70 years of the HÖRMANN Group
Congratulations from companions
In 2025, we can look back with pride on 70 years of the HÖRMANN Group - a history characterized by innovation, responsibility and cooperation based on partnership. Since the company was founded by Hans Hörmann, we have continued to develop and are now a leading company in the automotive, intralogistics, communication and engineering sectors. This success would not have been possible without the support of our loyal companions, valued partners and a dedicated team.
When I started working at HÖRMANN on August 1, 1980, there was a large marquee in the company parking lot because the company was celebrating its 25th anniversary at the time. In the 45 years since then, Hans Hörmann has given me the opportunity to work in many different positions and areas of responsibility. The range of activities was as varied as it was sometimes challenging and always characterized by independent entrepreneurial action. From security technology to sirens/warning systems, radioactivity monitoring systems and mobile communications to renewable energies with a focus on geothermal energy, it has been a field of activity that has both challenged and fulfilled me throughout my professional life. Tackling all these different topics is evidence of our company founder's pronounced entrepreneurship; it is to be hoped that this outstanding quality will remain a driving force for the future, even after 70 years at HÖRMANN. Even after retiring a year ago, I remain committed to the company and the Hörmann family in particular and wish them all the best for the future.
My first contact with HÖRMANN was in 1988. As the person responsible for the VW engine plant in Karl-Marx-Stadt, now Chemnitz again, I got to know and appreciate the company's expertise in the field of industrial technology at the time. The professional expertise and empathetic cooperation led to the joint founding of HÖRMANN-BARKAS GmbH after 1989. Since then, "Haus Hörmann" has repeatedly impressed me with its performance and the likeability of a medium-sized family business, both in my work at VW in Wolfsburg and at Porsche in Leipzig.
I am therefore delighted to be able to continue to support the Hörmann family and the entire "HÖRMANNSCHAFT" with my work on the advisory board after my active professional life. I would like to extend my warmest congratulations on the company's 70th anniversary and especially to Mr. Hans Hörmann for his life's work.
I met Hans Hörmann by chance in the 70s while deep-snow skiing on the Arlberg. We became friends, often went sailing together and met up again every year in St. Christoph am Arlberg. Then one day he asked me on the chairlift: Are you coming to me? That was in 1987, and shortly afterwards we founded HÖRMANN Logistik and made it a success.
I still value Hans Hörmann as a friend today, and I appreciate his claim to 'recognize potential, promote potential'. Thank you, Hans. And congratulations.
Congratulations on the company's 70th anniversary. I am proud to have been a member of the Hörmann Group with our company, SITEC Industrietechnologie GmbH Chemnitz, for over 34 years.
We would like to thank the founder of the HÖRMANN Group, Mr. Hans Hörmann, for his special commitment to the founding and development of SITEC Industrietechnologie GmbH.
We wish the management and all employees of the HÖRMANN Group good health and continued business success.
70 years of Hörmann means 70 years of stability and entrepreneurial success for me. I noticed this stability also in the commitment in East Germany, especially in Chemnitz, with joy, recognition and curiosity. My interest led to a job at Hörmann in Chemnitz in 2001, which offered entrepreneurial freedom for the realization of complete vehicle developments. I was impressed by the trust placed in me, the open atmosphere and the great freedom for the management to make decisions. Working under such conditions inspires not only me, but our entire Hörmann vehicle engineering team in Chemnitz, Dresden and Dessau. It is a special experience for me to see how innovations are strived for and the determination with which they are implemented. I am always motivated anew to contribute to the design of further innovative vehicle projects and to Hörmann's good reputation and to continue to postpone my retirement.
70 years of HÖRMANN! A big anniversary for a company in which I was able to share responsibility as Managing Director for more than three decades. With the fall of the Berlin Wall, the first HÖRMANN company, HÖRMANN Barkas Industrietechnik GmbH, was founded as a joint venture in the former GDR - three days before reunification! From 1990 to 2015, I was the Managing Director responsible for both HÖRMANN Industrietechnik GmbH and Voith Industrial Services, then Managing Director of HÖRMANN Barkas Metallbau GmbH until my retirement in 2023.
I am proud to have been involved in the development of the HÖRMANN Group for over 30 years and wish the HÖRMANN Group continued great success, stable earnings and motivated employees.
Congratulations on the company's 70th anniversary. Your impressive success story is a testament to your consistency and innovative strength. We appreciate the consistently excellent cooperation with you and your company.
Andreas Rabe, Daimler Truck AG Werk Woerth
We wish our ‘neighbour’ and reliable partner HÖRMANN all the best for its anniversary. Let's go to 100!
Markus Lutz, Geschäftsführung
For 70 years, the HÖRMANN Group has stood for reliability, innovation and lived values - exactly what characterises successful family businesses. We would like to congratulate you on this impressive anniversary and thank you for the strong, trusting partnership.
Maximilian Heindl, CEO Progroup AG
We can rely on HÖRMANN - for many years we have trusted their expertise and people to keep our logistics state-of-the-art. Happy anniversary to the HÖRMANN Group.
Bernhard Schön, Liebensteiner Kartonagenwerk GmbH
Press releases 2025
The chronicle of the HÖRMANN Group
In 1955, Dipl.-Ing. Hans Hörmann founds an engineering office for the planning, construction and testing of lightning protection systems, consisting of the founder and one other employee. By 1956, the number of employees had already risen to ten fitters.
In the years leading up to 1964, the company founder consistently expands the product segments and lays the foundation for the façade technology division. In addition, the company starts to reach out to other regions.
In 1962, HÖRMANN KG is founded in Stade as a partner for lightning protection, drywall and façade construction in the north of the country.
In 1965, the company enters the siren business, initially as a subcontractor.
After quickly joining the inner circle of suppliers for the Federal Office for Civil Defense in Bonn, HÖRMANN develops into the market leader for warning systems.
At the end of the 1960s, HÖRMANN makes its first foray into the industrial technology sector with electrical installations for the new VW plant in Salzgitter.
In 1970, HÖRMANN GmbH Nuremberg is founded for the planning and construction of prefabricated transformer stations.
1971 HÖRMANN grows to become the world market leader in siren construction with the development of the mains-independent compressed air siren.
HÖRMANN Schwimmbadtechnik was founded in 1972 - based on the idea of the underground power unit container for the compressed air siren. More than 1,000 underground swimming pools were delivered in this container form in Europe.
In 1976, the security technology division was developed and built up to become the third largest provider in Germany with intrusion detection and monitoring systems produced in-house.
In the early 1980s, the company moves to its current headquarters in Kirchseeon near Munich. In the following years, more and more parts of the company are spun off into independent companies, such as the façade construction division in 1982.
In the mid-1980s, the HÖRMANN Group establishes its first good business connections in the GDR through its long-standing contacts with the Volkswagen Group.
HÖRMANN Logistik GmbH is founded in 1987 as a system house for intralogistics systems
In the course of the reform of siren maintenance and servicing in Germany by the Federal Office for Civil Defense, Hans Hörmann is able to win a large part of the maintenance contracts for HÖRMANN in tough negotiations.
With the fall of the Berlin Wall, the HÖRMANN Group embarks on years of exceptional growth: In 1989, HÖRMANN Barkas GmbH is founded in Chemnitz, which grows from 40 to 200 employees in a very short time. in 1990, HÖRMANN & Partner was founded in Chemnitz, a development and production company for software and electronic control systems.
One year later - in 1991 - the former Hochbauprojektierung Sachsen in Chemnitz was also taken over and renamed AIC Architektur- und Ingenieursgesellschaft Chemnitz. In the same year, SITEC Industrietechnologie, a mechanical engineering company for highly qualified special machines and products, was also founded.
1992 saw the takeover of VacuTec Messtechnik GmbH in Dresden and Funkwerk Kölleda GmbH, a company specializing in railroad communication.
1993 Rawema GmbH, an engineering company with excellent business contacts in the Soviet Union, is taken over. HÖRMANN Rawema offers highly qualified engineering services for vehicle development.
The takeover of ERMAFA GUSS follows a year later. The company specializes in cast products for chemical plants, shipbuilding and wind power plants.
In 1995, HÖRMANN GmbH & Co. KG Industrietechnik is spun off as an independent subsidiary.
Funkwerk Dabendorf is taken over in 1996. The company is soon able to significantly expand its business activities with the introduction of an amplifier for mobile communication in vehicles.
in 1990, so many people work at HÖRMANN that a separate train is needed for the company outing.
23. August 1990 - HÖRMANN drives off into the blue.
In 1997, Deutsche Beteiligungs AG is brought in to strengthen the equity base and possibly prepare the HÖRMANN Group's IPO.
At the end of the millennium, over 1,000 employees work in the industrial technology division, which has now strategically shifted its focus to services for large-scale industry and has secured numerous key projects at home and abroad.
At the start of the new millennium, Funkwerk AG breaks new ground with the first IPO of a HÖRMANN subsidiary. On November 15, 2000, the company is listed for the first time on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange "Neuer Markt". In the years that followed, Funkwerk AG became an insider tip among stock market players thanks to the successful expansion of its portfolio.
In addition, HÖRMANN Industrietechnik acquires a 25.1% stake in DIW AG - Deutsche Industrie Wartung - in order to rapidly expand its international activities.
In 2001, Funktel GmbH in Salzgitter is taken over as a subsidiary of Funkwerk AG.
Funktel has its expertise in the areas of in-house mobile communication and personal security systems.
Raytek Inc. grows to become the world market leader for portable infrared heat meters in 2002. Furthermore, in 2002 HÖRMANN GmbH & Co. KG Industrietechnik and HÖRMANN Barkas GmbH merge to form HÖRMANN Industrietechnik GmbH.
In 2003, the foundation stone is laid for the cross-group IMM Alliance for industrial site services from a single source.
Hans Hörmann buys back the shares held by Deutsche Beteiligungs AG in 2004 and is thus once again the sole owner of the Group.
In the same year, the Saarbrücken plant is spun off from HÖRMANN Industrietechnik and acquired in full. This is how HÖRMANN Komponentenbau is created.
HÖRMANN Komponentenbau (today: HÖRMANN Automotive Saarbrücken) and HÖRMANN Presstec (today: HÖRMANN Automotive St. Wendel) with the recently acquired companies HÖRMANN Automotive Eislingen, HÖRMANN Automotive Wackersdorf and HÖRMANN Automotive Bielefeld expand this area sustainably and make the Group a major supplier to OEMs in the commercial vehicle and agricultural machinery sector.
On the occasion of the company's 50th anniversary in 2005, HÖRMANN employs more than 4,000 people at over 60 locations on four continents. The company also acquires shares in ACP Penzberg GmbH, which is taken over completely in 2008.
Also in 2005, DIW AG increases its stake in HÖRMANN Industrietechnik to 49%. Together, HÖRMANN and DIW become one of the largest industrial providers of technical services in Europe. Three years later, in 2008, VOITH - now the full owner of DIW - takes over 100% of HÖRMANN Industrietechnik
From 2006 to the present day, the HÖRMANN Group has expanded its activities in the automotive sector not only with the ACP component plant in Penzberg (now: HÖRMANN Automotive Penzberg), which was taken over from MAN, but also with the component plant in Gustavsburg (now: HÖRMANN Automotive Gustavsburg), which has been managed jointly with MAN since 2007.
in 2005, HÖRMANN employs more than 4,000 people at over 60 locations on four continents.
In 2011, Hans Hörmann was awarded the Medal of Merit of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (Federal Cross of Merit) for his services to the German economy. The then Federal Minister of Transport, Building and Urban Development, Dr. Peter Ramsauer, presented him with the special award and paid tribute to his entrepreneurial life's work.
In August 2016, HÖRMANN Automotive Slovakia s.r.o. is founded in Bánovce nad Bebravou in Slovakia. The new component plant of the Automotive division is expected to produce significant production volumes as early as 2017.
In 2017, HÖRMANN Finance GmbH, in which the operating subsidiaries of the HÖRMANN Group are bundled, was renamed HÖRMANN Industries GmbH, thus also fulfilling its role as an industrial holding company by name.
HÖRMANN takes over the MAT Group and Leadec Engineering in 2017.
HÖRMANN acquires Klatt Fördertechnik in 2019 and strengthens the Engineering division.
The HÖRMANN Group's Bánovce plant in Slovakia is currently expanding rapidly. Over 300 people are already employed and more are being hired on an ongoing basis. This expansion underlines the strategic importance of the site in the automotive industry.
In early 2020, Munich-based HÖRMANN Logistik was recognized for its "innovation-promoting management" in the 51 to 200 employee size category of the TOP 100 innovation competition.
In the same year, AIC Ingenieurgesellschaft für Bauplanung Chemnitz GmbH became HÖRMANN BauPlan GmbH. The general planning company continues to provide a wide range of services for the construction industry.
Europe's first hydrogen-powered tram
In 2021, HÖRMANN Vehicle Engineering (HVE), streetcar manufacturer HeiterBlick together with FLEXIVA automation & Robotik, launched one of the most innovative projects in the rail vehicle sector: the hydrogen streetcar.
With the founding of HÖRMANN Logistik Polska Sp. z o.o., the company is expanding its AutoStore® activities in Eastern Europe. Since 2020, HÖRMANN Logistik has held the distribution rights for Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Eastern Europe. The Polish branch enables more intensive market development in the CEE region.
In 2021, Funkwerk AG acquires the shares in VIPRO.sys GmbH in Leipzig from Scanvest Deutschland GmbH. VIPRO.sys develops software-supported solutions for building and security management and supports customers from industry, public authorities and public institutions. The acquisition expands Funkwerk's smart building and smart mobility portfolio.
"This acquisition expands our product portfolio to include holistic solutions in the field of smart building and smart mobility," emphasizes Kerstin Schreiber, member of the Executive Board of Funkwerk AG.
At the beginning of 2022, Anna Hörmann, daughter of company founder Hans Hörmann, joins the management of HÖRMANN Warnsysteme to intensively drive forward the development of strategies to shape dynamic growth.
The expansion of the siren network in Germany will be further advanced through the increased commitment of the federal and state governments. The siren network will be further expanded throughout Germany and integrated into the federal BOS digital radio network to enable central control via the BBK's Modular Warning System (MoWaS).
New Intralogistics
HÖRMANN Industries GmbH established a new business division in 2022. The new "Intralogistics" division unites the companies HÖRMANN Logistik GmbH with its subsidiary HÖRMANN Logistik Polska Sp. z o.o., Klatt Fördertechnik GmbH and HÖRMANN Logistik Systeme GmbH under one roof. It also integrates the Services division of the HÖRMANN Group.
The combination of AutoStore® with the WMS HiLIS and the intelligent robobrain® from the Munich-based start-up robominds GmbH has won the materialfluss readers' choice for PRODUCT OF THE YEAR 2022 in the category Warehousing and Order Picking Technology.
HÖRMANN Kommunikation & Netze GmbH and Funkwerk AG become one
In 2022, HÖRMANN is bundling its expertise and strengthening the infrastructure, rail and service business within the Funkwerk Group. Following the partial reorganization of the group structure and the establishment of the new Intralogistics division, the transfer of HÖRMANN Kommunikation & Netze to Funkwerk AG is an important strategic step for the further growth of the Communication division.
In 2023, Funkwerk video systeme GmbH and Funkwerk vipro.sys GmbH were merged to form Funkwerk Security Solutions GmbH. This step marks the strategic expansion of the Security division.
In 2024, Funkwerk AG took over Elektrotechnik und Elektronik Oltmann GmbH in Berlin. The company remains active under its previous name within the Funkwerk Group and strengthens the Passenger Information Systems division with its specialization in solutions for regional rail transport.
13th place in the "Automotive and suppliers" category! With this ranking, HÖRMANN Automotive is one of the most popular employers in Germany. This is the result of a study by the magazine "Stern" and the market research company "Statista" on the reputation of employers.
The HÖRMANN Group was officially recognized as a Kununu Top Company in 2024! The seal is an award for companies that have received particularly good ratings from their employees on the Kununu employer rating system.
HÖRMANN Klatt Conveyors and BEUMER Group agree on strategic partnership in 2024
Shorter waiting times at the security checkpoint, higher passenger satisfaction with fewer staff - with SECTRO, BEUMER Group and HÖRMANN Klatt Conveyors present a new, innovative solution for hand baggage screening at airports.
In 2024, the HÖRMANN Group is named "BAYERN'S BEST 50"
The award is given to particularly fast-growing medium-sized companies that have been able to increase the number of their employees and their sales above average in recent years.
Best Supplier 2023 Award from Kubota
HÖRMANN Automotive St. Wendel has received the Best Supplier 2023 Award from Kubota Baumaschinen GmbH. The recognition as one of the best suppliers in 2023 reflects the successful cooperation and the high quality of the components supplied.
HÖRMANN Automotive Wackersdorf GmbH has changed its name to HÖRMANN Systems Assembly GmbH in 2024 due to a strategic realignment and will be integrated into the HÖRMANN "Communication" division. With this step, the company is strengthening its commitment in the areas of charging infrastructure, robotics, digital signage and other future markets.
We congratulate
70 years of the HÖRMANN Group
For seven decades, we have stood for innovation, quality and team spirit in the industry. We would like to thank all our partners, customers and employees for their support and trust. Celebrate this important milestone with us and discover how we are shaping the future together. Let's continue to be successful together!
The chronicle of the HÖRMANN Group
Dive into the fascinating history of the HÖRMANN Group, which began 70 years ago. Our chronicle tells you about the key milestones that have made us a leading supplier in the industry. From our humble beginnings as an engineering office for lightning protection systems to our current position as an internationally active group of companies - discover the developments, innovations and successes that have shaped our identity. Be inspired by our history and find out how the HÖRMANN Group has continuously grown to meet the challenges of the future.
