History – company | STAHL CraneSystems

The development of the company

1876	Rafael Stahl and Gustav Weineck found a mechanical workshop in Stuttgart.
1880	After Gustav Weineck’s death, Rafael Stahl, together with Wilhelm Stücklen, founds a circular spring needle knitting machine factory.
1886	Rafael Stahl achieves economic independence and builds his own factory, R. STAHL Rundstuhlfabrik Stuttgart.
1890	His sons Karl and Rafael Stahl join the company.
1893	Rafael Stahl jun. has studied engineering and his passion is for hoists and steel structures. He designs and builds the first manual lift.
1898	The material handling age now begins definitively with the first large electric overhead travelling crane.
1926	R. STAHL is the first builder to develop and produce explosion-protected electrical apparatus and for a long time remains one of the few suppliers of explosion-protected hoists in Germany.
1944	Production is relocated to Künzelsau.
1954	The company is split into two independent divisions: the Material Handling Division and the Explosion Protection Division.
1963	The Material Handling Division moves to Hofratsmühle plant, Künzelsau.
1979	The company focuses on growth. The first subsidiary in the USA is the beginning of its global orientation.
1982	The operational division Material Handling is spun off from R. STAHL GmbH & Co. KG. R. STAHL Fördertechnik GmbH with its registered office in Stuttgart comes into being.
1993	The registered office of the company is relocated to Künzelsau.
	R. STAHL GmbH & Co. KG becomes a public limited company and has been listed on the stock exchange since 1997.
2001	The Explosion Protection Division moves to Waldenburg.
2005	R. STAHL AG sells the Material Handling Division to Konecranes AG Group, Finland.
	The premium brand of STAHL CraneSystems offering a full range of lifting and crane engineering products comes into being.
2009	STAHL CraneSystems specialises in developing and building high-quality hoists and crane components and gives up building cranes.
	Establishing the experts network and certification of the first crane building companies as “Partners of STAHL CraneSystems”.
2012	The Hofratsmühle plant celebrates its 50th anniversary.
2017	The premium brand STAHL CraneSystems joins the Columbus McKinnon Corporation, USA.