Hoffmann celebrates its centenary

In 2018 Hoffmann SE and its subsidiaries achieved record sales, topping 1 billion euros for the first time; the company's workforce has reached a record level of over 3,000 people; and the business continues to grow organically. "The fact that our business is doing so well today is thanks primarily to our highly committed staff," asserts Nicola Bleicher, great-granddaughter of the company founder and a shareholder in Hoffmann SE. Her sister and co-shareholder Verena Heinrich adds: “Our employees are the fountain of youth for  our hundred-year-old company. Their vision, creativity and entrepreneurial spirit enable it to adapt flexibly to changing times."

The foundations of Hoffmann SE were laid by Josef Hoffmann on March 11, 1919 in Munich. His son Franz joined the business in 1932. He it was who, in 1936, created the Hoffmann catalogue, which nowadays is issued in 18 languages, and is also available in the form of an online e-shop at www.hoffmann-group.com. Starting in the 1950s, Franz Hoffmann aligned the business firmly towards the selling of quality tools supported by high-level expert advice. Franz Hoffmann was also responsible for launching the company's own product lines under the GARANT brand name back in 1973. As the long-standing head of the company, he moulded and embodied its culture and values more than anyone else. "We are still today putting into practice the values by which the company first gained its success, now formulated by the slogan 'Pioneering, Precise, Personal'," explains Siegfried Neher, executive board member and director of technology and transformation of Hoffmann SE. "That approach incorporates a strong sense of quality awareness, as well as adherence to the three key criteria of keeping things simple, focused and useful, a firm commitment to continuous improvement, and long-term planning. Our system of values is the compass which guides us and keeps us on course."

The third generation of Hoffmann then merged the company with the Gödde, Oltrogge and Perschmann family businesses to form the Hoffmann Group – today the number one in Europe for quality tools. Now headed by the fourth generation, the Hoffmann Group with its partners has 69 subsidiaries in more than 50 countries all around the world.

A key legacy of Franz Hoffmann is the commitment to getting 'ever better'. It is the driving force behind the innovative strength of the company. "We are investing massively in the future in order to drive innovation", says Nicola Bleicher. "At present our focus is on the development of digital products and services. Also, we are undertaking the largest project in the company's history, with LogisticCity." LogisticCity is currently under construction on a 21.5 hectare site in Nuremberg, and will become the company's global distribution centre. Some 900 people in total will be employed at the new facility in Nuremberg. "We are sure that we are well set for the next hundred years", Verena Heinrich concludes.