Commitment to the location and to Europe

Häfele SE & Co KG: Under a new name – fit for the future as a family owned business

The parent company of the world's leading Häfele Group for furniture fittings and architectural hardware, electronic acces control systems, and LED lighting, Häfele GmbH and Co KG, changed its corporate form on 1st December 2020. With immediate effect, Häfele Germany will operate under the name Häfele SE & Co KG. “With the legal form of a “Societas Europaea” (SE), we are thinking ahead and making Häfele at the Nagold location, a globally acting family owned and operated business, fit for the future,” says Managing Director Sibylle Thierer.

The Häfele Group generates more than half of its sales in Europe and will now pay tribute to the European spirit in the company name as well. Numerous large German family businesses have already made this change towards a “European corporate form”. No wonder since it gives the shareholders more flexibility for the future management of their companies.

At Häfele, this is a very concrete way of laying the foundations for the next generation to take on responsibility, while at the same time making a commitment to future independence as a family company. “We want to remain an attractive and modern employer with lean decision-making structures for quick action in the future for our employees and for international managers. With the continued existence of the joint partnership, we also ensure continuity with our customers and suppliers and create trust,” says Sibylle Thierer.

The Häfele Group can look back on an impressive success story in its almost 100-year history. The company has grown continuously and had an export quota of 80% and generated €1.5 billion worldwide in 2019.

There have been several changes in the legal form during this time. Häfele was founded by Adolf Häfele as a sole proprietorship on 1st December 1923. In 1949, it was taken over by the second generation as an general partnership (OHG), with Walther Thierer at the helm. In 1972, the company was converted into a KG (limited partnership) due to its strong growth, and 20 years later, in 1992, into a GmbH & Co KG. Since 2004, Sibylle Thierer has been managing the company in the third generation.

Further information is available from
Häfele SE & Co KG, Postfach 1237,
D-72192 Nagold, Tel.: +49 7452 95-0,
Fax: +49 7452 95-200,
E-Mail: info@haefele.de