Company mission statement

How do we reconcile the demands of sustainability with those of environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG)?

Our company has been headquartered in Kirschfurt, Germany, since 1904, separated from Freudenberg only by the Main river, where the Haamann brothers ran a small locksmith’s shop in 1872.

Most of our buildings date back to the 1970s and 1980s and have been carefully, but always purposefully, refurbished, renovated and brought up to 21st century environmental standards over the past two decades. In 2010, we installed a photovoltaic system with an output of 200 kWp* on the roofs of our production halls and used European photovoltaic panels and installed German inverters.

*kWp (kilowatt peak) is a measure of the capacity of a photovoltaic system, where kWp corresponds to the maximum possible output in kW (kilowatts).

We have consistently and continuously renewed our production machinery during this time and paid great attention to keeping energy consumption as low as possible. For us, conserving energy resources means two things. The first is dealing with Germany’s extremely high energy prices on an economic level. The second is bearing social responsibility for our rural region, our country and ultimately the future of the people who want to live a healthy life here. We have been developing and maintaining a high production depth in our company for decades. Our suppliers are largely based in our region and in Germany. Whenever possible, we refrain from providing materials from countries that primarily gain price advantages by using socially questionable methods.

Our company has a training programme that has been in place for decades, mostly due to our actual demand for new staff. We consider this a service to our society and the next generation. A significant number of our employees have been with us for many years and value the performance and sustainability of a privately owned, medium-sized company.

Adhesion contracts with corporations that (supposedly) dominate the market
We still consider the ideal of the ‘respectable businessperson’ to be contemporary and modern. In this firm belief, we treat our suppliers fairly and pay them on time.

We also expect the same from our customers. As a small and medium-sized enterprise (SME), we reject obscene demands when it comes to pricing and we do not enter into adhesion contracts with corporations that (supposedly) dominate the market. Sound business conduct does not require unregulated one-off payments or the morally and legally reprehensible use of intellectual property.

Our actions are always justified, but that does not mean we possess some kind of ‘superior’ knowledge. It is simply the case that, as businesspeople, we always weigh our decisions against ESG criteria – and always being conscious of and striving to serve the best interests of our company, our employees and our business partners.