Corporate History

Bilfinger Berger AG was established in 1975 through the merger of three construction companies, each with its own long tradition. Its historical roots reach back to the year 1880, when August Bernatz completed his first large project in what was then the German province of Lorraine. In 1883, the builder settled in Mannheim and Grün & Bilfinger AG evolved from his company. The other forerunners of Bilfinger Berger, Julius Berger Tiefbau AG and Berlinische Boden-Gesellschaft, were both founded in 1890.

The Dresdner Bank was a majority shareholder in all three companies. Under the aegis of Jürgen Ponto, the later Spokesman of the Bank’s Executive Board, the plan evolved in the 1960s to build a large, internationally competitive construction company. The first step was the merger in 1969 of Julius Berger AG with Bauboag, the successor of Berlinische Boden-Gesellschaft. In 1970, Grün & Bilfinger acquired a majority shareholding in this new company. Five years later, in 1975, a merger took place to form Bilfinger + Berger Bauaktiengesellschaft. The company changed its name in 2001 to Bilfinger Berger AG in the course of a strategic reorientation to become a Multi Service Group.