HISTORY - THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE KIEBITZBERG®
1980 – 1989
At the beginning of the 1980s, Andreas Lewerken moves to the Altmark. More precisely, to the „Kiebitzberg“, a secluded farmstead near Havelberg. He founded a workshop for therapeutic and educational wooden toys under the name „Holzspielzeug vom Kiebitzberg“ and, rather unusually at the time, had a logo developed and a catalog produced. The imaginative toys with the lapwing are sold in the galleries of the GDR. Renate Lewerken soon began to work full-time in the workshop, and even her children Florian and Agnes-Josephine were involved in their parents' business from an early age.
1990 – 1999
In 1990, everything suddenly changed: wooden toys were no longer in demand. Instead, there were woodworking machines and materials, so that Andreas Lewerken was able to build up his actual specialty, furniture making. The workshop is soon expanded and the first employees are hired. The training of apprentices also begins in these years. The growing number of orders and employees meant that space on the Kiebitzberg became tight - too tight.
In 1996, the company moves to the Havelberg industrial estate under the new name Kiebitzberg® Möbelwerkstätten. Savings banks and banks now appreciate the creativity of the owner and the quality of the products, as do private and business customers.
In addition to the day-to-day business, Andreas Lewerken is continuously developing the company. An integrated management program ensures the quality standards of production, and further training is a matter of course. He is involved in cultural and business development projects in the region.
At the same time, over 300 years of shipyard history in the town of Havelberg are coming to an end. Following the liquidation of the VEB and several failed investors, the shipyard site is „morally burnt“. A fact that Andreas Lewerken cannot simply accept. Ideas are developed, concepts created and in 1998 the time has come: Andreas and Renate Lewerken take over responsibility for the industrial sector and found the Kiebitzberg® Schiffswerft GmbH & Co. KG.
In 1999, Andreas Lewerken is awarded the „Grand Prize for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises“ by the Oskar Patzelt Foundation.
2000 – 2007
In the coming years, „work will be carried out on many construction sites“. The 28,000 m² site turns out to be a run-down industrial area that was run down by previous owners. Now it is being cleaned up, gutted, built and invested in. At the same time, the first projects are being developed. In addition to minor ship repairs and steel work, the main focus is on solid surface materials. Here, washbasin systems, kitchen worktops and design objects are manufactured, which partners throughout Germany order from Kiebitzberg®.
And then the time has come: ships are being built again in Havelberg! For example, a traditional sailing ship, a trawler...
In 2005, German Chancellor Dr. Gerhard Schröder visits the small, innovative shipyard site and writes his impression in our guest book: „...With esteem and respect for entrepreneurial courage and social commitment...“
In the same year (2005-2006), Kiebitzberg® builds the „Positano“, the first seagoing professional ship in Havelberg since 1686! Parallel to shipbuilding, the high-quality ship interior outfitting at Kiebitzberg® continues to develop strongly. As a result, orders come to Havelberg from all over the world.
The work in the furniture workshops, where Mr. Thomas Franke, as the boss's right-hand man, manages the day-to-day business, is also becoming increasingly complex. The carpenters produce exhibition stand construction, contract furnishings as well as furnishings for private customers according to in-house designs or the specifications of the respective client.
The training of young cabinetmakers and the further training of „old journeymen“ are and will remain an essential and important aspect of the company in the future.
The structures of the Kiebitzberg® Group have grown. Competent employees in the individual specialist areas strengthen the management team around Andreas and Renate Lewerken. Construction, design, financial management and business administration are staffed with specialists who support and further develop the Kiebitzberg® idea.
After successfully completing a degree in business administration and a subsequent carpentry apprenticeship, son Florian Lewerken takes over the management of the solid surface production division. This is followed by ship interior fittings and boat and floating dock production.
There is also plenty to experience culturally on the Kiebitzberg®. Some great events take place on the shipyard site, such as performances of the operas „Zar & Zimmermann“ and „Die Hochzeit des Figaro“, the concert performance of the opera „Hochzeit an der Elbe“ and the „Sinfonische Nacht“ with the Europa-Philharmonie. As the Lewerken family has a great personal interest in art and culture, they are involved in organizing musical events as well as sponsoring the Havelberg Cathedral Music.
In August 2007, the property at Schöneberg Weg 6 in Havelberg and the „Schmokenberg“ hotel on it, which is in serious need of renovation, are purchased. The future company-owned ArtHotel Kiebitzberg is to be built here.
2008 – 2014
Major projects are implemented at the shipyard. In 2008, the new construction of a Missisippi-style paddle steamer (operating in the Baltic Sea) and a harbour launch (operating in the port of Hamburg) is successfully completed. Work at the shipyard is further boosted by the construction of the new production hall (500 m²) for the interior fitting of yachts. The ten meter high hall is suitable for complicated interior fittings (e.g. exhibition stand construction) and for fitting out yachts. This development is followed by further interesting shipbuilding projects in the yacht and passenger ship sector in the years 2005-2011.
The third location in Havelberg is making significant progress from 2010. Initial construction work is carried out at Schöneberger Weg 6 in the fall of 2010, and the ArtHotel guest house with 17 rooms and suites opens in August 2011. The opening of the ArtHotel main building and the Schmokenberg restaurant will follow in September 2012. The largest construction measures around the ArtHotel are completed in May 2013 with the opening of the ArtGalerie.
Kiebitzberg® Möbelwerkstätten is also investing heavily in 2013-2014 and expanding its workspace with a new production complex (1,200 m²). The total production and office space of the Kiebitzberg® Group is now over 9,000 m². November 2014 will see the completion of the new chip silo with filter house and heating system as well as the new workshop on the furniture production site. From 2014, the new 5-axis CNC technology is also introduced and the machinery is expanded and restructured in all parts of the company.
Many prizes and awards recognize the work of the Kiebitzberg® Group. In 2008, for example, the Kiebitzberg® Group received the certificate for reaching the second stage of the „Großer Preis des Mittelstandes“ competition. This is followed in 2010 by the Entrepreneur Award of the East German savings banks and SUPERillu, which recognizes the Kiebitzberg® Group as „Company of the Year“ in the state of Saxony-Anhalt. In 2011, the Kiebitzberg® Group receives the Entrepreneur Award from the Ministry of Economics and Labor and is named „Company of the Month February 2011“. And in 2013, Andreas and Renate Lewerken receive the „Stars for Saxony-Anhalt“ award - with the „star“ as a symbol of a shining example of the 2013/2014 EU structural fund campaigns.
2015+
On 01.04.2015, the Kiebitzberg® Group celebrates its 30th anniversary.
The Kiebitzberg Group has grown significantly in recent years. Record sales and new markets have been opened up. The owners Andreas & Renate Lewerken expand the management by 3 authorized signatories. Responsibilities are divided as follows: Florian Lewerken and Anke Schikor (business graduate/accounting) assume joint power of attorney for Kiebitzberg GmbH & Co.KG. Thomas Franke and Florian Lewerken assume joint power of attorney for Kiebitzberg Möbelwerkstätten. Thomas Franke (master carpenter) is also appointed operations manager for MW1.
The entrepreneur portrait will be published in 2015.
The Leipzig and Rostock branches open in 2016. The production facilities are consistently expanded, e.g. with water jet technology, another CNC and precision production tables for metal construction.