Merger with Liebers & Co.
Hugo Kern KG merges with rival company Liebers & Co. from Ingolstadt, the first ever German knitting element factory, founded in 1876 in the state of Saxony. The company is renamed Hugo Kern und Liebers & Co. The brand KERN-LIEBERS is born. The merger of the two industry leaders allows a reduction in costs and an increase in competitiveness in the global market for knitting elements. In the same year, Dr. Kurt Steim lays the foundation stone for the company's new premises in Schramberg-Sulgen, with space at the old premises in the valley having become too tight.
Move to Sulgen.
The company relocates to the Sulgen district, where all product groups and management and administration are brought under one roof. The Liebers & Co. production facilities in Ingolstadt are closed and fully integrated into the new premises. KERN-LIEBERS is now the world's largest manufacturer of knitting elements. Thanks to the sound and stable foundations established by Dr. Kurt Steim, the company successfully stakes its place in the market in the years that follow and is ideally prepared for global competition.
100 years of KERN-LIEBERS – 100 years of expertise.
KERN-LIEBERS celebrates its 100th anniversary with a ceremony and open day for the public.