What started as a boatshop building craft that one person could handle is now a major player not just on the superyacht stage but also on the military stage. And what started as a company run by a 24-year-old is now in the hands of his great grandchildren and other relatives, four generations later. Such is the story of Lürssen, marking its 140th anniversary this year.
The actual anniversary date was June 27. That day in 1875 is when Friedrich Lürssen (below) set up a workshop in Aumund, Germany, near Bremen, where the yacht builder’s current headquarters are. Young Friedrich had trained as a boatbuilder and initially wanted to join his father’s boatyard. But, his father encouraged him to set out on his own, since it would be challenging for one company to feed two families. It was wise advice. Within 11 years, Friedrich’s shop went from constructing racing rowboats to building the world’s first powerboat. Gottlieb Daimler, founder of the eponymous engine company, wanted to test his new invention. The engine only put out 1.5hp, but it was a tremendous achievement that paved the way for where we are today in terms of propulsion. By the time Friedrich’s son joined the company in the early 1900s, Lürssen had built a raceboat with a 40-hp engine capable of nearly 35 knots.
Otto was a key player in Lürssen’s history. His leadership saw the shipyard build many award-winning speedboats. There was Lürssen-Daimler in 1911, the winner of the Cote d’Azur prize and Grand Prix de Nation, with a 102-hp engine. Saurer-Lürssen followed one year later, winning the Prix de Monte Carlo and setting an unofficial world speed record of 32 knots. Interest grew in Lürssen overseas, and it started building boats for American clients. One of the more famous was the commuter yacht Oheka II, for Otto Herman Kahn, a New York investment banker. She was the fasted of her type, with a 34-knot top end.
The third generation of Lürssen family members, Gert and Fritz-Otto, became involved in the late 1930s and remained in place after the war years. That period saw the shipyard continue producing powerboats for private clients and the German navy alike. The naval craft included patrol boats, anti-mine vessels, frigates, and corvettes. They remain important contracts for Lürssen today.
So when did megayachts enter the mix? Many people think of megayachts as thoroughly modern marvels, but the builder started offering them more than 50 years ago. Pegasus II, for example, was a 180-footer (55-meter) delivered in 1962. Under the guidance of cousins Friedrich and Peter Lürssen, who took over in the late 1980s, the number of megayachts handed over has grown tremendously. They put a strong emphasis on yacht construction. Presently 25 of the 100 largest yachts were built by Lürssen. Their names are well known: Azzam, Al Said, Topaz, Al Salamah, Rising Sun, Octopus, Golden Odyssey (formerly known as project Tatiana), Katara…and those are just among the top 20 biggest boats.
As much as the yachts gain fame for their LOAs, it’s important to focus on the people who have made them possible. Lürssen employs more than 1,000 people just at its Bremen facility. It has a handful of other shipyards in northern Germany, too, such as the one in Lemwerder pictured at the top of this page. Those thousands of employees have led to the launch of more than 13,000 yachts and ships. And, like the Lürssen family, many of them are following in the footsteps of their fathers, their cousins, and/or their siblings.
“As a family company it makes us proud and happy to be able to look back, in a turbulent industry, on 140 years of successful shipbuilding history on the River Weser”, emphasizes Peter Lürßen. “At the same time, our company anniversary motivates us as a family business to continue manufacturing unique ships for the global market together with our employees and to successfully live up to our great-grandfather’s motto to impress through performance and quality.”
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