A life dedicated to KSB
In 2017, Dr. Wolfgang Kühborth passed away at the age of 92. The descendant of KSB’s founding family shaped the development of the company for over 50 years.
Dr. Wolfgang Kühborth occupied various leading positions at KSB, playing a central role in the company’s history for around 50 years. Many people paid tribute to him as a charismatic entrepreneur who greatly influenced the development of the company during the post-war period, steering the KSB Group into a global role over a career spanning about five decades.
Born in 1924 in Heidelberg, Dr. Kühborth spent his entire working life with KSB following school and serving in the military. He trained as a metalworker at the former factory in Homburg in 1948 before studying mechanical engineering at Karlsruhe Technical University. He then attended the Centre d’Études Industrielles business school in Geneva and became assistant to the director of Kleinschanzlin Pumpen AG in Homburg in 1954 at the age of 30.
Küborth drove expansion into Asia and the Americas
After transferring to the parent company in Frankenthal in 1957, as the Chairman of the Board of Management and later Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Dr. Kühborth oversaw KSB’s expansion to become one of the world’s leading pump and valve manufacturers. His tenure witnessed the establishment and expansion of major production locations in Asia and the Americas as well as the acquisition of French competitors Pompes Guinard and AMRI. As well as supporting internal training and development, he implemented extensive research and development to secure KSB’s continuing success.
Dr. Kühborth also contributed to KSB’s future by relinquishing his claim on the Klein family inheritance. Together with his father, Dr. Otto Klein-Kühborth, he transferred the assets to the non-profit KSB Stiftung [KSB Foundation]. The Foundation’s objective is to fund activities in science and research and to encourage young talent in these fields. Through Johannes und Jacob Klein GmbH, formerly Klein Pumpen GmbH, the Foundation holds around 84 percent of the ordinary shares in KSB today, providing an important anchor of stability for the Group. In 1993, Dr. Kühborth transferred his remaining shares in Johannes und Jacob Klein GmbH to the non-profit Kühborth Stiftung [Kühborth Foundation].