Technological progress always involves change. After more than 50 years of company history, the HK Group is reorganizing its business divisions into a holding structure. The new company structure thus also takes into account the individual character of each company: different speeds, diverse networking options, different partners, different business models with trained specialists.
For the Group as a whole, this means Control elements, sensor technology, electronics, software, hardware, metal housings, IoT, cloud, connectivity, digital interaction – innovative concepts with a progressive character are created through the collaboration of all individual disciplines. Despite having almost 450 employees and 5 locations, the Group remains agile and at the cutting edge of technological developments and trends.
As of August 1, 2024, the input systems division with the Buchen and Frankfurt sites will be incorporated into Hoffmann + Krippner GmbH & Co. The holding company was also founded via HK.SYSTEMS GmbH, soon to be converted into a stock corporation, with the subsidiaries HK.DIGITAL GmbH, ROBIOTIC GmbH and TAP2.CLOUD GmbH as well as smaller companies for administrative and investment purposes.
Ralf Krippner, CEO HK.SYSTEMS, in an interview:
Patrick Lüke (freelance journalist): One year after its 50th anniversary, the HK Group is now forming and the former Hoffmann + Krippner GmbH is becoming Hoffmann + Krippner GmbH & Co KG. Why this change?
Ralf Krippner: 50 years ago, my father Fritz Krippner and Max Hoffmann started a screen printing company that printed plastic parts, e.g. radio dials for Grundig radios. Later, we added membrane keypads, membrane sensors and component assembly with carrier parts and electronics. We grew with our own electronics assembly, housing parts, displays and touchscreens. At this point, our long-standing existing customers began to lose track – we were still the manufacturer of membrane keypads for them. When we added cloud connectivity via mobile data, IoT applications, software and apps almost ten years ago, things became confusing. If you had compared us to a restaurant, we would have offered home-style German cuisine, supplemented it with European specialties and now added fusion cuisine.
For our own organization, but above all for our partners and customers, it therefore makes a lot of sense to turn the one gastronomy area into a food court that offers the respective flavours independently – but has the related offers as additional stands next door and covers the full variety overall.
Patrick Lüke: How exactly are you tackling this now?
Ralf Krippner: In terms of company law, we have outsourced the traditional operation of the input systems to Hoffmann + Krippner GmbH & Co KG. Here, long-standing customers will find their familiar contacts and everything will remain almost exactly as they know it. Nothing is taken away, we offer basic research, industrial design and constructive development, use this to create samples and pre-series and then manufacture the input solutions with the highest proportion of in-house production in Buchen. We continue to supply individual orders as well as call-offs from framework agreements. For customers in the field of input systems and foil sensors, practically nothing will change.
Patrick Lüke: And what is the HK Group all about?
Ralf Krippner: The HK.DIGITAL, TAP2.CLOUD and ROBIOTIC sub-divisions are each managed as separate limited companies and continue to develop IoT technologies, cloud connectivity, software and apps under the umbrella of the joint HK.SYSTEMS Group. Cooperation within the group is supported, but independent products and customer approach are also encouraged. We look forward to advising and supplying customers of Hoffmann + Krippner GmbH & Co KG on cloud connectivity for their products. However, many customers also come from other sectors and initially have nothing to do with input solutions. In addition to Buchen, we also work at locations in Frankfurt, Paderborn and Münster.
Patrick Lüke: And that’s it for HK Group companies and products?
Ralf Krippner: Around ten years ago, we acquired a majority stake in TES Frontdesign GmbH in Neuruppin. TES is an important internal supplier for us and focuses on aluminum and stainless steel, among other things. The products complement our portfolio in terms of input systems. However, the company operates largely independently of the Group’s activities, but is of course part of it. There are also family relationships with industrialpartners GmbH in Frankfurt and Ladenburg and TK-World AG in Paderborn. Further start-ups or investments are not ruled out, provided they expand the portfolio positively and suit customers and partners.
Patrick Lüke: Thank you very much.
What does the change in legal form mean for Hoffmann + Krippner?
Nothing will change for the customers of the new Hoffmann + Krippner GmbH & Co. KG, as the new management team headed by Frank Wahlandt and Thomas Grimm explains: “The complete, traditional operational business of Hoffmann + Krippner GmbH will be transferred to Hoffmann + Krippner GmbH & Co. KG as a result of the change in legal form, and all activities will continue under unchanged conditions. The customers’ familiar contacts will also remain in place, as will the existing service portfolio. H+K remains the usual strong, reliable foundation in the new corporate structure.”
Frank Wahlandt and Thomas Grimm give an outlook on what customers can expect in the future: “Hoffmann + Krippner GmbH & Co. KG will be agile in terms of technology and personnel within the newly created group of companies so that we can react flexibly to all developments: with a powerful structure that enables us to create the optimum solutions for our customers even in an economically challenging global environment.
In addition, we will continue to gradually expand our proven portfolio – in cooperation with the other companies in the Group. We want to use these synergy effects to gradually make the “input” system better, simpler, safer, more suitable and, last but not least, digital and smart for our customers.” High-quality production processes, reliable sources of supply, sustainability, circular economy, safety, trust, humanity: these are the values we focus on for employees, partners and customers.”
Thus, behind a rather inconspicuous change on paper – from a GmbH to a GmbH & Co. KG under the umbrella of a holding company – lies a decisive change of course for the successful future of the group of companies. With visible, transparent structures that enable growth potential for all integrated companies. The result is unique interfaces between man and machine, made possible by traditional manufacturing processes and innovative future technologies – developed in the Odenwald and at many other global locations.
The personal designations used in this article refer to all genders. We have refrained from using gendered language in order to improve readability.