: it brought the company its first major order of no less than 500,000 drinking valves – today we would say drinking nipples – within a year. This decided the future product direction. The second fateful event was, of course, his fatal car accident in 1968.
After this great misfortune, his widow asked me in 1968 whether I could imagine joining the company as managing director. After very brief consideration, I accepted.
You were very young, 27 years old. Was the decision difficult?
ES: Not really. My family has a farming past, and independence has always been honored and upheld in our family. I saw everything that was important to me in LUBING – and huge creative opportunities.
What have you done differently from your predecessor Ludwig Bening?
ES: Many things. My perseverance and consistency as an engineer and entrepreneur is probably the biggest difference. Valve construction for cattle troughs was complex and difficult in the early years, and there were many design problems to solve. Perhaps Ludwig Bening would have left it again and gone in new directions. I always fought until things got better. You could also call that optimism, coupled with perseverance. Incidentally, thats what LUBING has always done over the decades: not giving up straight away, trusting his engineering knowledge – and thus achieving the goal in the end, even if there were dry spells.
Were there many?
ES: Of course, as in any successful company. The financial situation was tight for a long time, navigating between economic downturns and constant growth was difficult, and I also had frequent discussions with the banks at the beginning. Nevertheless, our belief in our own product has always strengthened us. Customers told us what they wanted and we turned that into products. I will never forget coming back from a customer visit in the USA. They wanted a nipple for chick rearing that could also be operated from the side. I made the first sketches at 11,000 meters above the Atlantic. This later became the Super-Nipple. We realized very early on that sales in Germany alone were too limited for our products. Ludwig Bening had already made his first trip to South America in the early 1960s – unusual for a German medium-sized company at the time – and established business relationships there. The expansion of an international dealer network and subsidiaries in the most important markets was then always a very important concern for me – and has remained so for LUBING to this day.
Speaking of nipples: how did you and your team develop products?
ES: Not always as I just described (laughs). You have to see: Over the decades, many outstanding engineers have shaped product development in all areas here. My job increasingly became the strategic planning and management of the company. Even at the end of the sixties, it was clear to me that although we were well advanced in pure valve production, it was basically an exchange part with which we would always be in competition with others. Our expertise was now so great that we had the confidence to develop a complete Drinking-System – and we were right. Our Drinking-Systems were robust, reliable and functional. This was the decisive step towards our breakthrough on the international market. They could be used all over the world in hot, cold, dry and humid climates. LUBING Drinking-Systems began their triumphal march and LUBING became a well-known and popular brand with customers. Most importantly, however, we later repeated the recipe for success, first for Conveyor-Systems and then for Climate-Systems. Today, we are the market leader or among the top three world-class manufacturers in several areas.
So the LUBING recipe for success is the combination of engineering services and strategic planning?
ES: You see, we have acquired such in-depth knowledge of the agricultural sector over decades, worldwide, that we already have a competitive advantage. We have always listened. In the annual meetings with our customers, we spent ten minutes on prices and contracts, then an hour and a half on products and their optimization. One of the great personalities who helped shape LUBING here was Josef Meerpohl, who also became a personal friend of mine. But there have also been many others over the decades!
Many thanks, Mr Schumacher!
Drinking-Systems: LUBING discovers its unique selling point
Drinking-Systems: LUBING discovers its unique selling point
Egon Schumacher knows that LUBING products will face strong competition over time. He combines two ideas: on the one hand, systems can make LUBING less dependent on pure nipple production and open up new business areas. Secondly, only with systems is it possible to coordinate all components in such a way that a perfect product is created. His success proves him right: LUBING Drinking-Systems work in all climate zones and parts of the world, regardless of temperature and humidity. LUBING Drinking-Systems are conquering and changing agricultural animal husbandry worldwide.
The seventies: high pace of development despite the economic crisis
The companys expansion extends to other European countries: In 1971, LUBINGs first foreign agency opens in France, headed by Werner Thur. In 1973, a new business segment was added, reflecting the companys experience in pump production: Vacuum pumps and equipment parts for groundwater lowering are produced for the Bremen-based company Pollmann. The automatic drinking lines are still the main business: on the companys 25th anniversary, Egon Schumacher can announce that 10 million drinking nipples have now been sold.
The first big anniversary:
Ludwig Bening is unforgotten.
Almost exactly 25 years after its foundation, LUBING Maschinenfabrik in Barnstorf is celebrating 25 years of success. Various patents issued for Germany and abroad since the early seventies have secured LUBINGs position: the 50-man company is now the largest European manufacturer of automatic drinkers and nipple drinkers. Egon Schumacher, Bertl Bening and their son Frank Bening honor the memory of Ludwig Bening in their speeches and emphasize the importance of medium-sized family businesses for the stability of the German economy.
These are the years of the first major oil crisis: high interest rates, a weakening economy for the first time in decades and the Cold War depress the mood.
LUBING nevertheless continues its successful course without reservation and invests in a new 700 m2 production hall: an almost doubling of the production area and a further expansion of production capacity. Only 8% of the productive output is now accounted for by wind power pumps, which were once crucial to the companys success. Now with 68 employees, LUBING primarily produces Drinking-Systems.
Two years later (1976), the growing company under the management of Egon Schumacher once again demonstrates its foresight when it makes a new, initially small, foray into a completely new area of agricultural production. The first cross conveyor system for egg transport is developed and marketed.
Systems for all ages and in all climate zones.
International business:
LUBING goes worldwide!
In 1974, the former foreign agency in France becomes the first international wholly-owned subsidiary LUBING Int. SARL. Over the next two years, both LUBING UK Ltd. in Great Britain and LUBING IBERICA SA in Pamplona, Spain, are founded. But LUBING is also putting out feelers to the Middle East with a cooperation project: In a first major cooperation project, the IRAQ I project is created – together with the Bremen-based company Protinas, it is the start of a cooperation lasting more than 15 years, which was to come to an abrupt end with the Second Gulf War. In the course of the invasion of Kuwait in the late 1980s, three LUBING employees are taken hostage and are abducted.
Through intensive joint efforts and with the help of the German government, they finally manage to smuggle them out of the country by adventurous means – and bring them home safely.
With the worldwide expansion of the business, it becomes important to upgrade the existing structures: LUBING Maschinenfabrik changes its name to GmbH & Co. KG in 1977. The four personal shareholders are Bertl and Frank Bening as well as Egon Schumacher and Werner Thur, Managing Director of the French LUBING subsidiary. In the same year, a new company is founded in order to be able to obtain the required plastic profiles, parts and pipes from its own production and to increase capacity for the manufacture of complete Drinking-Systems. BARKU Barnstorfer Kunststofftechnik GmbH & Co. KG is based on Landshuter Straße in Barnstorf and from then on writes its own success story – closely linked to LUBING.
With the curve conveyor completely new and flexible barn layouts could suddenly be realized.
The eighties:
Inventions for modern agriculture
The Rechterner Straße is already becoming too cramped again: a new hall with an area of 1,200 m2 is being built to meet the unbroken demand for LUBING products. Increasing international exports to America, Australia and the Arab countries lead to the highest number of employees to date: 70 employees work in offices and halls to manufacture and assemble drinking nipples and accessories and sell them all over the world.
The production of Conveyor-Systems gets off to a good start and once again hits a gap in the market – just like the drinking nipples. The time is ripe for a new invention, which is tackled with perseverance and engineering skill. As a supplement to the cross conveyor, LUBING develops the curve conveyor, which uses a round link chain with welded-on rods to allow tight curves in barns without the eggs being crushed between the rods. Much later came the engineering masterpiece of implementing the same for extreme inclines and declines.
The steep conveyor, developed in 2003, completes the system and enables damage-free transportation up to 60°!
In the late eighties, LUBING develops the Super-Nipple, which can be easily opened even by day-old chicks by operating it from the side. LUBING consolidates its business operations, introduces a quality management system and finally buys the 13,000 m2 site at Am Kampe 60 in Barnstorf in order to expand further. A 1,000 m2 production hall is initially built there. New patents, e.g. for the ball tank and ventilation, are registered.
In addition to the first major start-ups in Asia – in China and India – the nineties bring the third system to LUBING: Top-Climate-Systems vaporize water at a pressure of 70 bar and previously unknown, extremely fine distribution in the barn – the litter remains dry. The system cools effectively, especially in hot climates, and is suitable for both poultry and pig houses. It goes from strength to strength: the Top-Nipple joins the LUBING portfolio at the end of the nineties and cements LUBINGs reputation as a driver of innovation. Seven years after the purchase, additional production halls with 2,500 m2 are built at the new site “Am Kampe” and the entire production is relocated there.
LUBING consolidates its business operations, introduces a quality management system and finally buys the 13,000 m2 site at Am Kampe 60 in Barnstorf in order to expand further. A 1,000 m2 production hall is initially built there. New patents, e.g. for the ball tank and ventilation, are registered.
In addition to the first major start-ups in Asia – in China and India – the nineties bring the third system to LUBING: Top-Climate-Systems vaporize water at a pressure of 70 bar and previously unknown, extremely fine distribution in the barn – the litter remains dry.
The system cools effectively, especially in hot climates, and is suitable for both poultry and pig houses. It goes from strength to strength: the Top-Nipple joins the LUBING portfolio at the end of the nineties and cements LUBINGs reputation as a driver of innovation. Seven years after the purchase, additional production halls with 2,500 m2 are built at the new site “Am Kampe” and the entire production is relocated there.
Egon Schumacher next to Markus von der Assen: The dual leadership of the company from 2006.
New developments despite crises
LUBING ventures into another area and designs the first version of its “AirClean” exhaust air purification system for pig houses. Shortly before the global slump following the financial crisis in 2008, LUBING increased its annual output in nipple production by more than a third within three years.
Despite the economic crisis and a worldwide decline in demand for products, LUBING continues on its positive path and survives the crisis without laying off any employees, even without a single day of short-time working. On the contrary: the company uses the time to push ahead with new developments and expand its operations once again. In 2010 the new TwinClean Line is developed, which relies on the permanent circulation of water in the drinking line – a pioneering innovation that not only takes hygiene into account, but also animal welfare.
In addition, the development of the CombiMaster nipple is completed and an ultrasonic chain cleaning system for the Conveyor-Systems is introduced. A new large warehouse is built and new land is purchased (13,000 m2 in total). The street Am Kampe itself is ceremoniously renamed Lubingstraße – a tribute to the importance of the company for Barnstorf and the surrounding area.
In the newly built and inaugurated Research Center, LUBING is able to reposition its development expertise in a modern building with capacity for further growth in 2013. At the same time, digitalization is being driven forward with the introduction of new financial accounting and billing software.
Egon Schumacher celebrates his 50th anniversary at LUBING in 2014 – at the end of the year, he ends his role as Managing Director and joins the company as a consultant. Markus von der Assen continues to run the company as Managing Director. In 2012, Michael Abeln is appointed as the new Technical Manager, succeeding Rudi Fick.
Digitalization is not only being driven forward internally, LUBING is also developing electronic control units for its Drinking-Systems. The challenges are extensive: like the systems themselves, the digital control units should also have user interfaces that are as internationally applicable and simple as possible, are self-explanatory and enable easy handling. The company was rewarded for its efforts in this area at EuroTier 2016 with a silver medal for the Optima E-Control system.
Optima E-Control: The digitalization of the drinker control system wins a silver medal at EuroTier 2016.
Digitalization is not only being driven forward internally, LUBING is also developing electronic control units for its Drinking-Systems. The challenges are extensive: like the systems themselves, the digital control units should also have user interfaces that are as internationally applicable and simple as possible, are self-explanatory and enable easy handling. The company was rewarded for its efforts in this area at EuroTier 2016 with a silver medal for the Optima E-Control system.
LUBING has now taken over all the buildings and land on the Lubingstrasse site from BARKU, which is now located entirely on Rudolf-Diesel-Strasse, and will thus have a total of over 70,000 m2 of commercial space with more than 16,000 m2 of hall and production space by 2020.
Two new product areas point the way to the future: under the new brand name LUBING Greentec, the company is entering the climate control sector, thereby tapping into the CEA (Controlled Environmental Agriculture) segment. The first specialized climate control systems will be installed in greenhouses as early as 2019. The new “AirClean” exhaust air purification system for pig pens is presented for the first time at EuroTier 2018: It cleans the exhaust air of dust and ammonia in line with requirements. The bio stage also actively filters odorous substances as an option. The innovations will develop into independent business areas by 2021.
The coronavirus pandemic and the global economic slump are affecting LUBING like any other company and making production conditions more difficult. However, the introduction of compulsory masks, the adjustment of the shift structure and consistent disinfection measures prevent production losses at an early stage. Even during the crisis phase, the company is also working on its own energy balance and independence: Photovoltaic systems are being installed across the board on the roofs of most of the production halls and will provide a significant proportion of the electrical energy required in the future.
Egon Schumacher will be able to accept a special honor, which is also a tribute to LUBINGs innovative strength, at EuroTier 2022: He will be awarded the Max Eyth commemorative coin – since 1950 a special honor for personalities who have rendered outstanding services to agricultural technology. In the same year, LUBING receives DLG certification for the AirClean system and in 2022 Michael Abeln is appointed Technical Director. In this way, LUBING takes account of the growing international challenges and the constant development of the company, and as a management team, Markus von der Assen and Michael Abeln are even more committed to CEA in view of global developments with the Greentec division, without neglecting the traditional business areas. New trade fair presences bear witness to this – for example, LUBING will be exhibiting at Greentech Amsterdam in 2023 with a new, particularly powerful pump station geared towards greenhouse climate control.
CELEBRATING 75 YEARS!
The anniversary year 2024 is all about the 75-year history and unbroken innovative strength of a vibrant mechanical engineering company that has made development, constant optimization and an uncompromising commitment to quality its guiding principles from the very beginning.
The development of the drinker nipple, today the standard product in poultry farming worldwide, is a prime example of these values. Here, too, the company can report a major success in 2024. In the fall, just in time for EuroTier, the number of drinking nipples produced since the start of production will break through a significant barrier.
“Our products are
sophisticated, successful and top of the range.”
Markus von der Assen
talks to Michael Abeln.
Markus von der Assen has led LUBING as Managing Director for many years. Michael Abeln has been with the company since 2012 and has been Technical Managing Director for two years. Here, both of them answer questions about the present and the future, but also look back on the past years and decades.
Mr. Abeln, Mr. von der Assen, which path led you to LUBING?
MA: After graduating from PHWT, I quickly worked my way up to team leader at a global company. The structures were clear and there was little room for advancement. My move to LUBING in 2012 was an interesting challenge because a lot was changing there: a new research center was being set up because the research and development area had become more and more extensive. Many new product developments were on the agenda, also because the pressure was increasing in international competition. My first meeting with Managing Director Egon Schumacher was an intensive discussion: As an engineer, he attached great importance to querying the basic technical understanding and knowledge of his new Technical Manager…
MvdA: I had already worked for a large manufacturer for a year after my studies and then moved to account management at another company. However, the local agricultural sector – my father comes from the livestock trade – somehow didnt let go of me. Via another detour at an agricultural company, I finally came to LUBING in 2004 – today you would say there was a headhunter involved…
Tell us about your view of the company. What are and were the biggest challenges?
MvdA: From a management perspective, the biggest challenges for me have been the cyclical, but also the “self-made” growth spurts. In the decades of its existence, our company has mastered several extraordinary growth phases under its own steam. At the same time, there have been huge digital leaps: a major ERP changeover, advances in robotics and AI in recent years…
MA: We are particularly noticing the latter in development. AI in the CAD sector is creating enormous efficiency gains – with topographical optimization tools, for example, we are developing products much faster and better today – and are virtually anticipating prototyping through intelligent design. Of course, I see developments more from the perspective of the engineer and product development and decisions. For me, there are a few principles for LUBING that are still decisive for success today.
Please explain!
MA: Firstly, almost all new products are linked to specific requests and specifications from our customers and in some cases have arisen from them. Secondly, customers tend to demand lower prices and consistent quality. We have never gone down this path in such a way that we would have had to compromise on quality. A LUBING product was and is always as good as it can be, without compromise. It will therefore not be one of the cheapest, but always one of the most functional, durable and reliable.
MvdA: It is not just customers who drive us to improve our products. In internal innovation rounds, we have regularly brought together all stakeholders from sales to production to improve existing products and develop new ones. This has resulted, for example, in the highly successful CombiMaster nipple. However, quality does not only mean making everything better and better, but also retaining the tried and tested and not bowing to the pressure of “maximizing profits and minimizing quality”. Our industry still ticks differently and fortunately not only allows quality, but demands it. In agriculture, what is simple, clearly functional, resilient and durable is considered good. LUBING products are almost literally synonymous with this. However, I would like to add at least one more point to Michael Abelns list: Not only do we listen carefully, but we always go exactly where the market (of the customer) is and manufacture what it needs there. Consistently acting globally has often helped LUBING through economic crises in its history. We are currently intensifying our commitment in South East Asia, where we see great potential.
So the prospects for LUBING are good?
MvdA: Definitely yes. Our three major product areas ofDrinking-, Conveyor- and Climate-Systems are mature, successful and top of the range – this is known worldwide and LUBING is one of the biggest brand names in the livestock sector. In addition, Egon Schumacher took the far-sighted path of moving from individual products to systems back in the seventies. This gave us a unique selling point in good time, which is why we have practically no direct competitors with our overall portfolio today – and can be copied less easily thanks to our system background. However, the copies of our products, most of which come from Asia, have not matched our quality because we have such sophisticated and effective production methods that equivalent replicas would often have to be more expensive than our products.
MA: That is the crucial point: for decades, we have always optimized production and, above all, processes at an early stage and in good time. Today, at least half of product development lies in the development of suitable and optimized processes. In addition, we have always immediately integrated technological advances into our processes. Today, we are so highly automated that we are highly effective in production. However, the pressure to automate has another driver: the blatant labor shortage…
MvdA: Like all German mechanical engineering companies, we are now suffering not only from a shortage of skilled workers, but a shortage of workers in general. AI, automation and robotics will help us to mitigate the problem…
Thank you. Finally, do you have a personal anecdote for us?
MA: Immediately after I started at LUBING, I was sent to Irkutsk as a sick leave replacement for an expert who was actually responsible, to take measurements for a planned Conveyor-System. I had a lot of respect for the task. After a long flight and a long drive, I had to measure and check everything during the rest of the day – always afraid of making gross mistakes that would have been disastrous. I was under a lot of tension, which was only relieved when the evening ended with a lot of typical Russian hospitality… my crash course in internationality, I would say.
MvdA: Not an anecdote, perhaps, but an example of how a small idea can become something big – and how good ideas can prevail against all odds: Years ago, myself and others at LUBING were already looking for ideas to expand the partly seasonal business in the Climate-System sector by extending it to other areas. Almost by chance, we came across a small manufacturer in Turkey that was active with its climate control systems for greenhouses and wanted to sell the company. We would have jumped at the chance, but were not allowed to make the purchase after all. A setback? Yes, at first. But it was the birth of LUBING Greentec – today we are penetrating deeper and deeper into this extremely growing market and are stirring up a lot of dust with our air conditioning and pump expertise.
MA: Exactly! With our systems, we are actually part of the food production chain with a focus on animals. The topic of “greenhouse climate” is now booming – in a time of declining meat and animal product consumption – but in a different direction: cea. This stands for controlled environment agriculture and indoor farming, vertical farming, etc. Many consider this to be the future of our food production – and we are part of it with LUBING Greentec.
Thank you very much for the interview, Mr von der Assen and Mr Abeln!
LUBING Systems, L.P.
135 Corporate Dr, SW
Cleveland, TN 37311
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General Information:
customerservice@lubingusa.com
Technical Support:
engineering@lubingusa.com
