History

In 1882 Ludwig Groninger, the great-great-grandfather of one of the present partners, born in 1840, was sworn in and took over the average adjusting office after the death of his predecessors. He started his career as a wood merchant whose affairs had deteriorated allegedly because people had started to build steel ships. He led the office for nearly 50 years until his death in 1929.

Ludwig Groninger earned high merits in connection with the development of German and international maritime law, especially the law of general average, and was widely recognized as an authority in these fields. Even the highest German Court emphasized his practical experience and competence. As a longlasting member of the parliament he rendered worthy services for his home town, too.

In 1938 Dr. jur. Hansjörg Groninger stepped in the place of his father Paul. The second world war reduced the activities of the adjusters’ office to a minimum, but with the subsequent redevelopment of the merchant fleet adjusters were required again.

In 1949 the office consisted of the sworn average adjusters Hansjörg Groninger and Gustav Schneider as partners. The latter had started to learn the profession from Ludwig Groninger in 1920 as a boy of 13 years of age. Later on he had served the office as chief clerk.

After difficult post-war years their business regained success due to the partners’ skilled professional work and traditionally good relationships to local shipping companies, marine insurance brokers and the Bremen Association of Marine Underwriters. In those days the office adjusted mainly cargo claims and cases of general average, later also cases of Particular Average of ships which were insured on German insurance conditions in foreign markets (whilst claims of ships insured in Bremen were adjusted by the underwriters’ own claims office).

Hansjörg Groninger served the German Association of Average Adjusters as chairman for many years and was one of the spiritual fathers of the International Association of European Average Adjusters. Gustav Schneider became famous for his special delight in dealing with general average adjustments involving hundreds of shipments of general cargo. Gustav Schneider retired in 1981 after having celebrated his 60th professional anniversary in the year before.

In 1969 Günther Groninger joined the firm shortly after his father’s death in 1968. Two years later, he was sworn in by the Senate of Bremen and became partner in 1971 – at a time when calculators had a crank handle and were bigger than today’s notebook computers. Naturally, his experience covered similar advances in the technical equipment of vessels.

For many years, Günther served the German Association of Average Adjusters (VDD) as president. Furthermore, since the early seventies he had been member of the European Average Adjusters’ Association (AIDE) which has meanwhile opened for worldwide membership and been renamed Association Mondiale des Dispacheurs (AMD).

Manfred Welke was a master mariner. After twelve years of seafaring career he had joined a pool of shipowners and ship managers for which he handled insurance cover and claims. He also was publicly appointed and sworn in as surveyor and ship valuer. For some years he owned and managed ships himself. After having joined the average adjusting office in Bremen and gained sufficient practice he was sworn in and awarded partnership in 1989.

Manfred retired end of 2011 and passed away in 2021, but in view of his contributions for over two decades to the firm’s good reputation we are happy to keep his name as a reference in the company name.