On its 100th anniversary Häfele announces the appointment of a new president and sets the course for a new century

Thus, the Häfele Group is using its 100th anniversary not only to take stock of what has been achieved so far, but also to reposition itself under the motto "Ready for the future".

"Confident, we affirm with this change at the head of the company our commitment to the next century of Häfele" explains the company's outgoing director. By declaring: "It's not about continuing as before, it's about continuing to develop the sector", she remains faithful to her motto: "To stop is to go back".

Sibylle Thierer remains Chairman of the Board of Directors. She will thus continue to make her voice heard in the future decisions of the group. With this change of generation, the shareholder families apply on January 1, 2023 a well-prepared and long-planned succession settlement. This fits perfectly into the other acts aimed at starting the next 100 years of Häfele calmly. In this context, the change of company name in 2020 to a European company with the designation SE in the company name and the resulting new management and control structure are just as important as the international reorientation with the creation of regions.

Focus on the future

A turning point must now mark the next chapter in Häfele's history: with the appointment of Gregor Riekena as the fifth company director in Häfele's history, it is reviving the good experiences of the past. The first general manager not from the Häfele and Thierer families, Hans Nock (1982-2003), had demonstrated his foresight in enabling the company to become a global player. Mr. Riekena now becomes the second Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Häfele Group who is not a family member.

Gregor Riekena, a graduate in management, started in 2011 at Häfele as Marketing Director and since 2015 he has been part of the management team as Chief Marketing Officer (CMO). On his way as designated successor to Sibylle Thierer, he got to know the company perfectly at national and international level. In particular, he led the brand strategy of the Häfele group and the establishment of a global e-commerce platform. Recently, emphasis has been placed on the transition to the next century with the “Business Strategy 2030” project.

“Together, we have laid the foundations for the structuring of the future. During this period of intensive collaboration, it became clear that the time had come to hand over to Gregor Riekena. He has the best qualities for this mission and has all my confidence.”, says Sibylle Thierer.

“We are and will remain a family business”

Häfele, underlines Sibylle Thierer, is well prepared for the changes to come with its traditional and effective recipe for continuity and innovation.

For Mrs Thierer, continuity lies above all in the sustainability of the family business and in maintaining the famous family spirit of the group, which today has more than 8 employees and achieves an annual turnover of nearly 000 billion euros. But also in its lively international character, associated with a real openness to the world. The shareholder families Thierer and Häfele are the guarantors of this vision. They live on two continents, America and Europe.

“Without fittings, furniture is nothing more than a pile of boards”

While the managing director of Häfele, Walther Thierer (1949-1982), successfully set up Häfele logistics, which is still very popular in the branch; invented the “Le Grand Häfele” catalogue, which is now available worldwide in more than 20 languages; and devoted himself to brand politics, his daughter's name will probably be associated with the greatest change in the history of hardware technology.

She gave heart and soul to furniture fittings, those metal parts long considered purely technical accessories in furniture stores, and brought them to light. Sibylle Thierer's credo: the technique of the fittings is the real key to the emotion and the individualization of furniture and fittings. “Without fittings, furniture is nothing more than a pile of boards”, this slogan that she launched in 2007 was immediately understood by everyone. At a time when the functionality of furniture and furnishings is becoming increasingly important, this slogan has brought furniture fittings from the background to the forefront with planners, designers and furniture manufacturers.

Then another discovery was added, that of the primordial importance of light in furniture and rooms, which allowed Häfele to create a whole new field of activity with Loox and Nimbus and which continues to fascinate the sector, from carpenter to architect and interior designer.

The digital networking of all these possibilities also imposed itself on Häfele under the era of Mrs. Thierer, for example by equipping hotel chains all over the world with its Dialock electronic access system.

“In everything I have done, I have always been keen to make living spaces more pleasant to live in”, explains Sibylle Thierer. “But this is only possible by studying the furniture and equipment as a whole. Thus, Häfele was able to evolve, under the direction of Sibylle Thierer, from the status of salesman and manufacturer of fittings to that of specialist and consultant in demand throughout the world for the fitting out of all types of parts. »