Company history

2017–today

2022

TRUSS ARCH MOTORWAY INTERCHANGE FÜRTH/ERLANGEN

Ingenieurpreis des Deutschen Stahlbaues 2020

2022

GRASSL CELEBRATES 75TH ANNIVERSARY

2021

SAINT JOHN OF NEPOMUK BRIDGE

over the Isar River in Plattling

2021 - SAINT JOHN OF NEPOMUK BRIDGE

2021

RETHE BRIDGE HAMBURG

Deutscher Brückenbaupreis 2020

2021

“HAMBURGER DECKEL” TUNNEL

on the A7 in Hamburg-Schnelsen

2020

WAGGERSHAUSEN TUNNEL

on the B31, Immenstaad–Friedrichshafen/Waggershausen

2020 - WAGGERSHAUSEN TUNNEL

2018–2020

RETHE BRIDGE HAMBURG

AIV Structure of the Year 2017
Auszeichnung des Deutschen Stahlbaues 2018
European Steel Bridge Award 2018
Winner of German Design Award 2019
Ingenieurpreis des Deutschen Stahlbaues 2019
20 years of Symposium Brückenbau Leipzig 2020

2017

MINNA TODENHAGEN BRIDGE

over the Spree River in Berlin

2017 - MINNA TODENHAGEN BRIDGE

2017

GRASSL CELEBRATES 70th ANNIVERSARY

2007–2016

2016

MAHATMA GANDHI BRIDGE

in Hamburg

2016 - MAHATMA GANDHI BRIDGE

2016

NUTTLAR VIADUCT

on the A46 in Velmede-Nuttlar

2016 - NUTTLAR VIADUCT
©imago images/Hans Blossey

2015

A NEW OFFICE IN THE SOUTH WEST

GRASSL gains its seventh office in Stuttgart

2014

NORTHERN MONBIJOU BRIDGE AND FRIEDRICHS BRIDGE

over the Spree River to the Museum Island in Berlin (2007 and 2014)

2013

TUNNEL AT THE KÖ-BOGEN

in Düsseldorf

2013

1ST HANS GRASSL AWARD GIVEN OUT

2013

BINNENHAFENBRÜCKE VIADUCT IN HAMBURG

Auszeichnung zum Ingenieurbau-Preis

2012

BINNENHAFENBRÜCKE VIADUCT IN HAMBURG

Auszeichnung des Deutschen Stahlbaues

2012 - BINNENHAFENBRÜCKE VIADUCT IN HAMBURG

2012

GÖLTZSCH VIADUCT

on the DB railway track Leipzig–Hof in Mylau/Netzschkau

2012 - GÖLTZSCH VIADUCT

2011

BAHNPARALLELE

in Greifswald

2011 - BAHNPARALLELE

2010

BINNENHAFENBRÜCKE VIADUCT

on the U3 subway line in Hamburg

1997–2006

2006

BERLIN BRIDGE

Ingenieurpreis Sachsen-Anhalt

2006

Berliner Brücke

in Halle an der Saale

2006 - Berliner Brücke

2004

MAGDEBURG WATER BRIDGE

Ingenieurbaupreis Ernst & Sohn publishing house
Honorary mention: Renault Traffic Design Award
Honorary mention: Architekturpreis Land Sachsen-Anhalt

2004

REINFORCEMENT: TWO GRANDSONS

In 2004, Manfred Grassl’s son, Dipl.-Ing. Martin Grassl, joins the Hamburg office. In 2005, Dr.sc.techn. Hans Grassl, Gerhard Grassl’s son, joins the Munich office.

2004 - REINFORCEMENT: TWO GRANDSONS

2004

CITY RAIL TUNNEL

between Kölner and Siegburger Strasse in Düsseldorf

2004

BASCULE BRIDGE

over the Schlei River in Kappeln

2004 - BASCULE BRIDGE

2004

NIBELUNGEN BRIDGE

on the B8 over the Danube River in Regensburg

2003

BRIDGE OVER THE ISAR RIVER IN PLATTLING

2003

WATER BRIDGE

on the Mittelland Canal over the Elbe River near Magdeburg

2003 - WATER BRIDGE
©mauritius images / Stephan Schulz

2002

KARL BRANNER BRIDGE, KASSEL

Deutscher Städtebaupreis, SEB-Bank

2001

GRÜNWALDER BRIDGE

over the Isar River and the Isar Canal near Munich

2001 - GRÜNWALDER BRIDGE

2001

GRASSL CUP

It’s football time! All GRASSL offices take part in the first GRASSL cup on 12 and 13 October 2001 in Zeuthen near Berlin. At the same time, the Berlin office celebrates its tenth anniversary.

1998

RHINE RIVER EMBANKMENT DESIGN, DÜSSELDORF OLD TOWN

Deutscher Städtebaupreis, BfG-Bank AG Düsseldorf

1997

GO EAST! NEW OFFICES

After the German reunification, many infrastructure improvement tasks await in the new states. To be able to deliver these services, the Berlin office is founded in 1991. The Greifswald office is added in 1993 and those in Magdeburg and Zepernik, Brandenburg, in 1997.

1987–1996

1995

OBERBAUM BRIDGE

over the Spree River in Berlin

1994

LOWERING OF THE RHEINUFERSTRASSE

in Düsseldorf

1994 - LOWERING OF THE RHEINUFERSTRASSE

1991

EMSCHERSCHNELLWEG STAYED CABLE BRIDGE

on the A42 over the Rhine River in Duisburg

1991 - EMSCHERSCHNELLWEG STAYED CABLE BRIDGE

1990

ICE TRAIN DEPOT

in Hamburg

1988

BRIDGE K6 MOORFLEET

over the Elbe River in Hamburg

1988 - BRIDGE K6 MOORFLEET

1987

DONAUSTAUF ROAD BRIDGE

over the Danube River near Regensburg

1977–1986

1986

SAAR RIVER BARRAGE

in Mettlach

1983

BRUNSBÜTTEL VIADUCT

over the on the B5

 

 

1981

HEINRICH ERHARD BRIDGE

in Düsseldorf

1980

HANS GRASSL DIES

The year 1980 is the most incisive in the history of the up-and-coming company. Founder Hans Grassl dies on 8 January after a trip to his beloved Austrian mountains. He is only 72 years old at the time of his death.

1979

FLEHE BRIDGE OVER THE RHINE RIVER

in Düsseldorf

1979 - FLEHE BRIDGE OVER THE RHINE RIVER

1979

SCHWABELWEIS BRIDGE OVER THE DANUBE RIVER

in Regensburg

1979 - SCHWABELWEIS BRIDGE OVER THE DANUBE RIVER
© Stadt Regensburg, Bilddokumentation

1978

BILLHAFEN BRIDGE

in Hamburg

1978 - BILLHAFEN BRIDGE

1967–1976

1976

OBERKASSEL BRIDGE OVER THE RHINE RIVER

in Düsseldorf

1976 - OBERKASSEL BRIDGE OVER THE RHINE RIVER

1975

KÖHLBRAND BRIDGE

in Hamburg

1975 - KÖHLBRAND BRIDGE

1973

DR.-ING. E.H.

“Honouring his achievements in the development of structural engineering and bridge construction in particular”, Hans Grassl is awarded an honorary doctorate by TH Braunschweig.

1971

KONRAD ADENAUER BRIDGE

over the Rhine River in Bonn City South

1971

ANOTHER YOUNGSTER: MANFRED GRASSL

Upon completion of his studies, the founder’s youngest son, Dipl.-Ing. Manfred Grassl, starts working in the Hamburg office.

1971 - ANOTHER YOUNGSTER: MANFRED GRASSL

1970

BAVARIA – MUNICH OFFICE

Southern Germany becomes an important area of business. Hans Grassl’s middle son Gerhard takes on the leadership of the new office.

1969

YOUNGSTER: GERHARD GRASSL

1 January 1969. The recent graduate Dipl.-Ing. Gerhard Grassl joins his father’s firm after having completed the state examination and been promoted to government lead engineer. He is the all-rounder for all offices.

1969 - YOUNGSTER: GERHARD GRASSL

1957–1966

1966

KYRÖNSALMI BRIDGE

in Finland

Savolinna is the name of the Finnish ferry port for which Hans Grassl, chasing work in 1966, developed the authorisation, structural and execution design for a steel bascule bridge, a hollow box girder bridge with a lateral opening. Large structural elements were transported to the construction site through snow and ice. Total length 390 metres; maximum span length 115.5 metres.

1964

SAN MATEO HAYWARD BRIDGE

in San Francisco


A German immigrant in the USA contacted the Ministry of Transport of his old home country to ask for the name of an expert capable of executing a reliable structural analysis for the orthotropic deck. Hans Grassl’s name was put forward, and he carried out the work for the 1,703 m long two-girder slab bridge.

1963

FEHMARNSUND BRIDGE

in Grossenbrode


The nearly 1,000 m long connection from Grossenbrode in Schleswig-Holstein to Fehmarn, a combined railway and road bridge, offers an enormous relief for tourism headed for the popular island holiday destination. Caravans and cars with bicycles are now able to reach the holiday paradise more quickly.

1961

MANGFALL BRIDGE

on the A8 from Munich to Salzburg near Miesbach

1961 - MANGFALL BRIDGE

1961

HEIDINGSFELD VIADUCT

near Würzburg

1960

JAN-WELLEM-PLATZ FLYOVER

in Düsseldorf

1958

KAUPPEN BRIDGE

on the A3 from Frankfurt to Würzburg in Waldaschaff

1958 - KAUPPEN BRIDGE

1957

LOITHAL BRIDGE

on the A8 near Traunstein and Anger in Bavaria

1947–1956

1956

BRIDGE OVER THE DANUBE RIVER

in Ingolstadt

1956

HANS GRASSL: FORTUNE FAVOURS THE BOLD

Hans Grassl is promoted to checking engineer for structural engineering in all fields.

1956

THEODOR HEUSS BRIDGE

over the Rhine River in Düsseldorf – the first stayed cable bridge over the Rhine River!

1956 - THEODOR HEUSS BRIDGE

1954

DÜSSELDORF – EXPANSION

In 1954, a new office is founded in Düsseldorf, and Gerhard Dittmann is made office manager.

1947

HANS GRASSL – HOW IT ALL BEGAN

Hans Grassl Sr. starts his company, Ingenieurbüro Grassl, in Hamburg. His office is located in Caffamacherreihe 1–5. His only employee is a secretary.

1947 - HANS GRASSL – HOW IT ALL BEGAN

LOAD MORE DATA AND FACTS

A PASSION FOR ENGINEERING

Hans Grassl was born before the two world wars and lived through both of them. Destruction and reconstruction were formative experiences of this time. He was born on 26 January 1908 in an inner-city area of Vienna, Austria, as the family’s only child. His father worked in textile retail; his mother passed away at a young age. As a schoolboy, he was fascinated by the hydropower plant in Kaprun, Austria, with its huge dam. In 1926, he commenced his civil engineering studies at the Technische Universität Wien. Bridge construction in particular sparked his interest. Following his graduation, Hans Grassl started working as an engineer at the bridge and steel construction company Waagner-Biro in Vienna, Austria, and Hanover, Germany, and was soon promoted to group leader for steel bridges.

In 1937, he was hired by the steel construction firm Rheinstahl–Eggers in Hamburg, where he worked for ten years and eventually became company director. Just before he turned 40, he founded his own engineering consultancy in Hamburg. When he was awarded the contracts for the design of three large bridges, he hired his first employees, and over the years the company turned from a one-man business into a successful medium-sized enterprise. Today, GRASSL is involved in the construction of numerous bridges in Germany, Europe and worldwide.

“BUILDING BRIDGES IS HIGH ART! IT’S THE SUPREME DISCIPLINE!”

Hans Grassl

Between the late 1960s and the early 1970s, two of Hans Grassl’s three sons joined their father’s business. They gained practical knowledge in addition to the theoretical expertise obtained at university; Gerhard at the Munich office, Manfred at the Hamburg office. No one imagined that the fruitful collaboration between father and sons would last only one decade: Hans Grassl passed away unexpectedly in 1980, at only 72 years of age. Now it was the second generation’s opportunity to shine. And shine they did. And not only that – they also raised sons interested in the civil engineering profession, just like their father did.

Martin Grassl, Manfred’s son, joined the Berlin office in 2004. Hans Grassl, Gerhard’s son, joined the Munich office one year later. Today, Hans and Martin Grassl manage all the GRASSL offices, together with the authorised company representatives and office managers. The number of employees has been increasing steadily with the number of job contracts, especially since the mid-1990s. In 2017, GRASSL had 211 employees, today it has around 250. History continues, and we continue to work towards our goal of creating better connections for people.