Hella (company)

HELLA GmbH & Co. KGaA
legal form	Limited partnership based on shares
ISIN	DE000A13SX22
founding	1899
Seat	Lippstadt , Germany
management	Rolf Breidenbach (Chairman / CEO) Klaus Kühn (Chairman of the Supervisory Board)
Number of employees	36,311
turnover	5.8 billion euros (FY 2019/20)
Branch	Automotive supplier
Website	www.hella.com
As of August 17, 2020

The HELLA GmbH & Co. KGaA is a listed German automotive supplier based in Lippstadt . The Group's core businesses are divided into three segments: the automotive industry , aftermarket and special applications.

Generally

Hella is one of the top 100 automotive suppliers worldwide and one of the 100 largest German industrial companies and has one of the largest trading organizations for automotive parts, accessories, diagnostics and services in Europe. Around 39,000 people are employed at more than 125 locations in over 35 countries worldwide. More than 8,000 engineers and technicians work in research and development. The company's shares are traded on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and the Luxembourg Stock Exchange and are included in the MDAX .

story

The company was founded in 1899 by Sally Windmüller under the name "Westfälische Metall-Industrie Aktien-Gesellschaft (WMI)". At that time the product range consisted of ball horns and candle and kerosene lamps for carriages. The name Hella was first in 1908 as a trademark for acetylene - headlights used. In 1923 the Lüdenscheid factory owner family Hueck took over the majority of the shares. In 1986 the name Hella was finally included in the company name. The most likely explanation for the brand name is personally attributed to Sally Windmüller, who wanted to honor his wife Helene, Hella in short, but at the same time wanted to use the playful association between the name and the word "lighter".

During the Nazi regime, what was then WMI benefited from state funding for car construction. The company supplied headlights, lights and horns for the KdF car, among other things, and received a large, exclusive order from the US car manufacturer Ford in 1936 . The number of employees rose from 250 in 1933 to 1700 in 1939. From the beginning of World War II, WMI also manufactured products for the armaments industry. For this, the company sold from November 1944, concentration camp inmates, 335 Jewish women from the purpose-built satellite camp Lippstadt II of the Buchenwald concentration camp one.

After the Second World War, the company began to expand, so that in 1951 the first German subsidiary was founded in Todtnau as Metallwerke Todtnau, which was then relocated to its current location in Wembach in 1976 . Today the company has locations in Germany in Lippstadt , Bremen , Recklinghausen , Regensburg , Hamm (Bockum-Hövel) , Nellingen and Wembach. The central warehouse in Erwitte , which has existed since 1973 , now operates as Hella Distribution GmbH . The company's internationalization began in the early 1960s, and in 1961 the first foreign production facility was established in Mentone, Australia. Today, Hella has 100 locations in 35 countries and is represented in the economic regions of Europe, NAFTA / South America, Africa and Asia / Pacific.

Since the 1990s, Hella has also been involved in several joint ventures with other automotive suppliers in order to develop expertise in other areas beyond the core business areas. As of January 2020, Hella has various collaborations with Behr , Plastic Omnium , Samlip, Leoni , Mando , TMD Friction and InnoSenT GmbH, Changchun FAWAY Automobile Components, BAIC , Faurecia and Oculii. Joint ventures are, for example, HBPO GmbH and BHTC GmbH in Lippstadt or Intedis GmbH in Würzburg. The various joint ventures also deal with the architecture of electronic wiring systems (Intedis joint venture) or the development of diagnostic hardware (Hella Gutmann Solutions joint venture, Ihringen). Furthermore, in 2002 the joint holding company "Hella Stanley Ltd Pty" was established with Stanley Electric Co., Ltd. founded as a partner and based in Melbourne . Since 2017, Hella has spun off brighter AI and Yptokey from its in-house incubator.

In May 2021 it became known that the owner family Hueck wanted to sell their 60 percent stake in the company. In addition to several financial investors, the companies Knorr-Bremse and Faurecia initially expressed their interest in a takeover. While Knorr-Bremse rejected its takeover plans, the automotive suppliers Plastic Omnium and Mahle joined Faurecia in the bidding process. On August 14, 2021, the takeover of the 60% block of shares by Faurecia was announced. Faurecia also announces a takeover offer to acquire the additional Hella shares at a price of EUR 60 per share. The total transaction value amounts to 6.8 billion euros.

Economic development

Fiscal year	Group sales
2007/08[0]	3.9 billion euros
2010/11[0]	4.4 billion euros
2011/12	4.6 billion euros
2012/13	4.8 billion euros
2013/14	5.3 billion euros
2014/15	5.8 billion euros
2015/16	6.3 billion euros
2016/17	6.6 billion euros
2017/18	7.1 billion euros
2018/19	7.0 billion euros
2019/20	5.8 billion euros

division

The Automotive segment consists of the development, manufacture and marketing of lighting technology and electronics components and systems for vehicle manufacturers and other suppliers. In the Aftermarket segment , Hella develops, produces and markets products for the independent parts trade and for workshops ( Hella Service Partner ). The formerly associated trading business was sold in 2018. The Special Applications segment serves target groups from construction machinery and boat manufacturers to municipalities and energy suppliers with lighting and electronics products. Complete vehicle modules and electrical systems are also manufactured in joint venture companies.

Products

• In the light division, Hella develops and manufactures headlights , lights and interior lighting . Current innovations are sensor-controlled headlight systems that adapt to the respective driving and weather situation, glare-free high beam and “Solid State Lighting | High Definition ” , in which up to 30,000 pixels can be intelligently controlled individually within the LED headlight. Headlights with LEDs as light sources for low beam and high beam are already in series production, as are position lights and daytime running lights .
• Camera-based driver assistance systems for optimizing the light distribution depending on the respective traffic situation have been developed. To this end, in 2006 the company took over the Berlin-based specialist AGLAIA for visual sensor systems. Just two years later, the first camera-based driver assistance system developed at Hella went into series production.
• Systems to increase efficiency as well as safety and comfort systems characterize the electronics product portfolio. This includes data bus- compatible electronic control units and overhead control units in the form of light-electronic modules, but also vehicle access and drive authorization systems. Modules for energy management optimize the energy balance of the on-board network and improve the battery charge balance. Other product fields are electronic driver assistance systems, also based on 24 GHz radar sensors . Important products here are lane change assistants and parking aids. Other important product areas are electronic components such as actuators , accelerator pedal sensors, steering control units for EPS systems , oil sensors, position sensors , rain / light sensors , headlight cleaning systems and vacuum pumps.

Hella RTK 7 special signal system

• In addition to vehicle accessories for civil cars, Hella also develops and manufactures special signal systems for official emergency vehicles . These include rotating beacons and flashing beacons (in blue and yellow), optical warning systems (OWS) and all- round sound combinations (RTK). These are compact roof structures that combine two blue lights, a secondary tone horn and, optionally, various additional elements. They are used, for example, by the police , rescue services , fire brigade and THW . The product range for authorities also includes headlights, so-called road clearers (flashing lights on the bumper) and some other products, for example concealed special signal systems for civilian emergency vehicles.
• Through strategic partnerships with companies such as Plastic Omnium and Behr , Hella is also established in other areas, for example front ends (joint venture HBPO GmbH, Lippstadt) and climate control systems and sensors (joint venture BHTC GmbH, Stuttgart).
• The New Zealand subsidiary Hella-New Zealand Limited supplies lights for marine use with the Hella Marine range . In addition to mast and interior lights in LED technology, this also includes lighting systems for boat trailers .
• In 2014, Hella entered into a cooperation with the Chinese automobile manufacturer BAIC in order to develop and produce lighting systems specially tailored to the Chinese market.
• In 2020, Hella entered into a strategic partnership with the US start-up Oculii to develop new radar systems for automated driving.

Product development

year	development
1908	First electric headlights
1915	First low beam
1936	Headlights for the Volkswagen prototype
1957	Asymmetrical light distribution
	First turn signal control unit
1965	First fully electronic flasher unit
1971	H4 halogen light
1976	Electropneumatic speed control system
1983	First DE projection spotlight
1988	Free-form reflector
1992	Gas discharge - xenon headlights of the first generation goes into production
1993	Approval of the first European main headlight with a plastic lens
1998	First radio key for vehicle access systems
1999	First bi-xenon headlight goes into series production
	With the "Contactless Inductive Position Sensor" (CIPOS), HELLA is introducing its own position sensor, which has proven itself a million times over to this day.
	Series launch of integrated rain-light sensors
2002	First special daytime running light
2003	World's first series application of white LEDs in headlights (daytime running lights)
	Cornering lights and dynamic cornering lights
	Introduction of the intelligent battery sensor (IBS)
2007	First front camera with traffic sign and lane recognition and first voltage stabilizer for start-stop systems
2008	Hella presents its first full LED headlight , market launch in 2009.
	Hella receives worldwide approval for the lane change assistant in the new Audi A4 .
2010	Development of a steering control unit for EPS systems (electric power steering)
	First camera-based headlight with adapted cut-off line
2012	First headlight with LED main light functions for the truck segment
	Radar 2.0 for applications in the rear area
2013	First LED matrix headlights with glare-free high beam
2014	Waste gate actuator for gasoline turbo engines
2016	Battery management system for full hybrids and electric vehicles
2019	First SSL HD LED headlight with up to 15,000 individually controllable pixels

Web links

Commons : Hella  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} HELLA KGaA Hueck & Co .: Annual Report 2019/20. (PDF; 8.3 MB) August 14, 2020, accessed on August 17, 2020 . 
2. ↑ Florian Langenscheidt , Bernd Venohr (Hrsg.): Lexicon of the German world market leaders. The premier class of German companies in words and pictures . German Standards Editions, Cologne 2010, ISBN 978-3-86936-221-2 .
3. ↑ Hella KGaA Hueck & Co .: Overview of worldwide Hella locations (accessed on September 3, 2014)
4. ↑ Frankfurt Stock Exchange: Vonovia replaces Lanxess in the Dax . ( handelsblatt.com [accessed March 11, 2018]).
5. ^ John Bessant: Riding the innovation wave: Learning to create value from ideas . Emerald Group Publishing, Bingley, UK 2017, ISBN 978-1-78714-569-6 , pp. 296 ( google.de [accessed June 12, 2020]).
6. ^ Jan Erik Schulte: Concentration camps in the Rhineland and Westphalia 1933-1945: Central control and regional initiative . F. Schöningh, Paderborn 2005, ISBN 3-506-71743-X ( google.de [accessed June 12, 2020]).
7. ↑ Nadja Thelen-Koder: Lippstadt, Hospitalstrasse 46: “an expressive testimony to the industrial history of the city”. (PDF) Retrieved June 12, 2020 . 
8. ↑ Intedis Intedis GmbH Co. KG: Company (accessed on July 14, 2012)
9. ↑ Hella and Stanley found a holding company in Melbourne. (No longer available online.) Motor Talk, March 1, 2002, archived from the original on June 9, 2013 ; Retrieved September 12, 2013 . 
10. ↑ Automobilwoche: Deep Learning: Hella incubator with first spin-off. Retrieved April 20, 2020 . 
11. ↑ Madeline Sieland: Pioneer: Dr. Rainer Holve. February 22, 2019, accessed April 20, 2020 . 
12. ↑ Automobilwoche: Hella owner family could soon sell majority stake. May 20, 2021, accessed May 24, 2021 . 
13. ↑ Handelsblatt: Knorr-Bremse reaches for Hella - Hella share price rises sharply. June 29, 2021, accessed June 30, 2021 . 
14. ↑ Manager Magazin: Poker about Hella before the decision. August 11, 2021, accessed August 13, 2021 . 
15. ↑ HELLA and Faurecia agree on merger: partnership opens up additional growth potential , press release from Hella, August 14, 2021, accessed on August 15, 2021 (pdf)
16. ↑ ^{a b c d e f} Hella - sales by 2019. In: statista.com. Retrieved February 5, 2020 . 
17. ↑ ^{a b} HELLA KGaA Hueck & Co .: Annual Report 2018/19. (PDF; 8.5 MB) August 9, 2019, accessed January 31, 2020 . 
18. ↑ HELLA GmbH & Co. KGaA: HELLA Annual Report FY 2019/20. Retrieved August 17, 2020 . 
19. ↑ Focus on light and sensors: Back to the core business - Hella sheds off the auto parts trade. Accessed January 31, 2020 . 
20. ↑ Technology & Products / November 19, 2019 | HELLA. Retrieved February 5, 2020 . 
21. ↑ Automobilwoche: Hella takes over Aglaia . ( automobilwoche.de [accessed on November 24, 2017]).
22. ^ ^{A b} Lars Kreye: New technology: Opel Insignia recognizes and reads street signs . In: THE WORLD . June 19, 2008 ( welt.de [accessed November 24, 2017]).
23. ↑ Hella: China joint venture for lighting systems with BAIC. In: k-online.de. May 9, 2014, accessed January 31, 2020 . 
24. ↑ Company / Technology & Products / 01/06/2020 | HELLA. Retrieved February 5, 2020 . 
25. ↑ Radar sensor - our product range. Accessed January 31, 2020 . 
26. ↑ Battery management unit | HELLA. Accessed January 31, 2020 . 
27. ↑ Hella launches new SSL-HD matrix lighting system. September 18, 2019, accessed January 31, 2020 . 

Coordinates: 51 ° 40 ′ 27.7 ″  N , 8 ° 21 ′ 24.5 ″  E