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Körber AG is a
strategic management In the field of management, strategic management involves the formulation and implementation of the major goals and initiatives taken by an organization's managers on behalf of stakeholders, based on consideration of Resource management, resources ...
holding company A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the Security (finance), securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own Share ...
based Brandon Christopher McCartney (born August 17, 1989), known professionally as Lil B and Lil B The BasedGod, is an American rapper. He began his career as a member of the Berkeley, California-based hip hop group the Pack in 2005, who signed wi ...
in
Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...
. In 2023, the group had more than 12,000 employees at more than 100 locations worldwide and generated sales of €2.9 billion.


History


1946–1992

On July 14, 1946, Kurt A. Körber paved the way for the first business deals in Hamburg. On February 1, 1947, he established Hauni Maschinenfabrik Körber & Co. KG (from 1958: Hauni-Werke Körber & Co. KG). The company originally only produced machines for the tobacco industry. In 1953, it moved to a new location within Hamburg's Bergedorf district. One year later, it had more than 1,000 employees. The group's international
expansion Expansion may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''L'Expansion'', a French monthly business magazine * ''Expansion'' (album), by American jazz pianist Dave Burrell, released in 2004 * ''Expansions'' (McCoy Tyner album), 1970 * ''Expansi ...
began in 1948, when Eric M. Warburg, who had been living in
exile Exile or banishment is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons ...
, helped Körber establish contact with American cigarette manufacturers. In 1951, Körber's machines were successful at a tobacco trade show in
Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...
. By 1953, his company exported 80 percent of its products, and machines from Hauni plants were used in 48 countries. In 1955, the company established a plant in
Richmond, Virginia Richmond ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city (United States), independent city since 1871. ...
, which was followed by additional facilities through the mid-1960s. The diversification of the company began in 1970, when it purchased E. C. H. Will, a manufacturer of paper-processing machines that was based in Hamburg-
Lokstedt Lokstedt () is a quarter of Hamburg, Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States ...
. The new business division was strengthened in 1976 through the acquisition of Womako Maschinenkonstruktion
GmbH (; ) is a type of Juridical person, legal entity in German-speaking countries. It is equivalent to a (Sàrl) in the Romandy, French-speaking region of Switzerland and to a (Sagl) in the Ticino, Italian-speaking region of Switzerland. It is a ...
(
Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...
). At the request of
German Chancellor The chancellor of Germany, officially the federal chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, is the head of the federal government of Germany. The chancellor is the chief executive of the Federal Cabinet and heads the executive branch. Th ...
Helmut Schmidt Helmut Heinrich Waldemar Schmidt (; 23 December 1918 – 10 November 2015) was a German politician and member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), who served as the chancellor of West Germany from 1974 to 1982. He was the longest ...
, Körber purchased the grinding machine manufacturer Blohm in Bergedorf in 1978. It served as the nucleus for the company's third business division. The acquisition of Schaudt Maschinenbau GmbH (Stuttgart and
Ellwangen Ellwangen an der Jagst, officially Ellwangen (Jagst), in common use simply Ellwangen () is a town in the district of Ostalbkreis in the east of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. It is situated about north of Aalen. Ellwangen has 25,000 inha ...
) in 1983 broadened its foundation. In the mid-1980s, the group generated sales of over one billion DM for the first time. On June 17, 1987, the group was transformed into Körber AG, which absorbed Hauni-Werke Körber & Co. KG.


1990–present

In the 1990s, the group's grinding machine segment, Schleifring, was under pressure due to
restructuring Restructuring or Reframing is the corporate management term for the act of reorganizing the legal, ownership, operational, or other structures of a company for the purpose of making it more profitable, or better organized for its present needs. ...
costs,
exchange rates In finance, an exchange rate is the rate at which one currency will be exchanged for another currency. Currencies are most commonly national currencies, but may be sub-national as in the case of Hong Kong or supra-national as in the case of ...
, fluctuating
commodity In economics, a commodity is an economic goods, good, usually a resource, that specifically has full or substantial fungibility: that is, the Market (economics), market treats instances of the good as equivalent or nearly so with no regard to w ...
prices, and a tough
price war A price war is a form of market competition in which companies within an industry engage in aggressive pricing activity "characterized by the repeated cutting of prices below those of competitors". This leads to a cycle, where each competitor att ...
within the sector. The business division for paper processing expanded during these years. Among other things, this was due to the acquisition of two Italian companies for the production and packaging of tissue products and the gradual purchase of a majority holding in a machine manufacturer for the production of envelopes and other paper products. Following Körber's passing on August 10, 1992, the company's assets were transferred to the
Körber Foundation The Körber Foundation (German: ''Körber-Stiftung'') is a nonprofit organization, established in 1959 by German businessman Kurt A. Körber. Its operational work is organised into seven subject areas: ‘Age and Demography’, ‘Education’, ...
. The Foundation was created on January 1, 1981, through the merger of the Kurt A. Körber
Stiftung A Stiftung () (properly ''Stiftung'', pl. ''Stiftungen'') is an institution or foundation that, with the aid of a property, pursues a purpose determined by the founder. A ''Stiftung foundation'' exists to give effect to the stated, non-commercial ...
(established in 1959) and the Hauni Stiftung (established in 1969). Until Körber's death, the Foundation had held 34.9 percent of the
shares In financial markets, a share (sometimes referred to as stock or equity) is a unit of equity ownership in the capital stock of a corporation. It can refer to units of mutual funds, limited partnerships, and real estate investment trusts. Sha ...
. Since then, the group's annual
dividend A dividend is a distribution of profits by a corporation to its shareholders, after which the stock exchange decreases the price of the stock by the dividend to remove volatility. The market has no control over the stock price on open on the ex ...
has been paid out completely to the Körber Foundation. In 1995, Körber AG became a management holding company, which supervised the group's three business divisions at the time.Hauser, Evelyn, updated by Cohen, M. L.: ''Körber AG''. In: ''International Directory of Company Histories''. Vol. 173, p. 353. In 2002, the company entered a new market: packaging for pharmaceutical products. In the following years, this segment was expanded further through
acquisitions Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are business transactions in which the ownership of a company, business organization, or one of their operating units is transferred to or consolidated with another entity. They may happen through direct absorpt ...
. It has been a separate business division since 2009. In 2012, Körber
divested In finance and economics, divestment or divestiture is the reduction of some kind of asset for financial, ethical, or political objectives or sale of an existing business by a firm. A divestment is the opposite of an investment. Divestiture is a ...
itself of several
subsidiaries A subsidiary, subsidiary company, or daughter company is a company completely or partially owned or controlled by another company, called the parent company or holding company, which has legal and financial control over the subsidiary company. Unl ...
for paper processing machines, including E. C. H. Will. As a result of a number of restructuring measures, Körber was divided into seven business divisions in 2015: Automation, Logistics Systems, Machine Tools, Pharma Systems, Tissue, Tobacco, and Corporate Ventures. In 2017, the business division Körber Digital was added. It manages the
digitization Digitization is the process of converting information into a digital (i.e. computer-readable) format.Collins Dictionary. (n.d.). Definition of 'digitize'. Retrieved December 15, 2021, from https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/ ...
of the group and the development of new digital business models. One year later, the group sold the Machine Tools and Automation business divisions. Since 2020, the group and its business divisions and companies have appeared as a single, unified
brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's goods or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create and ...
: Körber. The only exception was the Tobacco business division, which operated on the market as the Hauni Group. From September 2022 onwards, the Hauni Group was renamed to business division Technologies. In early 2022, Körber acquired Siemens Logistics' mail and parcel business to strengthen its Supply Chain business area. The company sold its ''Tissue'' business division to
Valmet Valmet Oyj, a Finnish company, is a developer and supplier of process technologies, automation systems and services for the pulp, paper, energy industries. Flow control serves a wider base of process industries. History 1999–2012 Valmet ...
in 2023.


Group structure

The group is active in four business divisions: * Digital manages the digital advancement of the entire group and develops new digital business models and ventures. * Pharma offers machines for processes for the manufacturing, inspection, and packaging of
medications Medication (also called medicament, medicine, pharmaceutical drug, medicinal product, medicinal drug or simply drug) is a drug used to medical diagnosis, diagnose, cure, treat, or preventive medicine, prevent disease. Drug therapy (pharmaco ...
and for the
traceability Traceability is the capability to trace something. In some cases, it is interpreted as the ability to verify the history, location, or application of an item by means of documented recorded identification. Other common definitions include the capa ...
of these products. * Supply Chain focuses on technologies for production
logistics Logistics is the part of supply chain management that deals with the efficient forward and reverse flow of goods, services, and related information from the point of origin to the Consumption (economics), point of consumption according to the ...
. Its product range includes
software Software consists of computer programs that instruct the Execution (computing), execution of a computer. Software also includes design documents and specifications. The history of software is closely tied to the development of digital comput ...
,
automation Automation describes a wide range of technologies that reduce human intervention in processes, mainly by predetermining decision criteria, subprocess relationships, and related actions, as well as embodying those predeterminations in machine ...
machines, voice applications,
robotics Robotics is the interdisciplinary study and practice of the design, construction, operation, and use of robots. Within mechanical engineering, robotics is the design and construction of the physical structures of robots, while in computer s ...
, and transportation systems. * Technologies is responsible for offerings in the fields of machinery, equipment, software, measuring instruments and flavors. It also develops services, particularly for the luxury food industry.''Hauni wird Körber''. In: ''Die Tabak Zeitung'', August 24, 2022.


Further reading

* Hauser, Evelyn, updated by Cohen, M. L.: ''Körber AG''. In: ''International Directory of Company Histories''. Vol. 173, Farmington Hills: St. James Press, Farmington Hills, San Francisco, New York, 2016, pp. 351–356. *


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Korber Engineering companies of Germany Manufacturing companies based in Hamburg Companies established in 1995