Lamp maker to global tech leader – 125 years of FORVIA HELLA

FORVIA HELLA is this week celebrating its 125th anniversary. The company was founded in the Westphalian town of Lippstadt (Germany) as a specialised manufacturer of lamps, lanterns and ball horns for carriages, bicycles and the first automobiles.

Today, FORVIA HELLA is a global automotive supplier with around 37,500 employees at more than 125 locations worldwide, which generated sales of €8 billion £6.73bn) for the first time last year.

125 years of FORVIA HELLA

Bernard Schäferbarthold, CEO of FORVIA HELLA, said:

“125 years of FORVIA HELLA is something we can be very proud of together. We are very grateful to all current and former employees for allowing us to celebrate this milestone in our company’s history. They have all played a key role in supporting, shaping and developing the company. At the same time, the anniversary is an obligation for the future and motivation for us to remain at the forefront of mobility in the coming years and to shape it from a leading position.”

1899: The foundation of an industrial giant

It is 11 June 1899 when the entrepreneur Sally Windmüller registers the “Westfälische Metall-Industrie Aktien-Gesellschaft (WMI)” in the business register of the Lippstadt district court. It is barely more than 10years since Gottlieb Daimler and Karl Benz undertook their first test drives with a motorised carriage and motor car. Although WMI’s roots go back a few years further, the company’s official history begins on this day in June – exactly 125 years ago yesterday.

“Two things have always characterised FORVIA HELLA,” said Schäferbarthold. “Firstly, our innovative strength is the common thread that links the WMI of the past with the company of today. Secondly, we are constantly adapting to changes in our industry environment. This has always made us strong, and only in this way have we been able to become what we are today: a leading supplier in automotive lighting technology and vehicle electronics.”

1908: ‘System Hella’ marks first innovation

Nine years after WMI was officially founded, the first outstanding product innovation is launched on the market. The acetylene lamp “System Hella” is included in the sales catalogue – the brand name that is also included in the official company name some eighty years later. The acetylene lamp developed by WMI was not only far superior to the candle or paraffin lanterns in use at the time in terms of light intensity and range. Above all, it represents the beginning of a development that started with lamps and lanterns and has reached the latest milestones in the SSL | HD digital spotlight system and the FlatLight | µMX, for example.

 

1965: Entering the electronics business

FORVIA HELLA grew up with lighting technology, but the company has also been active in the electronics business for almost sixty years. FORVIA HELLA’s entry into the electronics area was obviously with lighting electronics, when production of a fully electric flasher unit started at the plant in Hamm (Germany) in 1965. FORVIA HELLA is one of the very first automotive suppliers to venture into the electronics age. The product range from the very beginning also included electrical switches as well as plugs and sockets for trailers. Today, FORVIA HELLA generates sales of more than €3 billion in the electronics business and is a leader in many products for autonomous driving and electromobility.

2022: Seventh largest supplier of automotive tech worldwide

The course for the future was set on 31 January 2022. On 14 August 2021, FORVIA (formerly: Faurecia) announced the acquisition of a majority stake in FORVIA HELLA, the transaction will be finalised a good six months later. As a legally independent company, FORVIA HELLA becomes part of the FORVIA Group, the world’s seventh largest supplier of automotive technologies with more than 150,000 employees across the globe.

Schäferbarthold concluded:

“Thanks to the cooperation within the FORVIA Group, we are significantly larger, more broadly positioned and exposed to fewer risks. We can improve our processes because we learn from each other and act stronger together in the market. This gives us even more opportunities for the future as FORVIA HELLA. With FORVIA as a new majority shareholder and strong partner at our side, we have therefore opened a new chapter in our long-standing, successful company history.”