Johann Georg Hitzler founded the shipyard on September 2, 1885. Last week, the current owners Marek and Kai Klimenko celebrated the anniversary with around 300 guests.
Every city has its landmark: Hamburg the Michel, Paris the Eiffel Tower – and Lauenburg the Hitzler shipyard. Founded in 1885, the shipbuilding company has always shaped the panorama of the city on the Elbe.
Johann Georg Hitzler laid the foundation stone for the traditional company on September 2, 1885. The current owners Marek and Kai Klimenko invited around 300 guests to the 140th anniversary – including employees, customers, business partners and numerous companions.
Always in family hands
The two owners – father and son – see the shipyard as a family business. The company remained in the hands of the Hitzlers for four generations. When no successor was found within the family in 2021, the long-standing design manager Marek Klimenko took over the shipyard together with his son.
Father and son working side by side is no exception in Lauenburg: there are a dozen father-son or brother pairs among the 60 or so employees. Around a fifth of the workforce are related to each other, and there is even a married couple among them. “We are truly a family,” emphasized Kai Klimenko in his speech – fittingly, many colleagues came to the celebration with their families.
Family has been a top priority at the Elbe for 140 years, but values such as quality, adherence to deadlines and first-class shipbuilding also characterize the shipyard – and will continue to do so for the next 140 years, as Kai Klimenko promised. He also addressed the last owner of the shipyard, Franz Hitzler, who was among the guests of honor.
From the Elbe to the Suez Canal
140 years of Hitzler Werft not only stand for tradition, but also for innovation. Over the past decades, modern icebreakers, offshore supply vessels for drilling platforms and tugs have been built in Lauenburg – including one that helped to salvage the “Ever Given” in the Suez Canal and thus got global goods traffic moving again.
The shipyard is continuing this line under the leadership of Klimenkos. It recently caused a stir with the delivery of the research vessel “Coriolis”. The ship of the Heron Institute serves as a floating laboratory in which, among other things, fuel cell technology is tested. The next project is soon to be completed with the completion of the biomethane-powered Elbe ferry “Amt Neuhaus-Bleckede” – marking the start of another chapter of innovative shipbuilding in Lauenburg.
A commemorative publication was published to mark the 140th anniversary. You can download it here.
