Our history
Stagnation means regression.
1949 Company foundation
Lerbs was founded by Johann Hinrich Lerbs in 1949, with it’s head office in Bremen Schlachte. Lerbs started as a hardware wholesaler and classic ship chandler directly in the Bremen city center.
1970 New construction and relocation
By relocating to a modern operational and administrative building, the subsequent Lerbs GmbH & Co KG in the new industrial park in Stuhr is constantly expanding its customer base by including customers from trade, business, municipalities and the industry.
1991 Foundation of the Rostock branch
The branch in Rostock was founded as a second location and is developing into a center of excellence for the area of occupational health and safety.
1993 Foundation of the Hamburg branch
In order to guarantee the greatest possible customer proximity at a trading center such as Hamburg and a port of this size, the first branch office was built in Wandsbek. In the meantime, the location in a new building has more than doubled.
1998 Foundation of the Goslar branch
As a central hub between the North and the East of Germany, the Goslar branch was established and appointed as a center of excellence for climbing technology.
2006 Transformation into an AG (corporation)
In order to set the right course for the future, the traditional company was transformed into a stock corporation and is now called LERBS AG.
2009 Founding of Lerbs (Shanghai) Trading Company Ltd.
For optimal on-site customer service in Asia, Lerbs Trading Company Ltd. was launched in Shanghai. This was due to the high demand for high-quality maritime equipment and general equipment such as e.g. tools.
2011 Foundation of the branches Emden, Lübeck and Wesel
The branches Emden, Lübeck (center of excellence for welding technology) and Wesel (center of excellence for machine tools) were established as further locations.
2013 Expansion of the head office and energy rehabilitation of the administrative building
In addition to the energy rehabilitation of the office building, the inauguration of a training center and a spacious shop and pick-up area with its own test center, as well as a demonstration center for C-part output systems from SUPPLIX is done in Stuhr.
2017 Concept of the LERBS Group and integration of Gassmann Industrie GmbH
In order to combine all business areas, the idea of the LERBS Group was transformed into a concept and the Gassmann Industrie GmbH (Heiligenstadt) was integrated in the company.
2018 Integration of Hortmann und Wolf GmbH and foundation of the advertising technology in Stuhr
After the implementation of the LERBS Group with a uniform corporate identity, Hortmann und Wolf GmbH (Siegen) was integrated and the advertising technology division was opened at its headquarters in Stuhr. Thanks to its high level of know-how and experts, the Siegen location is a center of excellence for metal cutting and measuring technology.
2019 Integration of BWL trading company
In order to expand the company, BWL trading company (Osnabrück) will join in and continue its journey under the LERBS Group.