HELLA

Info

HELLA GmbH & Co. KGaA (the company's preferred spelling: 'HELLA') is an internationally operating German automotive part supplier with headquarters in Lippstadt, North Rhine-Westphalia.

Geschichte

HELLA is a globally positioned, independent, family-owned company with a history spanning more than 100 years.We develop and manufacture lighting technology and electronic products for the automobile industry and have one of the largest retail organizations for vehicle parts and accessories in Europe.

1899 - HELLA is born – the company “Westfälische Metall-Industrie Aktien-Gesellschaft” is formed. On 11 June 1899, Mr. Sally Windmüller establishes the company “Westfälische Metall-Industrie Aktien-Gesellschaft” (WMI) in the town of Lippstadt, Germany. The new company operates a factory specializing in production of lanterns, headlamps, horns and fittings for bicycles, carriages and automobiles. Windmüller recognizes the vast growth potential offered by the motoring industry even as it is just getting off the ground.

1908 - HELLA trademark created. No one knows for sure how the HELLA name came to be trademarked for an acetylene headlamp in 1908, or how the logo later developed for the product came to be registered with the German Patent Office in 1926. The most likely story is that the name Hella was developed by Windmüller himself in honor of a nickname used by his wife Helene.