1894 – 2019
125 years of machines and plants for the whole world

In 2019, KELLER can look back on a successful company history of 125 years. The beginnings of the company were small, but revolutionary, and typical for the time of the great inventors at the turn of the century.

It all started with the convincing idea of the company founder Carl Keller in 1894. The first finger car for brick factories, a transporting car with movable bearing arms, with which bricks could be easily loaded and unloaded. At that time Carl Keller could not even guess that his invention would be a technical milestone in the mechanisation of brick handling.

His invention made the working conditions of the workers easier and increased productivity considerably. In 1910, the first fully automatic machine, Type Hörstel, was developed, by means of which the products can be cut and set down on transport pallets. Further pioneering inventions of Carl Keller should follow and laid the foundation of the today’s globally acting company. Automation was the key to success and made known the young company KELLER rapidly across national borders.

The passionately keen inventor and commercially experienced company founder Carl Keller died in 1932 and left behind an enterprise with solid foundations. Despite his personal success, Carl Keller kept his natural and modest character throughout his life, thus marking the company culture. From the very beginning, he shared his success with his employees and motivated them through recognition. For more than 90 years KELLER was managed by the Keller family.

The sister company KELLER Spezialtechnik, founded in 1954, which developed and manufactured control and measurement instruments for dryers, took over the majority of the Pyro-Werk Hanover in 1967, which had been producing pyrometers for non-contact temperature measurement since 1925. In 1971, the administration and production were moved from Hanover to Laggenbeck. In 1977, KELLER Spezialtechnik and Pyro-Werk merged to form KELLER Spezialtechnik-Pyrowerk GmbH. In 1990, it became the MSR division (today ITS and IAS). In 2000, the family business was integrated into the French Ceric Group.

Since 2007, KELLER has been a division of Legris Industries, a French company.

Today, KELLER is reorganized in the following business areas: Intelligent Ceramic Solutions ICS, Intelligent Machinery Solutions IMS, Intelligent Automation Solutions IAS and Infrared Temperature Solutions ITS. All of them are supported by the SERVICE business area.

KELLER has remained true to its guiding principle as an innovative and technologically leading company to this day. The employees who have gone through all the ups and downs of recent years with the company have always been decisive for this success.