HELLA KGaA Hueck & Co. is an automotive technology company and one of the leading European suppliers of lighting and electronic components and systems for the automotive industry. Headquartered in Lippstadt, Germany, the company was established in 1899 as Westfälische Metall-Industrie Aktien-Gesellschaft by Sally Windmüller.
Sally Windmüller transformed his father’s feed store into a lamp manufacturer for carriages and bicycles in the late 19th century, followed by lighting components for automobiles in the early 1900s. Following Sally’s death in 1930 and post-WWII, the Hueck family took control of the company by acquiring its outstanding shares in 1950.
Sales grew during the 1950s and 1960s, prompting international expansion into Australia, South America, Asia and Western Europe. The company officially became Hella KGaA Hueck & Co. in 1986.
By the 1990s, HELLA had become a supplier to some of the world’s biggest automakers and began innovating LED-technology, first used on the BMW convertible. The company then continued expansion into emerging markets, such as China, Mexico, Brazil and Dubai, during the 2000s. It was listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange in 2014.
Today, the company operates under the name HELLA GmbH & Co. KGaA, with around 39,000 employees operating over 125 locations in 35 countries.
- Family name: Hueck family
- Sector: Automotive & Transportation
- Founded: 1899
- Founder: Sally Windmüller
- Country: Germany
- Company headquarters: Lippstadt , Germany
- President and CEO: Rolf Breidenbach
- Revenue: US$6.5 billion
- Family ownership: 60%
- Employees: 34,085
- Website: https://www.hella.com/