2017 Financial Report: Häfele is growing, particularly at international level

Nagold-based furniture and hardware fittings specialist increases revenue by 4.9 percent

The international Häfele Group for hardware technology and electronic access control systems finished 2017 with total revenue of 1.375 billion Euro (2016: 1.311 billion Euro). This corresponds to a growth of 4.9%. Adjusted for currency effects, it is even 6.5%. 

The 37 foreign subsidiaries made a plus of 6.3%, to which the parent company and the six production companies in Germany contributed 1.7%. Positive growth was achieved in almost every market that the company operates in. The “main growth drivers” in the past year were the subsidiaries in the USA, Vietnam and India. The growth rates in the Asian markets were generally above-average.

Worldwide, the number of employees increased by 200 to 7,600.  Häfele has 1,600 employees in Germany, including 85 apprentices/students. With 37 international subsidiaries and numerous other sales organisations worldwide, Häfele operates in over 150 countries. 80 percent of revenue is now achieved outside of Germany. The company group supplies the world’s leading furniture manufacturers, architects and planners as well as its joiner/cabinet maker partners and dealers with its products and services in accordance with their requirements. 

Own-brand products are produced in one of five Häfele production plants or manufactured by one of its 1,500 partners all over the world. The Häfele Group is current pushing ahead with global networking. In the successful international project business, the company is concentrating on new solutions in the expanding hospitality sector. The company has also become a pioneer for innovative Smart Home concepts. Häfele Connect, an app for smartphones and tablets, networks and controls light and sound as well as electrical drives in furniture.

The company group has made an optimistic start to the new financial year, and sees good opportunities for again achieving international growth throughout 2018. “We are anticipating a mid-single digit increase in revenue for the whole year,” says Managing Director Sibylle Thierer. 

Investments in excess of 55 million Euros in markets, products, production facilities, logistics and services will also make a contribution to this. 

The company management sees risks in the volatile foreign exchange and commodity markets as well as the many areas of political unrest and global trouble spots, to which a flexible and careful approach will be applied - just as in 2017.