Established in 1935, the family-run company employs more than 6,000 staff and is renowned for its quality and innovation in sectional, high-speed, double-action and fire sliding doors, strip curtains, rolling shutters and grilles. Specialising in loading bay technology, Hörmann also produces loading houses, and dock levellers, shelters and seals for the logistics industry.
The headquarters are based in Leicestershire, and over 80 individual sales locations in more than 30 countries, as well as hundreds of authorised dealers in over 35 additional countries.
Cost-effective maintenance and repair solutions are provided alongside its product portfolio to a client base that includes Prologis, Asda, Sainsbury’s, Amazon and thousands of domestic end-users.
WLN – As the Doors & Curtains category experts, how has the category been performing in the last 12 months? What are the major trends and developments?
I am pleased to confirm that our Industrial Division has exceeded our expectations, with a 30 per cent increase in sales over 2013. The forecast for 2014 is looking highly promising, so it will be interesting to compare the results.
The biggest industrial area of growth for us has been in the ‘Big Shed’ market. This is due to working on a large number of new build distribution warehouses for recognised high street brands and retailers, such as John Lewis, Argos and Amazon.
We are also finding that some of the major property developers like Prologis are producing speculative builds again. This greatly benefits the end user, who will have the benefit of a ‘spec’ build product, rather than waiting for planning, design and build.
WLN – What are your core products and services: what are you best known for providing?
Hörmann is known for providing market leading products and service innovations to customers when it matters.
Our industrial customers know us extremely well for unparalleled, high quality sectional overhead doors, followed by an all-encompassing product portfolio for loading bays. We also offer a comprehensive range of insulated roller shutters, fast action doors and steel hinged doors.
With regards to services, we have listened to direct industry feedback, and as a result, we now offer an extended range of support packages. Not only do we conduct 24/7 call-outs for emergencies, no matter how big or small, we also service multiple branded equipment, in addition to our own Hörmann products. This flexibility and commitment has given us a real edge, which we feel customers truly acknowledge and appreciate.
WLN – What developments or upgrades have you made to your core products and services in the last 12 months?
At Hörmann, we invest a lot of resources into ongoing product development and research. One of the latest innovations in 2014, for example, is the non-contact safety edges on all Hörmann power-operated sectional and high speed doors. Our Light Grille incorporates specialist safety sensors in the door frame, and as such, has won awards due to its functionality, which exceeds requirements of BS EN 13241-1. Another welcome feature is that it can be retrofitted into existing door frames, without the need for costly replacements.
WLN?- What makes you the ‘go to’ supplier in your area of expertise?
Hörmann is the one-stop-shop for industrial door and loading bay products. We offer a complete service, from initial consultations with both architects and end users, right through to the final commissions onsite. It is fair to say that we are always available at every step of the process, which is why we believe we have such successful relationships with our customers.
WLN – Have you launched any new products and services in the past year? How are they performing?
We have introduced brand new fast action door products, specifically to suit certain applications within retail outlets, factories and workshops, all of which have been performing exceedingly well.
Another launch this year has seen a new stacking door added to our industrial door product portfolio that features full width, aluminium lathes to provide wind reinforcement. The V9012L is opened via a belt drive system that folds the door into the lintel area, making it highly stable for external use.
WLN – Which industry sectors are your customers in?
There has been no particular change to our customer base in 2014, other than the increasing number of projects within the retail sector. We successfully operate across the warehousing and distribution, transport, materials handling, automotive and retail industries.
WLN – Can you name some of your major customers and tell us about the work you do for them?
We work directly and indirectly with a number of the big brand food retailers, including ASDA, Waitrose, Sainsburys, Marks and Spencers, and Lidl. Our main activity with these companies is with our industrial door and loading bay equipment.
From our UK headquarters, we also supply a large amount of sectional and fast action door products into the automotive trade, with customers such as The Sytner Group and Eastern Western Group. Hörmann ALR Vitraplan doors are being installed in various nationwide showrooms, as well as our fast-action HS7030SEL sectional door for companies requiring workshop access.
In addition, Hörmann provides a growing number of similar products into fire and ambulance stations up and down the country, where product reliability and speed of access is crucial to emergency service operations.
WLN – Can you tell us about your latest major projects, and what they involve?
Besides the numerous ‘big shed’ developments that we have completed this year, and some of which are still ongoing, we have also supplied and installed a plethora of large folding and sliding doors to the rail industry, primarily in train workshops and maintenance ‘road sheds’.
A notable project with long-standing client Volker Fitzpatrick saw the existing Hitachi Crossrail site, also known as the North Pole depot in Hammersmith, completely refurbished in June 2014. Hörmann conducted a full site survey, followed by opened steel work modifications and the installation of a set of 12 folding door replacements, numerous Decotherm rollers, fire shutters and steel door sets, all in preparation for when the new West Coast rail line build starts.
WLN?- Have you made any big moves recently in terms of investment in the business, recruitment and so on?
We have made significant investments this year in recruitment. After identifying necessary changes to our internal processes, we have increased the headcount in our estimating, service and projects office.
New appointments have seen our commercial manager Shirley Dixon change roles to my executive PA, and new recruit Lisa Brook has joined as sales office manager from leading door and window supplier Elbee. Lisa has a multitude of direct sector experience that is perfect for the role, including many years working with Balfour Beatty, Jacuzzi and CEVA Logistics.
WLN – What was your company’s single biggest achievement in the last year?
I would have to say continued growth, especially within personnel. By having identified and successfully put in place a strategic recruitment plan, we have not only catered to the current level of our business needs, but we have also ‘future proofed’ our growth for the coming years.
Through finding and investing in the right headquarter staff, factory workforce and sales teams, I am confident we will penetrate new markets and gain greater market share.
WLN?- What are your plans for 2015? Are you planning to bring out any more products or services, move into new markets or enter new countries?
The Hörmann Group has been expanding worldwide, but in Europe in particular. We acquired the IG Group in Cwmbran, Wales (the largest manufacturer of composite doors to the house build sector) and international interior door manufacturer HUGA in Gütersloh, Germany.
New subsidiaries have already opened in Vietnam, Malaysia and India. And as always, there are plenty of new products in the pipeline that are in the research and development stage.
WLN?- Are you exhibiting at any major trade shows this year?
The major trade show that Hörmann exhibits at is BAU in Munich, where we will be present throughout the 19th to the 24th January 2015.
We are currently reviewing which UK shows will fit in with our growth plans, so that they sit in tandem with our marketing strategy going forwards, as well as using the data from market research that we recently commissioned to come to an informed decision.
WLN – What are your predictions for the industry in 2015?
In the ‘Big Shed’ market, it is difficult to predict accurately what the activity is likely to be, however we will go into 2015 with a larger than average order bank.
And as a number of lease agreements are coming to an end or are up for renewal, we are finding that 3PL companies and retailers are looking to the property market to provide them with more thermally efficient and carbon friendly properties. Therefore, it may be more cost effective to deconstruct older stock and replace with new to meet current and future environmental and sustainability standards.
So, from Hörmann’s perspective, I think we can safely predict growth across the industry as a whole, albeit slightly slower than for 2014.
WLN?- What other headline news from your company can our readers look forward to reading about in Warehouse & Logistics News in 2015?
We are known for vehicle entry doors, so expanding upon our steel hinge door range is a high priority as we see massive potential in this area of the market. With an average of 80 internal and external doors in many commercial and public sector premises, I feel Hörmann is well placed to exploit this product to its full potential.
There has never been a dedicated member of our team to corner this particular market, so over the next few months, I will be personally seeking out a specialist who is fully immersed in these products. We can then put serious effort into invigorating this side of our business that I hope will help open new doors into the commercial sector.
Finally, we have some exciting UK plans and brand initiatives underway that we need to keep under wraps for now, so watch this space for 2015 announcements.
Phone: 01530 516888
Email: info@hormann.co.uk
Web: www.hormann.co.uk
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