Obituary for Karl-Heinz Brakemeier

On March 26, 2026, Dipl.-Ing. Karl-Heinz Brakemeier, a long-standing member of the board of the Institute for Brick Research Essen e. V. (IZF), passed away at the age of 84.

Karl-Heinz Brakemeier came from a family with a long tradition in the brick industry. After completing his apprenticeship in the 1950s at the brick-making equipment manufacturer Keller in Laggenbeck, he studied mechanical engineering in Essen. Following his studies, he remained with the company and played a key role in establishing the newly founded U.S. branch, which he helped develop into a leading provider of turnkey brick plants.

In the late 1970s, Brakemeier turned his attention back directly to brick production. He returned to his parents’ company and transformed the plant into a modern facing brick facility. In the years that followed, he initiated and built a fully automated clinker plant in the immediate vicinity, which he sold in 1985 to return to technical consulting and project planning in the brick industry.

With the founding of the engineering and consulting firm Keratek, he provided lasting momentum for the industry. His range of activities extended from the practical planning of new plants to the optimization and automation of existing facilities, and the development of innovative technologies. In 2013, he handed over the company to Christian Gäbelein.

Karl-Heinz Brakemeier earned special recognition for his decades of tireless dedication to research and development in the brick industry. After many years of service on the board and advisory board of the Research Center of the German Brick Industry (Forschungsstelle der Deutschen Ziegelindustrie e. V.), he assumed its chairmanship in 1980, a position he held until 2006. In this role, he worked with great dedication to strengthen collaborative research. In addition, he served for many years on the board of the Federal Association of the German Brick Industry as well as the IZF, of which he was a member until 2015.

With great persuasiveness and personal commitment, Brakemeier consistently championed the importance of collaborative research. The close integration of the brick industry, plant engineering, and science was a central concern of his. The industry’s now-established, high-performing research landscape bears his distinct mark.

With the passing of Karl-Heinz Brakemeier, the brick industry loses an outstanding figure who has significantly shaped the industry’s development over many decades. His work was characterized by professional excellence, entrepreneurial foresight, and a strong sense of responsibility toward the community. The entire brick industry will honor his memory.