In fact, Alfred's early life was full of desperate failures, and all his remarks expressed dissatisfaction with the world. But his subsequent success may have come as a surprise even to himself. Fortunately, he caught up with an excellent era. At that time, the construction of railways everywhere created a huge demand for steel. At this time, the American steel giant Carnegie had not yet established his own steel kingdom. In addition, Krupp successfully obtained a patent for train wheels, so that the wheels produced by Krupp in the Ruhr can be continuously supplied to railway companies in the United States and Europe.
His father Friedrich Krupp founded the Krupp family business in 1811. When Friedrich passed away in 1826, he left behind the secret of manufacturing high-quality cast steel and a small company whose production almost came to a standstill. The factory was left to him. At the age of 14, he took full charge of the company and soon expanded production. Including manufacturing steel rollers. He designed and developed some machinery and invented the spoon press for making spoons and forks. Also manufactures machinery used in government mints.
He attracted many new customers, expanded his business's procurement of raw materials, and obtained the capital needed to expand his factory. At the first Universal Industrial Exposition in 1851 - the London World's Fair, he displayed the largest steel ingot at the time (4,300 pounds), which was placed in the most conspicuous place. His business really began to flourish thanks to the advent of railroads. At first he only produced cast steel train axles and springs, but in 1852 he produced the first seamless steel train hub, and later he used three overlapping hoops to form the three-ring logo as the company's trademark.
In addition, in 1862 and 1869, he first introduced the Bessemer steelmaking method and the open-hearth steelmaking method to Europe. In order to prove the quality of the steel he produced, he began to produce guns. At first, no one cared about it in Prussia, and the earliest orders were placed in Egypt (1856), Belgium (1861) and Russia (1863). However, due to the performance of Krupp guns in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, his company became known as the "Imperial Arsenal." He was in many ways the founder of modern warfare.
At the time of his death, he had provided weapons and equipment to 46 countries. He recognized the problems of various people in industrialization very early. He established a complete welfare plan for his workers. As early as 1836, he set up a sickness and funeral fund. In 1855 he built dormitories, a hospital, a school and a church for his employees. His workers were all loyal. When he founded the steelmaking plant, there were only 7 workers. By the time of his death, the company had 21,000 employees. He was succeeded by his son Friedrich Alfred Krupp.