Training at HANSA-FLEX – the first 60 days
At HANSA-FLEX, Warehouse Logistics Specialist and the two-year variant Warehouse Specialist are the most common training courses, with just under 50% of our trainees learning this profession.
PASSIONATE ABOUT CUSTOMER CARE SINCE 1962
Bremen businessman Joachim Armerding founded the HANSA-FLEX company 60 years ago in the garage of his house near Bremen. His business concept was timely, his motto as simple as it was ingenious: Fulfil the wishes of your customers more rapidly, more flexibly and more fully than all your competitors and never forget the human side and enjoyment of your work. HANSA-FLEX has grown with this passion, which is as evident today as it was back then.
60 YEARS OF PASSION FOR PROBLEM-SOLVING
From day one, HANSA-FLEX has been an out-and-out customer-focused company with a great passion for finding the best solution to every conceivable hydraulics challenge. We have achieved a lot in 60 years.
The early years 1962-1989
At the beginning of the 1960s, replacement hydraulic components were difficult to find in Germany. Joachim Armerding saw the potential and started assembling hydraulic hose lines at home on the green workbench in his garage. He delivered the hose lines personally to his customers. In 1969, his friend Günter Buschmann joined the fledgling firm. This laid the foundations for today’s family company. In 1986, the founders’ sons joined the company. By the end of 1988, HANSA-FLEX had grown from a small garage operation into a company operating across Germany with a total of 21 branches.
Strong growth and internationalisation 1989-2009
German reunification and the fall of the Iron Curtain signal two decades of rapid growth for HANSA-FLEX. The first foreign branch is founded in 1989 in Elst, the Netherlands, and is followed by numerous branches in other European countries. In 1995, Thomas Armerding and Uwe Buschmann take over the management of the company. Soon after that, the company’s first branch outside Europe is founded in Iskenderun, Turkey. Branches in North and South America, and Africa follow in 1999 and 2001 respectively. At the end of 2009, the company’s Asian head office is established in Shanghai, China, for fulfilling the demands of the market in Asia. By May 2008, there are a total of 338 HANSA-FLEX locations in 35 countries, including 182 in Germany.
In the age of digitalisation – from 2009 to today
With the advance of global digitalisation, HANSA-FLEX increases its investment in the company’s digital infrastructure and associated services. The HANSA-FLEX app, online shop and customer portal My.HANSA-FLEX provide real added value. New international subsidiaries are established in countries such as Australia, United Kingdom and India. In 2019, the global organisation and digitalisation project PHOENIX starts. In 2020, HANSA-FLEX AG is working for more than 150,000 active customers across the world.
HANSA-FLEX OVER THE YEARS
The HANSA-FLEX story began 60 years ago in a small garage in Achim near Bremen. On a green workbench, which still stands in the company HQ in Bremen, the first hydraulic hose lines were assembled by Joachim Armerding himself. Significant milestones in our 60-year history. A complete chronicle can be found on our history page.
1962
Joachim Armerding founds the company “Joachim Armerding Industriebedarf”. The company operates from his garage at his house in Achim near Bremen.
1969
The second branch opens in Osnabrück. Friend and associate Günter Buschmann joins the company as partner shortly thereafter.
1974
The company is renamed “HANSA-FLEX”. The company adopts its first official logo one year later.
1986
Thomas Armerding and Uwe Buschmann, the founders’ sons join the company.
1989
The new head office and a manually operated central warehouse are established at Am Panrepel 44 in Bremen-Mahndorf.
1995
Thomas Armerding and Uwe Buschmann are appointed managing directors.
May 2001
The setting up of the Rapid Hydraulic Service represents a real milestone in the range of HANSA-FLEX services.
August 2010
HANSA-FLEX GmbH becomes HANSA-FLEX AG. The shares remain in the hands of the founding families, Armerding and Buschmann. Thomas Armerding becomes chairman of the board of directors, with Uwe Buschmann serving as his deputy.
October 2020
Ground-breaking ceremony for the new building to extend the company headquarters in Bremen-Mahndorf. The total investment amounts to more than 22 million euro.
HANSA-FLEX in figures
HANSA-FLEX is one of the world's leading system suppliers for all fields of hydraulics.
4208 employees
We work with great passion every day for our customers.
449 locations
We offer an all-round service for hydraulics in every branch – fast & individual.
401 service vehicles
The mobile Rapid Hydraulic Service is available around the clock, 365 days a year.
PASSION TAKES MANY FORMS
Well-trained, ready to help, team spirited and professional – that’s how you find the employees of HANSA-FLEX in their work environment. In our series “People at HANSA-FLEX”, they show something of their lives outside work.
