Innovation since 1952 – History of KNAPP

From humble beginnings, the KNAPP AG has grown to a leading technology company with 54 locations worldwide. It all started in 1952, in a small workshop in founder Günter Knapp’s basement.

With a pioneering mindset and technical expertise combined with the courage to tread new paths, Günter Knapp laid the foundations for the company’s lasting success. Step by step, his first inventions and tailored solutions turned the company into an international player that drives innovation in warehouse logistics – all the while keeping an eye on the future. The ability to identify trends early on, reinvent technologies and set new standards together with the best people is ingrained in the KNAPP DNA to this day, making it the right place for innovation, growth and strong teams.

In the beginning, Günter Knapp concentrated on creating his own developments such as oil burners that were tailored to fit the Austrian market at the time. They featured larger atomizing nozzles, for which he secured his first patent. The company also manufactured oil tanks and pumps, including for Steweag’s oil-fired power plant in Frohnleiten, near Graz. Over time, the team started taking on more and more service and repair jobs for different machines, such as heating systems and bakery machinery.

All the while, Günter Knapp kept inventing new devices – including the famous donut filling machine, which is currently on display at KNAPP headquarters in Hart bei Graz, as well as a sugar spray system for coating Firn candies and pumps for filling milk churns.

Entering the conveyor system business

In 1960, the company moved to a new location in Graz’s Waltendorf district. The new premises had a 12 x 12 meter hall (39 x 39 ft) and an office, where Günter Knapp created the first automated picking system for pharma retail. Though the industry wasn’t ready for this innovation yet, it laid the foundation for further developments. In the coming years, KNAPP established themselves as a manufacturer of paternosters, goods lifts and conveyor systems – now incorporating early electronic control systems. Their early customers were local giants, including Herba Chemosan (who is still a close partner of KNAPP to this day), Stiefelkönig, Sorger, Bosch and Kastner & Öhler.

Customer service remained a central part of the business, ensuring that the growing team had plenty to do. As demand grew, KNAPP took the first steps toward going global, with the first international orders coming from German pharma wholesaler Dr. Krey & Vigener in the early 1970s. New markets, especially in German wholesale pharmacy, opened additional avenues for growth and cemented KNAPP’s reputation as a reliable warehouse system engineering company.

Focus on research and development

Günter Knapp knew that research and development are important factors for success. As a result, R&D began to play an increasing role at the company in the late 1970s. It was time to integrate IT into intralogistics. KNAPP was a pioneer in the field, using computers to control conveyor systems as early as 1978. Microprocessors coordinated material flows, a milestone that paved the way for precise, efficient and scalable systems.

In the 1980s, the company – then called KNAPP Fördertechnik (KNAPP Conveyor Systems) – continued to grow and enter new markets all over Europe. At the same time, the organization and its structures continued to develop. Software, hardware and development were established as separate divisions. Exporting high-quality technology was a key success factor even then, and KNAPP had 74 employees by 1980. The year before, the first cafeteria for employees was opened.

The 1980s were characterized by impressive growth and technological progress. KNAPP focused increasingly on computer-controlled conveyor and picking systems and moved to the current location in Hart bei Graz, laying the groundwork for today’s headquarters. The focus of the decade was on automatic picking. With microprocessors now completely controlling material flows, processes in large pharmaceutical warehouses could be made more efficient. All the while, KNAPP continued to develop conveyor systems, with a special focus on electronic components.

Growing success meant a growing focus on exports. By the end of the 1980s, the majority of KNAPP’s turnover was from abroad – both from established markets in Italy, France, Belgium and the Netherlands as well as new ones in Scandinavia, Spain, Portugal and South America. The organization of the company was also once again reworked as hardware, software and development were now clearly separated and project structures were strengthened. KNAPP expanded on the scope of application for their solutions, too, Solutions were deployed in new sectors such as textiles, cosmetics and bookselling. with the aim of building up the product range and reducing dependency on the pharma sector.

Specialization and founding of the KNAPP AG

Innovation and international expansion were a key part of KNAPP’s story in the 1990s. As the company entered the US market and made targeted acquisitions – including Logim and Syslog to improve its software expertise – it developed into a global provider. Just after the turn of the millennium, KNAPP had 1,000 employees.

The 90s were also when KNAPP decided to focus on training their own experts of tomorrow and began offering apprenticeships. One of the first apprentices was Andreas Gerlitz. He started his apprenticeship as an industrial electrician on September 1, 1992. “We were kind of like guinea pigs. If the apprenticeship hadn’t worked for us then, we wouldn’t have any apprentices today,” he recalls with a twinkle in his eye. Just a few years later, Jadranka Nakova started her apprenticeship in September 1996. She was one of the first girls to pursue an apprenticeship at KNAPP. “I immediately became part of the team. I never had the feeling that I had to prove myself just because I was a girl. There was an immediate sense of community,” she says.

The founding of the KNAPP AG in 2007 set the scene for further growth. Expanding the headquarters in Hart bei Graz and taking over the Scandinavian logistics company MOVING (now KNAPP AB) strengthened the company’s presence on the world stage. The development of software solutions also continued, becoming a major selling point.

Both Andreas and Jadranka appreciate KNAPP’s continued growth and openness toward new things. “I would still choose KNAPP today, again and again. Though I would have had a lot of opportunities to do so, working at a different company has never crossed my mind,” says Andreas, now Head of Prototypes. “You’ve got to be open for new things and ready for change. Personally, I love new challenges,” adds Andreas.

Dürkopp Fördertechnik joins the KNAPP group

In the 2010s, KNAPP continued on their path of growth and selectively expanded their tech portfolio. One key step was acquiring Dürkopp Fördertechnik in 2010, whose integration into the group meant the integration of key knowledge for the fashion sector.

Meanwhile, KNAPP was also setting new milestones with major international projects, such as one of the world’s largest distribution centers for cosmetics in Brazil and the largest shuttle systems for returns processing at the time for Hermes Fulfilment. The opening of the new corporate headquarters and development center in Hart bei Graz underscored KNAPP’s commitment to innovation and sustainability.

Through the rest of the decade, the portfolio was systematically expanded. The founding of KNAPP Industry Solutions opened the door for new solutions for industry and manufacturing. At the same time, software, image processing systems and data-based optimization were becoming more important. KNAPP prioritized these by founding ivii for image processing and redPILOT, who offer software solutions for process optimization. Innovations in automation, software and custom system solutions kept KNAPP on the path to becoming a global technology partner.