Hella (company)
| Industry | Automotive parts |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1899 |
| Founder | Sally Windmüller |
| Headquarters | Lippstadt, Germany |
|
Number of locations
|
100 |
|
Area served
|
Worldwide |
| Products | Automotive parts |
| Revenue | 6.4 billion EUR (2015/16) |
|
Number of employees
|
~34,000 |
| Website | www.hella.com |
Hella KGaA Hueck & Co. (the company's preferred spelling: 'HELLA') is an internationally operating German automotive part supplier with headquarters in Lippstadt, North Rhine-Westphalia. The company develops and manufactures lighting and electronic components and systems for the automotive industry, and also has one of the largest trade organizations for automotive parts, accessories, diagnosis and services within Europe.
Hella is one of the top 50 global automotive suppliers and belongs to the 100 largest industrial companies in Germany. Worldwide, about 30,700 people are employed in more than 100 locations in over 35 countries. More than 5,800 engineers and technicians work in research and development within the company.
Sally Windmüller founded the company in 1899 under the name Westfälische Metall-Industrie Aktien-Gesellschaft (WMI) to produce ball horns and candles and kerosene lamps for carriages.
Hella's name first appeared in 1908 as a trademark for acetylene headlights. In 1923, the manufacturing family Lüdenscheider Hueck took over the majority of the shares. The name “Hella” was included in the company name in 1986. The most likely explanation for the Hella brand is attributed to Sally Windmüller: He wanted to honour his wife Helen, in short Hella, and also wanted to use the playful association between this name and the German word hell (bright).
After World War II the company started to expand, so that in 1951 the first subsidiary company was founded in Wembach. Today HELLA has six different production manufactures in Germany, which are located in Lippstadt, Bremen, Recklinghausen, Hamm (Bockum-Hövel), Nellingen and Wembach.
Early internationalization and the creation of a global distribution network in the 1960s resulted in the company developing one of the largest distribution networks in the industry, including its own subsidiaries and partners in numerous markets worldwide. In 1961, for example, the first foreign production plant was founded in Mentone, Australia. Today HELLA has more than 100 places of location in over 35 countries and is operating in the economic region of Europe, NAFTA/South America, Africa and Asia/Pacific.
Since the early 1990s Hella is also part of several Joint Ventures with other automotive part suppliers. Those Joint Ventures help developing other fields of competence. At the moment HELLA cooperates with several different companies, such as Mahle Behr, Plastic Omnium, Samlip, Leoni, Mando, TMD Friction and InnoSenT GmbH. Joint Ventures are, for example, HBPO GmbH and BHTC GmbH in Lippstadt. Furthermore, the holding "HELLA Stanley Ltd Pty" with Stanley Electric Co., Ltd. was founded in 2002, which is located in Melbourne.
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Wikipedia