Many economic success stories begin with a vision - but not all visions lead to the desired success.
After the Bavarian tractor manufacturer Anton Schlüter Munich had to stop production in the early 1990s, Markus Liebherr from the family of the construction machinery manufacturer of the same name founded the company MALI in 1994. Markus Liebherr's efforts to take over what was then LandTechnik Schönebeck GmbH had previously failed. In addition to the company name, which indirectly refers to the entrepreneur Markus LIebherr, not only the Schlüter bear, which is well known in professional circles, was included in the company logo but also part of the workforce. Liebherr had previously equipped some Schlüter tractors with Liebherr engines.
His ambitious goal was to bring two MALI-Trac models onto the market with an annual production of 40 machines in just four years. He saw contractors and large agricultural operations at home and abroad as customers for the MALI-Trac. According to the plan, the machines should have an annual output of at least 600 hectares and 1,400 working hours. Only a few prototypes of the two MALI Trac models with 250 and 300 hp were built, although the concept was groundbreaking with a suspended front axle, 50 km/h top speed, large cab with rotating driver's cab and removable power lift and hydraulic block. However, they were not satisfied with the tested gearboxes, so the project was initially put on hold.
Instead, the development of a continuously variable, power-split transmission began internally, which was implemented under the leadership of the design department led by Mr. Josef Bauer and Josef Häglsperger. The employees at MALI Spezialfahrzeugbau GmbH in Schönebeck, who are experienced in tractor construction, then began developing and implementing the trac120 – a flexible and powerful municipal equipment carrier vehicle. For this purpose, a new production hall was built and ceremoniously inaugurated in 2009. Even before the first vehicles could roll off the assembly line, Markus Liebherr died completely unexpectedly in 2010. Without the personal commitment of the founding father, MALI Spezialfahrzeugbau GmbH had to file for bankruptcy in 2012.
After a few turbulent years, it was only the takeover by Sebastian Fuß and the change of name to Fuß Spezialfahrzeugbau GmbH in 2015 that was able to steer the company back into calmer waters. In order to take into account the changed conditions in the municipal sector, agriculture and forestry, Fuß Spezialfahrzeugbau GmbH reinstated the concept of the trac120 and developed the FußTrac. Thanks to the diverse setting and equipment options, the FußTrac can be easily and quickly adapted to a variety of municipal, agricultural and forestry tasks, making it the ideal equipment carrier vehicle for all seasons - in the spirit of former company founder Markus Liebherr.
