MANN+HUMMEL is a family-owned company with decades of experience. It is the people who work for us that drive us and make us a market leader. This is how we convince customers and clients in Germany and the world. MANN+HUMMEL was founded in 1941 as a family-owned company and has remained so until today. In their daily work, employees experience our values. They make us an above-average employer. In the development of our products our employees apply all their knowledge and energy to find the best possible solution – something which is felt by our customers and clients.The application areas of products are just as varied and diverse as our employees. Our systems are used all over the world and even under extreme conditions meet all of the quality and safety requirements. Thanks to our experience in the area of filtration and our flexibility, we are a valuable partner for our customers. In our company profile you can read some surprising stories and facts about the company.
The first products were fabric air filters made in Ludwigsburg. Today, after more than seven decades, we are the global market leader for filtration with locations on all continents. MANN+HUMMEL can look back on an eventful, long and successful company history. In 1938 Adolf Mann and Dr. Erich Hummel were the owners of the textile company Bleyle in Ludwigsburg. Shortly after the outbreak of the second world war, the Stuttgart piston producer Mahle offers the production of engine filters to the company, an offer which is taken up and which lays the foundations for their company MANN+HUMMEL.
THE FORMATIVE YEARS AND CHALLENGES OF POST-WAR GERMANY
After 1942 the two founders of MANN+HUMMEL decide to engage in intensive R&D work. The hardship of the post-war years proves to be the mother of invention, and this leads to a restructuring of the production. Instead of filters, other articles including domestic articles and plumbing fittings are the order of the day. In parallel, MANN+HUMMEL nevertheless further develops its filter business. The ends of the 1940s marks the turning point as the first VW Beetle rolls off the production line and MANN+HUMMEL produces large volumes of felt cone filters for the vehicles.
INDUSTRIAL MASS PRODUCTION AND INTERNATIONALIZATION
In the 1950s the introduction of assembly line production enables MANN+HUMMEL to make the transition over to industrial mass production. The continuing German post-war economic miracle and increasing demand make the expansion of production capacity necessary.
Exports also increase significantly, and therefore MANN+HUMMEL reacts by founding international distribution companies. In parallel, the company management introduces extensive social policy measures. Company health insurance, profit sharing, a company pension scheme and the possibility for employees to acquire home ownership at a low cost through a house building program make employment at MANN+HUMMEL even more attractive.
PIONEERING INNOVATIONS AND EXPANSION
Innovative products “made by MANN+HUMMEL” mark the way towards the company becoming a development partner and original equipment manufacturer for the automotive industry. Improvements to the consumption and performance of engines and reduction of pollutant emissions gain in importance. The filtration expert from Ludwigsburg increasingly uses plastic in its production. This enables more flexible product designs and weight saving.
A further important innovation is the introduction of lost core technology for injection molding. This allows the seamless production of complex intake manifolds. The result is the manufacture of the first series production of intake manifolds made from plastic, the parallel development of oil filter housings in plastic and also complex module solutions. Away from the automotive sector, MANN+HUMMEL is active in the area of hydraulics and liquid filtration.
Since the mid-1990s, the issues of environmental protection and recycling have taken on an ever more important role. MANN+HUMMEL meets the new requirements at an early stage with measures in the production process and the use of materials.
STEADY GROWTH UNDER FAMILY OWNERSHIP
With the death of Adolf Mann in 1971 and Erich Hummel in 1984 the company shares remain in the hands of the founding family. They are represented by authorized representatives at the general meeting. The substantial growth of MANN+HUMMEL over the previous three decades calls for organizational changes. The company Filterwerk Mann+Hummel GmbH and the other companies are consolidated within the MANN+HUMMEL Group, and the business unit for industrial filtration is expanded. In the 1990s and after the year 2000 the MANN+HUMMEL Group systematically expands on the global market. The company establishes numerous subsidiaries in the European, American and Asian markets. The aim of the internationalization was and remains to reduce the costs of production and logistics and also to establish operations close to the customer.
LONG-TERM STRATEGY WITH “LEADERSHIP IN FILTRATION”
In 2009 the long-term group strategy is embodied by the vision of “Leadership in Filtration”. The core points are leadership in the fields of quality and innovation, closeness to the customer on a global level, and further growth through the acquisition of filtration companies.
This strategy pursued by the company management also results in the largest acquisition in the company’s history with the takeover of the filtration business of the US-American Affinia Group. This allows the MANN+HUMMEL company to grow to more than 20,000 employees worldwide with over 80 locations. The company headquarters remain in Ludwigsburg near to Stuttgart. In 2016 the company further invested in the location with the inauguration of the Technology Center. In the meantime, MANN+HUMMEL continues to expand its range of products to include numerous areas of filtration. One thing is clear: the success story of the company will continue.