Hager Group is a
manufacturer
Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer to a ran ...
of
electrical installations in residential, commercial and industrial buildings based in
Blieskastel
Blieskastel () is a city in the Saarpfalz (Saar-Palatinate) district, in Saarland, Germany which is divided into villages. It is situated on the river Blies, approximately southwest of Homburg (Saar), west of Zweibrücken, and east of Saarbrüc ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
. The company has been family-run and owned ever since its foundation in 1955.
Hager Group provides products and services ranging from
energy distribution
Electric power distribution is the final stage in the delivery of electric power; it carries electricity from the transmission system to individual consumers. Distribution substations connect to the transmission system and lower the transmissio ...
and cable management to intelligent building automation and
security systems
Security is protection from, or resilience against, potential harm (or other unwanted coercive change) caused by others, by restraining the freedom of others to act. Beneficiaries (technically referents) of security may be of persons and social g ...
, under the
brand
A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...
Hager. Hager Group also owns the brands Berker, Bocchiotti, Daitem, Diagral, Elcom and E3/DC. In 2018, Hager Group was the world
market leader
Market dominance describes when a firm can control markets. A dominant firm possesses the power to affect competition and influence market price. A firms' dominance is a measure of the power of a brand, product, service, or firm, relative to c ...
in electrical installation systems. In August 2019, the group was ranked number 128 in the top 500 family-owned businesses in Germany according to the magazine Die Deutsche Wirtschaft.
History
![Circuit Breakers](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/59/Circuit_Breakers.JPG)
In 1955, Hager oHG, elektrotechnische Fabrik was founded by brothers Oswald and Hermann Hager, together with their father Peter Hager in
Ensheim
Ensheim is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Alzey-Worms district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' of Wörrstadt, whose ...
in the
Saarland
The Saarland (, ; french: Sarre ) is a state of Germany in the south west of the country. With an area of and population of 990,509 in 2018, it is the smallest German state in area apart from the city-states of Berlin, Bremen, and Hamburg, and ...
region of Germany. Since 1945, Saarland had been under the economic control of France and had no access to the German market. However, Hager wanted to gain a foothold in both markets. In 1959, the Hager brothers founded their first foreign subsidiary, Hager Electro S. A., in
Obernai
Obernai ( Alsatian: ''Owernah''; german: Oberehnheim) commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France. It lies on the eastern slopes of the Vosges mountains.
Obernai is a rapidly growing city, its number of inhabitants havin ...
,
Alsace
Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...
, in north-eastern France.
In 1966, Hager began systematical training of its electricians, whose expertise has created a culture of customer loyalty, something that continues to this day. Hager’s modular rotary fuse carrier was patented in Germany in 1968 and in France in 1970. At the same time, the first mass-produced distribution board, the Hager-Rapid-System, was launched on the French market. In 1973, Hager achieved sales of 43 million Deutsche Marks in Germany and in 1974 the company reached a turnover of 22 million
francs
The franc is any of various units of currency. One franc is typically divided into 100 centimes. The name is said to derive from the Latin inscription ''francorum rex'' (King of the Franks) used on early French coins and until the 18th centu ...
in France.
In 1976, Hager launched the mini Gamma enclosure, in 1982 the company started producing the first
Residual-current circuit breakers (RCCB) in Germany. A new production facility with a high-bay warehouse was opened in
Blieskastel
Blieskastel () is a city in the Saarpfalz (Saar-Palatinate) district, in Saarland, Germany which is divided into villages. It is situated on the river Blies, approximately southwest of Homburg (Saar), west of Zweibrücken, and east of Saarbrüc ...
.
Hager Group began to market itself as a complete service provider for electrical installations in buildings in the 1980s, setting up sales companies in Europe (Switzerland and Great Britain). In the mid-1990s, Hager set up distribution channels in the United Arab Emirates (Dubai), Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, China, Australia and New Zealand.
In 2007, Hager Group became a
European Company
A ''societas Europaea'' (, ; "European society" or "company"; plural: ; abbr. SE) is a public company registered in accordance with the corporate law of the European Union (EU), introduced in 2004 with the Council Regulation on the Statute f ...
: Hager SE.
Locations
![Produktion Blieskastel Eingang HagerGroup](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ee/Produktion_Blieskastel_Eingang_HagerGroup.jpg)
Hager Group has 22 manufacturing sites in 10 countries across the world.
Components for the respective markets are manufactured at the local production facilities in order to accommodate local installation requirements. The biggest production site is in Obernai, France. Hager Forum was established there in 2015 as a training and meeting place for partners, customers and employees of the company.
Acquisitions
In 1992, the group acquired Lumetal, a manufacturer of distribution boards from
Porcia,
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
. Hager Group acquired the German company Tehalit in 1996, a manufacturer of cable management systems and cable ducts.
In 1998, the group acquired the French electronic timer manufacturer Flash, whose registered office was in
Saverne
Saverne (french: Saverne, ; Alsatian: ; german: Zabern ) is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. It is situated on the Rhine-Marne canal at the foot of a pass over the Vosges Mountains, and 45 km (27& ...
. Prior to this, Hager Group manufactured only mechanical timers. The same year, the company also acquired British manufacturer Ashley & Rock from
Ulverston
Ulverston is a market town and a civil parish in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England. In the 2001 census the parish had a population of 11,524, increasing at the 2011 census to 11,678. Historically in Lancashire, it lies a few mi ...
, whose products were manufactured according to
British Standards
British Standards (BS) are the standards produced by the BSI Group which is incorporated under a royal charter and which is formally designated as the Standards organization#National standards bodies, national standards body (NSB) for the UK. The ...
.
In 2002, the Polish company Polo, whose registered office was in
Tychy
Tychy (Polish pronunciation: ; german: Tichau; szl, Tychy) is a city in Silesia in southern Poland, approximately south of Katowice. Situated on the southern edge of the Upper Silesian industrial district, the city boders Katowice to the north, ...
, was integrated into the company, in 2004, Hager Group acquired Swiss company Weber AG and French manufacturer Atral. In addition to Hager brand security systems, Atral also manufactures products for the brands Diagral, Daitem and Logisty.
In 2006, Hager entered the Brazilian market when it acquired 100 % of the shares in Eletromar. Hager Group opened a plant in
Pune
Pune (; ; also known as Poona, (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million ...
, India in 2008 and on 30 September of the same year, the foundation stone for a new Eletromar production site in Brazil was laid. On 1 January 2009, Hager acquired Electraplan Solutions
GmbH, and in 2010, Hager acquired Berker, a German manufacturer of switches, whose registered offices were in
Schalksmühle
Schalksmühle is a municipality in district Märkischer Kreis, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the town with the highest rate of millionaires relating to the population in North Rhine-Westphalia(2004).
Geography
Schalksmühle is located ...
and Ottfingen.
2012 Hager gained the German family firm Elcom, a producer of
intercom
An intercom, also called an intercommunication device, intercommunicator, or interphone, is a stand-alone voice communications system for use within a building or small collection of buildings which functions independently of the public telephon ...
s.
In 2018, it acquired E3/DC GmbH, a German developer of
inverters
A power inverter, inverter or invertor is a power electronic device or circuitry that changes direct current (DC) to alternating current (AC). The resulting AC frequency obtained depends on the particular device employed. Inverters do the opp ...
and
energy storage systems.
Brands and products
![Elcom BVM280 2006](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3f/Elcom_BVM280_2006.jpg)
Hager brand offers services for electrical installations in residential, commercial and industrial buildings. In 2009, the previous brands Tehalit, Weber, Lume, Klik, Flash, Polo, Ashley & Rock and Logisty were combined under Hager brand. Alarms and security systems are sold under Daitem and Diagral. Berker manufactures switches and switch systems as part of Hager Group.
Bocchiotti/Iboco, the Italian market leader in cable management and room distribution systems, is also part of Hager Group whilst Elcom produces intercom systems for residential and office buildings.
There are four different areas of application for Hager Group’s products and services:
* Energy distribution and metering systems, including energy management and VDI concepts for electrical installation
* Cable management systems for power and data distribution
* Switch ranges and building control
* Security systems
Since 2018, Hager Group has been working on
electromobility
An electric vehicle (EV) is a vehicle that uses one or more electric motors for propulsion. It can be powered by a collector system, with electricity from extravehicular sources, or it can be powered autonomously by a battery (sometimes cha ...
with
Audi AG
Audi AG () is a German automotive manufacturer of luxury vehicles headquartered in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany. As a subsidiary of its parent company, the Volkswagen Group, Audi produces vehicles in nine production facilities worldwide.
The o ...
. The aim of the collaboration is to connect the
Audi e-Tron
The Audi e-tron is a series of electric and hybrid cars shown by Audi from 2009 onwards. In 2012 Audi unveiled a plug-in hybrid version, the A3 Sportback e-tron, released to retail customers in Europe in August 2014, and slated for the U.S. i ...
model with Hager Group’s Home Energy Management System (HEMS).
Corporate culture
6% of sales are invested in research and development. In 2019, the company filed around 3,000 patents. The group employs around 800 people in research and development,
which mainly focuses on electromobility, intelligent building technology (for smart homes) and energy efficiency. Between October 2010 and June 2014, Hager Group sponsored football club 1. FC Saarbrücken, with a focus on promoting young talent. Since 2017, the group has been supporting the French football club Racing Club Strasbourg Alsace. This sponsorship lasts for three years.
References
{{Reflist
Electronics companies of Germany
Security engineering
Security technology
Security equipment manufacturers
Energy technology
Energy engineering
German companies established in 1955
Electronics companies established in 1955
Companies based in Saarland
German brands