04.08.2021

New MD for Liebherr USA

Liebherr has appointed Kai Friedrich as divisional director construction equipment and joint managing director at Liebherr USA, its sales and service organisation in Newport News, Virginia. He takes over from Peter Mayr this week, who is transferring with the company to a new role in Austria.

For the past seven years Friedrich has been managing director for the Earthmoving and Mining division of Liebherr Export in Switzerland, having joined the group almost 18 years ago.

In his new role as head of the construction equipment business, he will lead the teams responsible for sales, service, training and product management staff for the construction equipment product range, with the aim to expand on and build relationships with dealers and affiliates in the USA to further increase sales.

As joint managing director working alongside Torben Reher, director of operations, he will also be responsible for corporate and strategic planning, along with the sales and service organisations of nine product sectors, including mobile and crawler cranes, tower cranes, components, concrete technology, refrigeration and freezing, mining, deep foundation machines, maritime cranes and construction equipment for the territory covered by Liebherr USA.
Please register to see all images

Kai Friedrich

Friedrich began his career in 2002 as an area sales manager for Eastern Europe at Rheinmetall in Germany, leaving after little more than a year to join Liebherr as branch manager for Saudi Liebherr in Al-Dammam. Three years later he transferred to Liebherr Export in Switzerland as manager for mining and excavating equipment in Africa and the Near East. Almost five years later he was posted to Liebherr Africa in Johannesburg, South Africa, where he was responsible for mining and excavating equipment operations, returning to Liebherr Export in Switzerland and his previous job in 2014.

Torben Reher said: “Kai Friedrich has a proven track record of leadership and many accomplishments with Liebherr over the years. He brings a wealth of knowledge and experience from several Liebherr companies in various international markets and will no doubt be a tremendous asset to the growth of our product segments here in the US.”

Friedrich added: “I am looking forward to working with our experienced team and the well established distribution network in supporting and engaging our customer base, here in the US. It is a pleasure and honour for me to join the Liebherr USA team. Considering the potential, diversity and importance of the U.S. market for Liebherr, I’m thrilled to lead the team into this new exciting period post Covid-19.”