Hella defies the crisis: 185 million euros in sales despite the recession!

Hella defies the crisis: 185 million euros in sales despite the recession!

Lindau am Bodensee, Deutschland - The economic situation in Germany remains tense. The recession has also reached the East Tyrolean family company Hella, whose group sales for the 2024 financial year is 185 million euros. The company thus records a decline of 13.4 percent compared to the record year 2023. Despite this negative development, Hella is optimistic, especially with regard to the major customer business.

Andreas Kraler, managing partner of the Hella Group, emphasizes that the construction industry has been in a continuing recession since 2021 and the consequences in the sun protection industry are delayed. Nevertheless, Hella achieved an increase of 8 million euros compared to the 2019 pre-Covide turnover. The company reached its sales goals in the first two quarters in 2024, but fell behind the expectations in the second half of the year.

market development and personnel changes

Around half of Hella's total sales are achieved in Germany. For 2025, the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW) expects a further decline in production in the construction industry, with a positive development only for 2026. As a result of this economic framework, Hella reduced the staff from 1,300 to 1,200 employees, mainly through natural fluctuation and adaptation of seasonal workers.

Kral appeals to the need for prudent management decisions. The management does not want to get involved in a price war, but as a premium provider, manufacture high -quality products in Austria and Germany to measure. The company has already secured major international projects with an order volume of 25 million euros, including important projects such as the "Vierlinden-Quartier" in Lindau on Lake Constance and the office oven "Equalizer" in Berlin.

The effects of the Covid 19 pandemy

The economic decline is not accidental, but is also related to long-term effects of COVID-19 pandemic. According to destatis.de , closed business, canceled events and travel restrictions had serious consequences for the economy. The consumer expenditure of private households crashed at the beginning of the pandemic, which contributed to the pessimistic assessment of the economic climate.

In April 2020, the indicator of the economic climate has fallen to the lowest level since 1985, and consumer confidence has not stabilized since then. These circumstances create uncertainties on the market that continue in the construction industry and in other industry.

Despite these adverse circumstances, Hella pursues a positive business perspective for 2025 and hopes to better develop business through targeted strategic decisions and the focus on major customers and to successfully master the challenges. The market development remains careful, especially considering the current economic framework.