125 years of FORVIA HELLA
From lamp manufacturer to international automotive supplier, from the first acetylene lamp to chip-based headlamps: FORVIA HELLA can look back on a success story that dates back to 1899. The company has always had its sights firmly set on the future - with technologies that not only make mobility safer, more sustainable and more comfortable but that also shape mobility. Here you can gain an insight into the fascinating company history of FORVIA HELLA.
1899: The foundation
On 11 June 1899, Sally Windmüller founds the "Westfälische Metall Industrie Aktien-Gesellschaft" in Lippstadt. He sees the onset of motorisation as a future trend and growth market. The founding of Westfälische Metall Industrie Aktien-Gesellschaft (WMI) marks the official beginning of the company's history.
Picture left: Sally Windmüller (back row, centre) together with his wife Helene (back row, right) was the owner of the first car in Lippstadt. Picture right: Depiction of Westfälische Metall Industrie Aktien-Gesellschaft on a letterhead from 1904.
1908: The "System Hella"
The acetylene headlamp "System Hella" is added to the sales catalogue as WMI's first outstanding product innovation. "Hella" becomes a trade name that year and is also registered as a trademark in 1926. It is still not entirely clear how the name came about. It could be a reference to the Greek sun god Helios or allude to a fictitious goddess of light, as all WMI products bore a badge showing a young woman with a shining star above her head. However, the most likely - and most obvious - variant is this: Company founder Sally Windmüller wanted to honour his wife. Her name was Helene, but she was known as Hella. The fact that this also creates an association with the German word for "brighter" was probably an advantage.
Picture left: In October 1911, the new factory (here the rear view of the new building) is inaugurated at the site of today's company headquarters. Picture right: "Hella" is the first product innovation to become a trademark in 1908, and is also registered as a trade mark in 1926.
Early innovations from FORVIA HELLA
Acetylene headlamp "System Hella" - the first innovation of the young company
The first outstanding product innovation of the still young Westfälische Metall Industrie Aktien-Gesellschaft is included in the sales catalogue: the acetylene floodlight "System Hella" - which would give the company its name some 80 years later. This technology is clearly superior to conventional candle or paraffin lanterns in terms of light intensity and range - and marks the beginning of the development from lamp and lantern to headlamp.
The Bilux lamp was able to produce low beam and high beam light from one lamp: the pioneering innovation became the standard for decades to come
With the twin filament or Bilux lamp, WMI presents one of the most important product innovations of those years. Instead of one filament, it now has two filaments in the glass bulb and can therefore produce both low beam and high beam light from one lamp. A milestone in the development of lighting technology - and subsequently the industry standard for many decades.
Progress in lighting technology with the first asymmetrical dipped beam headlamp
On 27 August 1957, WMI is the first company to receive type approval for a headlamp with asymmetrical light distribution. This technology suddenly increases safety in road traffic at night, not only by improving visibility on your own side of the road, but also by reducing glare for oncoming traffic.
Entry into the electronics business - with an all-electric flasher unit
WMI's entry into the electronics business is hidden behind nine numbers, three letters and three characters. Its name: 96 P 2+1+1x18 W 12 V. The company is one of the very first automotive suppliers to venture into the electronics age, with production at the plant in Hamm (Germany). The product range from the very beginning later also included electrical switches as well as plugs and sockets for vehicle trailer operation.
Approval for the first H4 headlamp - for the Volkswagen Beetle, for example
WMI receives approval for the first H4 halogen headlamp. The company had already played a pioneering role in its development in the preceding years, presenting an auxiliary headlamp - the first of its kind - with an H1 halogen lamp in 1962. The breakthrough for halogen light finally came with the H4 twin filament halogen lamp. This made it possible to utilise the advantages of the previous Bilux lamp with the new, promising light source.
1923: The beginning of the rise
The Lüdenscheid-based company Eduard Hueck, which was founded in 1814, takes over a majority stake in Westfälische Metall Industrie AG under the leadership of Oskar Eduard Hueck, who also becomes the main shareholder and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of WMI that year. As a young man, he learnt about mass production in the USA, which was already in full swing in the automotive industry there. This had made a deep impression on him. When he started working for Eduard Hueck in Lüdenscheid in 1909, he was already aware of the importance of WMI as a customer for a possible entry into the automotive industry.
1933: The days of National Socialism
The National Socialists come to power in Germany, six years later the Second World War breaks out. As early as 1933, WMI supplies the "Wehrmacht" with products from its civilian portfolio. During the years of war, the state decrees the production of large quantities of standardised war headlamps ("Kriegsnormscheinwerfer"), and WMI also produces large amounts of ammunition, as it did during the First World War. Due to the war-related labour shortage, WMI also employs forced labourers during the Second World War. The company clearly acknowledged this historical responsibility, for example by participating in the "Remembrance, Responsibility and Future" ("Erinnerung, Verantwortung und Zukunft") foundation.
In June 1945, WMI received authorisation from the occupation authorities to resume business activities.
WMI is ordered by the state to produce large quantities of standardised war headlights during the war years.
1961: The Internationalisation
HELLA grows again after the end of the Second World War. Together with the economic recovery in Germany, the number of employees increases from 450 in 1945 to 1,500 within three years. In 1961 HELLA builds its first factory abroad, in Australia. This is the beginning of internationalization. Today HELLA is present with over 125 locations in around 35 countries and generates over 40 percent of its sales in markets outside of Europe.
Hella Australia Pty, HELLA's first location outside Germany, opened in 1961.
1986: The new name
The HELLA plum is put on the roof - WMI becomes "Hella KG Hueck & Co." on 1 June 1986. According to a letter to customers and business partners, the move is intended to recognise the increasing importance of the Hella product brand. At the time, it had already been established on the market for around 80 years. Almost 17 years later, in 2003, the company is converted into a partnership limited by shares (KGaA) and thus into a corporation. The new legal form creates the option of opening up to the capital market - which will be utilised eleven years later, in 2014.
Company name Hella: The famous HELLA plum is put on the roof. HELLA becomes the company name - and the logo is placed on the roof of the high-rise building of the company headquarters.
2014: The stock market launch
115 years after the company was founded, HELLA ventures onto the stock market. The HELLA share is traded on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange for the first time on 11 November 2014, with a starting price of € 27.50. The official start of trading was preceded by a two-stage private placement with institutional investors and family offices. Less than a year later, on 21 September 2015, the share is admitted to the MDAX where it is still listed today.
The HELLA share is traded on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange for the first time on 11 November 2014 with a starting price of € 27.50.
Further innovations from FORVIA HELLA
First full LED headlamp from FORVIA HELLA - for the Cadillac Escalade
In spring 2008, the first full LED headlamp from FORVIA HELLA will go into series production at Plant 2 - for the Cadillac Escalade Platinum. This makes the Escalade Platinum the world's first sports utility vehicle (SUV) to be equipped with this pioneering lighting technology. After all, it opens up new styling possibilities and thus great potential for differentiation. It is also clearly superior to xenon light in terms of performance and efficiency.
The voltage converter from FORVIA HELLA - one of many products for electromobility
FORVIA HELLA provides comprehensive support to car manufacturers on the road to electromobility, with products for all stages of electrification. In 2010, for example, the first voltage converter was manufactured; today, FORVIA HELLA is the global market leader for automotive DC/DC converters and will also enter the high-voltage market for power electronics in 2022 with the first customer order for HV voltage converters.
World's first LED matrix headlamp with glare-free high beam in the Audi A8
FORVIA HELLA is bringing the world's first LED matrix headlamp with glare-free high beam into series production. It allows the driver to drive with the high beam permanently switched on without dazzling oncoming traffic or vehicles in front. Over the years, Matrix LED technology has been consistently developed further.
Key component for assisted and automated driving - the 77 GHz radar sensor
FORVIA HELLA brings 77 GHz radar sensors into series production - an essential key technology for assisted and automated driving. HELLA brought the first generation of 24 GHz radar sensors into series production back in 2005. Today, the field of automated driving is one of the company's key growth areas.
Superlative lighting technology - the SSL | HD digital headlamp system with up to 25,000 LED pixels per chip
Together with the luxury car manufacturer Porsche and other partners, FORVIA HELLA is bringing the world's first high-resolution headlights based on matrix LED technology to the road. The SSL | HD digital headlamp system is available for the first time as an optional extra in the new Porsche Cayenne; it takes automotive lighting technology to a new level and implements new safety-relevant functionalities, such as an optical lane departure warning system. Depending on customer requirements, up to 25,000 LED pixels per chip can be intelligently and individually controlled in this headlamp system.
2022: The joint future
With over 150,000 employees worldwide, HELLA and the French technology company Faurecia together form FORVIA, the seventh largest supplier of automotive technologies in the world and a market leader in high-growth areas of the future. On 14 August 2021, both companies announced that Faurecia would acquire a majority stake in HELLA. Thus, the FORVIA Group was created in 2022: a global technology leader that covers a broad customer spectrum as well as key automotive fields of the future.
HELLA becomes part of the FORVIA Group, the seventh largest supplier of automotive technologies in the world.