History of Our Foundry

Looking back on nearly 125 years, the history of our company is shaped by a desire for growth and flexibility, reflecting the market needs of the day. It is the story of cutting-edge technologies, working for and with our customers. It is the history of people, of colleagues and an owner family – in short – the story of growth, innovation and passion for casting.

Foundation and Development

The company was founded in 1894 by Adolf Luck. The production sites and the company headquarters were located in the Saarbrücken Ludwigstrasse. The company was successful and experienced rapid growth.

At the beginning of the 1920s it was clear that the Ludwigstrasse location was no longer able to meet the increased demands. In 1923, the company relocated to a company premises in the street “Am Ludwigsberg 7-9”. In 1928 Martin Luck took over the management of the company from his father. During this period the company mainly produced spare parts for metallurgical plants and machinery factories.

During the second World War, the factory buildings were completely destroyed. The foundry was rebuilt in 1956 at the present address, Am Torhaus 30. In 1949, Martin Luck Metallgießerei GmbH was founded under the management of Karl and Martha Kilburg, (born Luck).

In the 1960s collaboration with various artists began. Industrial castings and art castings were manufactured in parallel for several years. In 1972, Jürgen Kilburg, great-grandson of the founder Adolf Luck, took over the management of the foundry and the name was changed to Martin Luck Metallgießerei GmbH. Under Jürgen’s leadership, the company specialized in the manufacture of industrial castings which was the basis for the continued growth.

For almost 50 years we have been successfully manufacturing original and spare parts for; steelworks, construction machinery, industrial plants, compressor and press construction. In 2009, we proudly inaugurated our new turnery which almost doubled the production area and led to an increase in the number of employees to 20. The company is today managed by Ursula Kilburg – great-great-granddaughter of the founder Adolf Luck – as Managing Partner.

The Family Business

At the end of the 19th century, more precisely, in 1894, today’s company was founded by Adolf Luck. In 1928, his son Martin Luck took over the management. In 1949, the company was re-named as Martin Luck Metallgießerei GmbH under the management of Karl and Martha Kilburg, (born Luck). In 1972, Jürgen Kilburg took over the management. At the end of 2005, the great-great-granddaughter of the founder Adolf Luck, Jürgen Kilburg’s daughter Ursula, the fifth generation of the family, was appointed to the management board of the company.