With profound sorrow, we mourn the loss of the long-time mentor, senior colleague, and dear friend to all SANY employees, Prof. h.c. Dr. h.c. Dipl. Ing. Karl Schlecht, the founder of Putzmeister.
Mr. Schlecht was a globally recognized entrepreneur in the construction industry. While still a young engineering student, he creatively designed a large-scale mortar pump. In 1958, Mr. Schlecht established the now world-renowned construction machinery company Putzmeister.
Over the next nearly 50 years, Mr. Schlecht continued to pioneer technological development in the field of concrete pumping and led Putzmeister to grow into a global market leader in concrete pumping and a major corporation with 22 subsidiaries, making tremendous contributions towards “building a world where housing and infrastructure are affordable and sustainable,” for which the general public greatly respects him.
Throughout his long career, Mr. Schlecht received numerous awards and honors. He was an Honorary Senator of the University of Hohenheim in Germany, an Honorary Doctorate from Zeppelin University in Germany, and an Honorary Professor at Tongji University in China. In addition, he was awarded the Karlsruhe Innovation Prize, the Diesel Medal for technological innovation, and the Federal Order of Merit, among others.
Mr. Schlecht was an extraordinary person, successful entrepreneur and philanthropist whose life and work left a deep impression on all those who had the privilege of knowing him. He was a man who pursued his visions with passion, dedication and great perseverance, always putting people at the center of everything he did.
Even 30 years ago, the success of Mr. Schlecht and Putzmeister inspired SANY, located 9,000 kilometers away, to vigorously embark on its second entrepreneurial journey and formally enter the construction machinery field. The high-quality products that he and Putzmeister developed have long been a model for every SANY employee to study and emulate.
In late 2011, Mr. Schlecht began looking for a global partner for Putzmeister. At that time, SANY, having grown into a leading concrete machinery enterprise in China, caught his attention. In January 2012, Mr. Schlecht, Mr. Liang Wengen, and other senior executives from both parties held their first meeting, during which a mutual understanding and consensus was achieved within a matter of hours — to work together in creating an exemplary enterprise for the entire industry and the global community.
This "lightning acquisition" took just over half a month of negotiation. On 31 January 2012, SANY Heavy Industry, in partnership with CITIC Industrial Fund, formally announced a joint investment of 360 million euros to acquire all shares of Putzmeister. This was the largest acquisition by a Chinese company in Germany at the time, hailed as a “model of Sino-German cooperation.”
Over the past 12 years, with Mr. Schlecht’s assistance, SANY and Putzmeister have respected and closely collaborated with each other, further solidifying our leading position in the global market and jointly writing a beautiful chapter of "dragon and elephant dancing together." All SANY employees remain deeply grateful to Mr. Schlecht. Today, nearly half of the world's concrete is pumped by equipment from SANY and Putzmeister. Putzmeister's business has also successfully expanded into other products in the construction machinery field, with revenues nearly doubling.
Though he has left us, his spirit endures. An enterprise is the extension of an entrepreneur’s life. Although Mr. Schlecht is no longer with us, his thoughts and vision will forever continue at Putzmeister and live on at SANY. SANY and Putzmeister will continue to strive tirelessly to contribute to a better world!
