Beyond Wood: With HEMA, we saw more than just wood!
On January 1, 2022, WINTERSTEIGER acquired a majority stake in Heermann Maschinenbau GmbH in Frickenhausen near Stuttgart, Germany. HEMA develops, manufactures, and distributes band saws for the precise cutting of lightweight materials, such as those used in the aerospace and wind power industries. Machines for processing building materials and insulation materials also play an important role.
These technically sophisticated solutions perfectly complement WINTERSTEIGER’s product portfolio in the Solutions Division, which includes thin-cutting band saw machines, saw blades, and large-scale production systems. This enriches the “World of Solutions”: in addition to wood, other materials are coming to the forefront, including lightweight foams, aramid honeycombs, construction and insulation materials, and engineering plastics. A relatively new market is the manufacture of production lines for processing glass-fiber-reinforced insulation materials, which are installed in liquefied gas tanks.
From Business Partner to Subsidiary
Prior to the merger, WINTERSTEIGER and HEMA had maintained a partnership for many years: WINTERSTEIGER supplied the band saw blades for HEMA’s machines to Frickenhausen. In 2022, the time had come for the family-owned company to accelerate its global expansion. As part of the WINTERSTEIGER Group, growth opportunities are opening up in markets where WINTERSTEIGER already has a well-established sales and service structure—for example, in the U.S. Conversely, we benefit from the sophisticated sawing technology and the expertise of our HEMA colleagues for our own sawing machines and markets beyond the wood industry.
HEMA band saws are shipped worldwide from Baden-Württemberg, with an export rate of approximately 90%. Like WINTERSTEIGER, HEMA is a specialist and a leader in technology and quality within a niche market.