Julius Berger, founder of leading West African construction group, but headquartered in Nigeria was born in 1862 in Zempelburg, a small town in Germany.
His father sent him to Berlin at the age of 12 to take up an apprenticeship with a leather wholesale firm.
He soon found himself more frequently transporting building materials instead of grain.
It was this transportation of building materials that led to his becoming increasingly familiar with the construction industry.
He later switched professions and started his own construction company named after him.
In 1905 Berger became the founder of the eponymous International Construction firm, called “Julius Berger Civil Engineering AG”.
It became a major contractor carrying out the construction of roads, drainage systems and railways in the eastern Prussian provinces and also in Turkey, Iran, Romania and Egypt.
In 1942 he and his wife were thrown into a Concentration camp where they died of hunger and exhaustion.
The company was revived after World War II.
In 1965 it secured its first job in Nigeria- The construction of Eko Bridge.
It has since become one of Nigeria’s leading construction companies securing major projects such as Tin Can Island Port, Ajaokuta Steel Plant, the 3rd Mainland Bridge, Abuja Stadium and Abuja International Airport.
It is currently Nigeria’s largest private employer with 18,000 staff.
