Martin Herrenknecht
Martin Herrenknecht is a German engineer and businessman born on June 24, 1942. He started an engineering firm in 1975, which became Herrenknecht AG in 1977. Today the company makes large tunnel boring machines used for major underground projects. By 2015, Herrenknecht AG employed about 4,955 people.
Herrenknecht grew up as the son of an upholsterer in Schwanau, Baden-Württemberg. He finished school at Max Planck Gymnasium and earned an engineering degree from the University of Konstanz in 1964. In 2010 his company drilled the largest tunnel in the world. He is a member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). In 2015 he received the Werner von Siemens Ring, a prestigious engineering award.
Herrenknecht has also been involved in controversy related to Stuttgart 21, with critics accusing him of having too close a relationship with the former politician Lothar Späth.
This page was last edited on 1 February 2026, at 20:31 (CET).