KÜSTER & PARTNER COMPANY HISTORY
From a one-man business founded by engineer Horst Küster (Dipl.-Ing.) back in 1979 to Küster & Partner experts, a partnership with limited professional liability under German law.
An impressive success story! Take a closer look at our company history.
In 1979, engineer Horst Küster (Dipl.-Ing.) founded Küster expert’s office. Initially a “lone fighter”, he turned into a true team player in the course of his long and eventful professional career. Although Horst Küster’s son Bert-Otto followed in his footsteps in 1993, the “coverall-clad hands-on professional” continued to investigate major loss events personally until his well-deserved retirement in October 2016.
Engineer Holger Port (Dipl.-Ing.) joined the team in 2005, significantly expanding the company’s capabilities.
In 2011, engineer Alexander Ohlau (Dipl.-Ing.) entered the business.
On 1 August 2020, the company was converted into a partnership with limited professional liability governed by German law operating under the name “Sachverständigenbüro Küster & Partner mbB, Beratende Ingenieure” and run by the three partners Bert-Otto Küster, Holger Port and Alexander Ohlau.
Company founder Horst Küster, an outstanding personality to whom the entire team owes so much, died in November 2020.
The current team was completed with the addition of engineer Axel Reckleben (Dipl.-Ing.) who joined the company in 2020.
COVERALL-CLAD HANDS-ON PROFESSIONAL
Always on the lookout for the cause of damage, company founder Horst Küster wasn’t afraid of getting his fingers dirty to investigate major loss events personally. That’s why he kept his coverall always near at hand.
MOBILITY FIRST – EVEN BACK IN THE 1980s
“There is room in the smallest cottage...”: When things had to be dealt with fast, Horst Küster sometimes worked from this makeshift mobile office – the back seat of his car with self-constructed worktop.
CLOSE TIES WITH BURGDORF
Horst Küster kept close ties with his home town of Burgdorf all his life. And so it was a natural decision that his office should be located in Burgdorf, first at Am Nassen Berg, then at Vor dem Celler Tor and eventually at its current premises at Hammeweg.
Horst Küster was also an active member of the community. Among other things, he used to play tennis at the local tennis club and was a dedicated follower of Burgdorf’s handball club. Therefore, it is only logical that Küster & Partner experts continue to support the TSV Hannover-Burgdorf handball club as active sponsors.
PASSING THE BATON
Horst Küster’s son Bert-Otto followed in his footsteps in 1993. But the company founder was still years away from putting his feet up. In fact, he continued to work actively in the company until his well-deserved retirement in October 2016. The photo on the right was taken in April 2016, marking the successful completion of the company’s 5,000th assignment.
A MEANINGFUL NUMBER
“If I manage to survive the first two years, I’ll be fine.” That is how Horst Küster put it when he founded the company in 1979. This philosophy is reflected by the number 7981, which used to be the company’s telephone number for many years and which still appears on the number plates of all company-owned cars.