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Hilti Corporation (''Hilti Aktiengesellschaft'' or Hilti AG; also known as Hilti Group) is a
Liechtenstein Liechtenstein (, ; ; ), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein ( ), is a Landlocked country#Doubly landlocked, doubly landlocked Swiss Standard German, German-speaking microstate in the Central European Alps, between Austria in the east ...
er multinational company that develops, manufactures, and markets products for the construction, building maintenance, energy and manufacturing industries, mainly to the professional end-user. It concentrates mainly on anchoring systems, fire protection systems, installation systems, measuring and detection tools (such as
laser level In surveying and construction, the laser level is a control tool consisting of a rotating laser beam projector that can be affixed to a tripod. The tool is leveled according to the accuracy of the device and projects a fixed red or green beam ...
s, range meters and line lasers), power tools (such as hammer drills, demolition hammers, diamond drills, cordless electric drills, heavy angle drills, power saws) and related software and services. Hilti, a registered
trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a form of intellectual property that consists of a word, phrase, symbol, design, or a combination that identifies a Good (economics and accounting), product or Service (economics), service f ...
of the various Hilti corporate entities, is the family name of the company's founders.


History


1941–1946

In 1941, the Hilti company ''Maschinenbau Hilti OHG'' was founded by Martin (1915–1997) and Eugen Hilti (1911–1964), with the opening of a mechanical workshop in Schaan, Liechtenstein. Martin Hilti was trained in mechanical engineering and
automotive design Automotive design is the process of developing the appearance (and to some extent the ergonomics) of motor vehicles, including automobiles, motorcycles, trucks, buses, coaches, and vans. The functional design and development of a modern mot ...
at the Wismar Engineering College and was 26 at the time of founding the company. He was also a voluntary
Waffen-SS The (; ) was the military branch, combat branch of the Nazi Party's paramilitary ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with Waffen-SS foreign volunteers and conscripts, volunteers and conscr ...
and functionary in the German National Movement in Liechtenstein as editor-in-chief for '' Der Umbruch''. The Martin Hilti Family Trust holds all of Hilti's registered shares as of 2003. Immediately after its founding, Hilti delivered to the
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
arms industry. Some of these were goods that were important to the war effort, such as components for tank engines or parts of projectile fuses. Hilti supplied the then arms companies Maybach-Motorenbau in Friedrichshafen and
Robert Bosch GmbH Robert Bosch GmbH (; ), commonly known as Bosch (styled BOSCH), is a German multinational engineering and technology company headquartered in Gerlingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The company was founded by Robert Bosch in Stuttgart in 188 ...
in Stuttgart.


1947–1963

After the war, there was a sharp decline in sales and the company was close to bankruptcy. To make ends meet Martin Hilti signed sub-contracts as diverse as grey cast iron parts for the Swiss textile industry, machining eggcups melds, or lighters and pencil sharpeners.Peter Geiger et al.: Frage zu Liechtenstein in der NS-Zeit und im Zweiten Weltkrieg: Flüchtlinge, Vermögenswerte, Kunst Rüstungsproduktion. Vaduz, Zürich 2005. In the late 1940s Martin Hilti found a technology that would allow setting nails into concrete or masonry, and he acquired the original designs and the patents rights of what would later become Hilti's Direct Fastening first tool. Although promising, the technology proved to be immature, and required significant development. In the meantime, through the early 1950s, Hilti produced its own line of household products, which included a cigarette lighter, and a water-powered kitchen mixer called "Ello", which enjoyed considerable success. In 1952 Hilti launched its first construction-related product, a manual tool to drive threaded studs into steel. In 1953 the company introduced its first powder-actuated high-velocity fastener that allowed setting nails into concrete, called Perfix. At this time Hilti opened offices in Italy, Belgium, Poland, Finland, Norway, Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, Portugal, Austria, France, Australia, Canada, and the USA. In 1963 Hilti was present in 23 countries, with a turnover of over 400 million Swiss francs.


1964–1994

In 1964 Hilti started marketing a drill that also had a chiselling function, made by the Kocher Company, in Basel, under the name "Torna 765". After receiving customer feedback Hilti started a product development and improvement project under the name "Torna Entwicklung" (German for "Torna Development"), or "TE" for short, which has since then become the standard name for all Hilti electropneumatic tools. In 1967 the company introduced the TE17, a fully electropneumatic rotary hammer drill which featured a safety clutch, and it was shipped to customers in Hilti's first distinctive red toolbox. The global expansion continued throughout the 1960s and by 1971, Hilti's global turnover was 376 million Swiss francs across 45 countries, including new production facilities in Austria and in Germany. In 1974 Hilti started to develop and market
anchor bolt Anchor bolts are used to connect structural and non-structural elements to concrete.. The connection can be made by a variety of different components: anchor bolts (also named fasteners), steel plates, or stiffeners. Anchor bolts transfer diffe ...
s, and in 1977 Hilti introduced its first chemical anchor product line. Two more production facilities were opened, a plastic manufacturing plant in Germany purchased in 1975 and a plant in England acquired in 1978. In 1979 the company opened another production facility in Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA, to produce anchors. During the 1980s Hilti formed market region centres for America, Europe, Africa and Asia, to improve the proximity to their customers.


1995–present

In 1995 Hilti opened its first Chinese manufacturing plant in
Zhanjiang Zhanjiang; Leizhou Min: ''Tchiàm-kōng''; previously Tsamkong or Guangzhouwan, then romanized in English as Kwangchowan or Kwangchow Wan. is a port city on the southwestern panhandle of Guangdong province in South China. The prefecture- ...
; this plant was expanded to 55,000 square meters in 2005. Another manufacturing plant was opened in
Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...
in 2004. This plant employs 470 people.


Divisions

Hilti is based in
Schaan Schaan (; dialectal: ''Schaa'') is the largest Municipalities of Liechtenstein, municipality of Liechtenstein by population. It is located to the north of Vaduz, the capital, in the central part of the country. it has a population of 6,039, ma ...
,
Liechtenstein Liechtenstein (, ; ; ), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein ( ), is a Landlocked country#Doubly landlocked, doubly landlocked Swiss Standard German, German-speaking microstate in the Central European Alps, between Austria in the east ...
, and is the
principality A principality (or sometimes princedom) is a type of monarchy, monarchical state or feudalism, feudal territory ruled by a prince or princess. It can be either a sovereign state or a constituent part of a larger political entity. The term "prin ...
's largest employer. The company employs around 30,000 people worldwide.


Hilti North America (HNA)

Hilti created its U.S. subsidiary in 1952 and was first headquartered in Stamford, Conn., until 1979, when it moved to Tulsa, Okla., then to
Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...
,
Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
, in 2015 when it opened a research and development center in
Irving, Texas Irving is a city in Dallas County, Texas, United States. It is part of the Mid-Cities region of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex and is an Inner suburb, inner city suburb of Dallas. Irving is noted for its #Demographics, racial and ethnic diver ...
. It has over 3,000 corporate employees, and maintains a direct sales force—an unusual strategy devised to readily reach customers—in all 50 states. HNA developed an employee
corporate culture Organizational culture encompasses the shared norms, values, corporate language and behaviors - observed in schools, universities, not-for-profit groups, government agencies, and businesses - reflecting their core values and strategic direction. ...
that was later adopted by the entire company worldwide. New employees complete a Basic Training Seminar in Tulsa for two weeks, and on a yearly basis employees complete a survey called GEOS (Global Employee Opinion Survey) in which they give feedback about the company.


Hilti Northern Europe

Hilti Northern Europe is headquartered in the Hilti Limited office in Manchester, Great Britain. The Hilti (Gt. Britain) office oversees a staff of over 1,000 in roles such as sales, engineering, marketing, finance, HR, IT, procurement and customer services.


Hilti India

Hilti India is headquartered in the Hilti India Pvt Ltd office in
Gurugram Gurgaon (), officially named Gurugram (), is a satellite city of Delhi and administrative headquarters of Gurgaon district, located in the northern Indian state of Haryana. It is situated near the Delhi–Haryana border, about southwest o ...
, Haryana. It started its direct operations in India in 1997. The Hilti India Pvt Ltd office oversees a staff of over 800 team members in roles such as sales, engineering, marketing, finance, HR, IT, procurement and customer services. They have thei
stores
in 23 major cities across India.


Literature

* Franco Ruault (2017): ''Geschäftsmodell Judenhass: Martin Hilti – »Volksdeutscher« Unternehmer im Fürstentum Liechtenstein 1939–1945'' (Verlag Peter Lang, Bern). doi 10.3726/978-3-653-06597-8


See also

* Economy of Liechtenstein * Forst Hilti railway station


References

{{Authority control Power tool manufacturers Tool manufacturing companies of Liechtenstein Manufacturing companies established in 1941 Brands of Liechtenstein 1941 establishments in Liechtenstein Liechtenstein collaborators with Nazi Germany Organizations based in Schaan