Has given itself a new form of society
The parent company of the Häfele Group has been operating as a new corporate form since 1 December 2020. Häfele Germany is now operating under the name Häfele SE & Co KG. "With the legal form of a "Societas Europaea" (SE), we are making Häfele at the Nagold location fit for the future as an internationally active family business with foresight," says company manager Sibylle Thierer.
Numerous large German family-owned companies have already implemented this change to a "European corporate form" or are planning to do so accordingly. Background: the shareholders gain more flexibility for the future management of their companies and at the same time, while retaining an additional limited partnership, create more alternatives for involving the family.
Häfele is thus laying the foundation stone for the fourth generation to assume responsibility and at the same time making a commitment to future independence as a family business. "We want to remain an attractive and modern employer for our employees and international managers with lean decision-making structures for fast action in the future. With the continued existence of the partnership, we are also ensuring continuity and creating trust with our customers and suppliers," says Sibylle Thierer.
In the company's 97-year history, Sibylle Thierer is only the fourth female managing director at the helm of Häfele and she will head Häfele SE & Co. KG as Managing Director. Sibylle Thierer attaches particular importance to the change in the company's legal form, which will have no effect on the daily work of the employees.
There have been several changes to the legal form in Häfele's almost one hundred year history. Häfele was founded as a sole proprietorship by Adolf Häfele on December 1, 1923. In 1949, the second generation took over the company as a general partnership (OHG) with Walther Thierer at the helm. Due to its strong growth, the company was converted into a KG (limited partnership) in 1972 and 20 years later, in 1992, into a GmbH & Co KG. Sibylle Thierer has been managing the company in the third generation since 2004.
