In Memory of Heinz Helmut Kempkes

Heinz Helmut Kempkes, the family entrepreneur and senior director of crane manufacturer Kuli – Hebezeuge Helmut Kempkes GmbH, died on 13 August 2020 at the age of 72.

Over five decades Heinz Helmut Kempkes used his great creative power at Kuli Hebezeuge and managed the company founded by his father in Duisburg in 1947 with responsibility and foresight.

In 1975, after completing his studies in mechanical engineering and his scientific work as the chair of materials handling at the Technical University of Darmstadt, Heinz Helmut Kempkes joined his father’s company and became managing partner in 1982.

In addition to his regional engagements such as spokesman for the Junior Chamber of Commerce, head of the Remscheid District Committee and vice president of the Chamber of Industry and Commerce Wuppertal-Solingen-Remscheid as well as his commitment to the common good as honorary commercial and financial judge, he has been appointed to numerous nationwide and European honorary offices.

Heinz Helmut Kempkes was a founding member of the RAL Gütegemeinschaft Kranservice (GKS) in 1999, which primarily oversees qualified services from qualified and certified companies in all crane applications.

His extraordinary commitment to the industry was mainly due to his involvement in the VDMA. For many years he was an active member of various committees and helped to shape the interests of the industry. Since 2004, he was a member of the main board of the VDMA, and since 1990 he has been a member of the board of the Association of Materials Handling and Intralogistics. He also chaired this association as chairman from 2003 to 2010.

Kempkes played a major role in the creation of the Cranes and Hoists Department, which was created in 2004 from two divisions, and took over as chairman of the new department. In 2005, the Research Association Intralogistics/Conveyor Technology and Logistics Systems (IFL) e.V. was also created with his participation.

He was also a member of the Presidium of the German Federation of Industrial Research Associations (AiF), of the Presidium of CeMAT and the Logistics Advisory Board of the Hannover Messe, as first deputy to the president and later as a member of the Honorary Senate of the German Institute for Standardization (DIN) in Berlin and as president of the European Materials Handling Federation (FEM).

For his outstanding commitment Heinz Helmut Kempkes was awarded the Cross of Merit on Ribbon of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany in 2013.