Gottlieb Tesch GmbH

Gottlieb Tesch GmbH is a German construction company with roots going back to 1876, when Berlin master mason Gottlieb Tesch founded his namesake building firm. Over the following decades it grew into one of Germany's largest construction companies, active in high-rise, civil engineering and pipeline construction. By the late 1930s, as Gottlieb Tesch GmbH, it employed more than 3,000 people and had helped shape Berlin's built environment, from courthouses and bridges to waterworks, subway lines and power plants. After changing ownership several times — sold to Boswau & Knauer AG in 1930 and to Julius Berger Tiefbau AG in 1938 — the company continued to operate under the Tesch name. Following the Second World War and the division of Germany, the business was reorganized. In recent decades it has followed the broader trend in the construction industry toward specialization, concentrating on sewer and pipeline construction. Today the operating entity is Gottlieb Tesch Kanal- und Rohrleitungsbau GmbH, based in Berlin and active mainly in the Berlin-Brandenburg region. It describes itself as a system-relevant specialist company serving public clients such as Berliner Wasserbetriebe (BWB) and Energie und Wasser Potsdam GmbH (EWP). Its portfolio covers drinking-water and wastewater pressure pipelines, foul and stormwater sewers, drainage, infiltration trenches and associated technical structures, as well as rehabilitation and development work. The company emphasizes its modern equipment fleet and well-trained specialist staff, and notes a long tradition of vocational training. The firm's history page traces its lineage to 1876 and highlights landmark projects such as the Friedrichshagen waterworks, Berlin administrative buildings, bridges including the Lessingbrücke and Lutherbrücke, and foundation work for the Staatsoper. It also records involvement in Berlin's North-South S-Bahn and the Klingenberg power station. This deep local heritage underpins its current positioning as an experienced partner for water-infrastructure construction in the German capital region.

The company was founded in 1876 in Berlin as the "offene Handelsgesellschaft Gottlieb Tesch Bauunternehmung" by master mason Gottlieb Tesch. It quickly established itself as a masonry firm in the Berlin construction market. Early projects included the Friedrichshagen waterworks and numerous contracts for the Berlin railway construction office. The firm participated in monumental administrative buildings such as the Land- und Amtsgericht I Berlin (today the Amtsgericht Mitte on Littenstraße), the Amtsgericht Wedding and the Charlottenburg police headquarters. It also built Berlin bridges, including the Lessingbrücke (1903), the old Möckernbrücke (completed 1889) and the Lutherbrücke at Schloss Bellevue (1892). In 1894 Gottlieb Tesch founded its own company health insurance fund, which existed until the end of the Second World War. By 1895 the firm had 143 employees. From the beginning of the 20th century, high-rise and civil engineering were added to the company name. Gottlieb Tesch built parts of factory and staff residential buildings for the Berliner Maschinenbau-Actien-Gesellschaft, formerly L. Schwartzkopff, in Wildau — a site now occupied by the Technical University of Applied Sciences Wildau. In 1914 the firm built its first concrete hinge bridge at Hermannstraße station. By 1914 it had built the first section of the Postscheckamt on Dorotheenstraße, and in 1920 the grain silo at Berlin's Westhafen. The company distinguished itself particularly in concrete and reinforced-concrete pile foundations. From 1926 to 1928 it carried out the complicated foundation work for the extension of the Berlin State Opera, along with re-foundation using concrete bored piles at the Alte Bibliothek. In 1926 it laid culverts in the Spree and Landwehrkanal for the Berlin municipal waterworks, an important client then and now. It was also active in subway construction, for example on the underground line from Kreuzberg to Tempelhof between Berlin-Tempelhof airport and Tempelhof S-Bahn station in 1927–1928. The firm participated in the construction of the Klingenberg power station (1925–1927) and executed all earthworks for the Karstadt department store at Hermannplatz. At this time the company was at the highest performance level in its history. Its headquarters were in Berlin, but it worked throughout the country: on the expansion of the fishing port in Geestemünde (1924), the Elbe bridge near Stendal for the Deutsche Reichsbahn (1925), and all earthworks for the new Unterelbe Altona power station (1927). A second branch was established in Essen. In 1930 the firm was sold to the traditional Berlin construction company Boswau & Knauer AG. As Gottlieb Tesch G.m.b.H. it continued to grow, carrying out extensive earthmoving and dredging on the Mittellandkanal and the Weser cut at the Langwedel barrage, as well as piling work on the Dortmund-Ems Canal and construction of the barrage with lock structures in Gundelsheim on the Neckar. In 1935 it had a significant share in the construction of the Schwarzheide hydrogenation plant (today BASF Schwarzheide GmbH). For Siemens in Berlin it performed foundation and earthworks at the West power station. A workforce of over 3,000 employees at the end of the 1930s best reflects the firm's capacity. From 1934 Gottlieb Tesch was involved in the elaborate construction of Berlin's new North-South S-Bahn, including the undercrossing of Friedrichstraße station with its underground platforms while rail operations continued, and the section at Potsdamer Platz with the underpasses of the Hotel Continental and Haus Vaterland. In 1938 the Julius Berger Tiefbau AG (JBTAG) took over Gottlieb Tesch G.m.b.H.; JBTAG wanted to find a new role for a board member in a suitable construction company. The company name was retained. Until the start of the Second World War, Gottlieb Tesch G.m.b.H. continued ongoing U- and S-Bahn projects in Berlin. In 1938/1939 it was involved in the reconstruction of Königsplatz in Berlin, creating building space for Albert Speer's "Große Halle". After the war began, activities shifted to militarily important projects, including work on the Westwall, rebuilding destroyed bridges in Poland and bunker construction. After the Second World War and the division of Germany, the company was reorganized. In recent decades, following the trend toward specialization in the construction industry, it decided to concentrate on sewer and pipeline construction. Today, as Gottlieb Tesch Kanal- und Rohrleitungsbau GmbH, it is a system-relevant specialist company operating mainly in Berlin-Brandenburg, serving public clients such as Berliner Wasserbetriebe (BWB) and Energie und Wasser Potsdam GmbH (EWP). Its portfolio includes the construction of drinking-water and wastewater pressure pipelines, foul and stormwater sewers, drainage, infiltration trenches and associated technical structures. The company emphasizes its extensive modern equipment and vehicle fleet and its well-trained specialist staff, and notes a long tradition as a recognized training company.

• 1997

  André Rudat began his apprenticeship as a pipeline builder at Gottlieb Tesch (August 1997).

• 1938

  Taken over by Julius Berger Tiefbau AG (JBTAG); the company name was retained.

• 1935

  Had a significant share in the construction of the Schwarzheide hydrogenation plant.

• 1930

  Sold to the Berlin construction company Boswau & Knauer AG.

• 1926

  Laid culverts in the Spree and Landwehrkanal for the Berlin municipal waterworks.

• 1920

  Built the grain silo at Berlin's Westhafen.

• 1914

  Built its first concrete hinge bridge at Hermannstraße station.

• 1903

  Built the Lessingbrücke in Berlin.

• 1895

  The firm had 143 employees.

• 1894

  Gottlieb Tesch founded its own company health insurance fund, which existed until the end of the Second World War.

• 1876

  Founded in Berlin by master mason Gottlieb Tesch as 'offene Handelsgesellschaft Gottlieb Tesch Bauunternehmung'.

Specialist contractor for water-infrastructure pipeline and sewer construction in Berlin-Brandenburg, serving public utilities.

• Pipeline construction

  All pressure pipeline laying work, including earthworks and shoring, all nominal diameters, pressure levels and trench depths; all pipe materials such as steel, cast iron, plastic, GRP and concrete.

• Sewer construction

  All services for gravity sewers for foul and stormwater, stormwater retention basins, pump stations and treatment plants; all drainage pipe materials including steel, cast iron, plastic, GRP, vitrified clay and concrete.

• Rehabilitation and development

  Rehabilitation of sewers and shafts, and development of water infrastructure.

• Pump stations and technical structures

  Construction of pump stations from domestic water pump systems to lifting stations, pressure boosting stations and structures for venting valves, pressure relief, etc.

1. 1Gottlieb Tesch Kanal- und Rohrleitungsbau GmbH – Homepagegottliebtesch.de
2. 2Historie – Gottlieb Teschgottliebtesch.de
3. 3Erfolgsgeschichten bei Gottlieb Teschgottliebtesch.de
4. 4Gottlieb Tesch (Unternehmen) – Wikipediade.wikipedia.org
5. 5Wikidata Q130550552wikidata.org