Christian Sokcevic becomes managing director

Christian Sokcevic is appointed managing director of Hama GmbH & Co KG. He has been an authorised representative and member of the board since April 2018, and now heads the international company together with Christoph Thomas, chairman of the board. “In the past two years, Christian Sokcevic has given us the benefit of his many years of management experience, and has been a guiding force in the company’s strategic focus,” says Christoph Thomas on the appointment of the new managing director. The latter emphasises that he looks forward to working with Christoph Thomas and the authorised representatives on the common focus and management of the Hama group.

Christoph Thomas celebrates his 60th birthday

Precisely 60 years ago (in 1959), the Hama managing director, Christoph Thomas, was born in Monheim. He is the second of five children, and in truth, his career already started at that time.

New members of the management board

The management of the accessories specialist Hama, based in Monheim, is restructured in part on 1 April 2018, and now includes two new authorised representatives, Christian Sokcevic and Roland Handschiegel. Christian Sokcevic takes over strategic company development. He is responsible for the continuation of company growth and the opening of new market segments. Roland Handschiegel is responsible for Logistics, Packaging and Facility Management. His goal is to perfect internal processes, in order to offer even more service to customers. The company management team consists of Maximilian Bartl (Consumer Electronics Sales), Roland Handschiegel (Logistics, Packaging and Facility Management), Jörg Hempen (International Sales), Thomas Kopp (Finance, Procurement), Christian Seel-Mayer (Human Resources, IT, Marketing), Christian Sokcevic (Strategic Company Development) and the managing director, Christoph Thomas.

Thomas Kopp, Christian Sokcevic, Christoph Thomas, Christian Seel-Mayer, Jörg Hempen, Maximilian Bartl, Roland Handschiegel

Maximilian Bartl is given procuration

Maximilian Bartl is given procuration for Consumer Electronics Sales, as the main contact person for customers in this segment.

Rudolph Hanke announces his retirement

On the occasion of his 80th birthday on 28 November, Rudolph Hanke announces his withdrawal from active business life. On 31 December, he leaves the management board and goes into well earned retirement.

Rudolph Hanke and Christoph Thomas

Rudolph Hanke

More than 5000 visitors seized the opportunity to look around at the Hama premises and to see what is going on behind the scenes of the internationally successful company. The approximately 1500 staff members presented their workplaces to their relatives and took part in tours through the logistics centre. In the Hama distribution centre that is situated in the Dresdner Straße the visitors mainly concentrated on the showrooms that are fitted out all year round. Where otherwise retailers inform themselves about trends in technology and new products, the guests were astonished at the comprehensive product range of the company based in Monheim.
A beer tent with culinary delights and a comprehensive children’s programme with a jungle gym, a jumping castle, a clown that made balloons and a make-up station for children rounded off the successful family day.

With effect from 30 September 2015 the families Thomas and Hanke, represented by Christoph Thomas and Rudolph Hanke, transferred all their limited partner’s shares on the holding, the “Hama Hamaphot Hanke & Thomas GmbH & Co KG” to the “Adolph and Christoph Thomas Foundation” and to the “Martin and Rudolph Hanke Foundation”.

Christoph Thomas, Elena, Rudolph and Oliver Hanke

The ideal salesroom

Since 21st April dealers have had the occasion to inform themselves, on more than 700 m2, about the latest and in particular customer friendly possibilities of presenting products. Our showroom focuses on the interactive shopping experience. Find the right accessories quickly, purposefully and with fun.

The new dispatch centre

Hama Germany commissions a new logistics building with a state-of-the-art dispatch centre. It allows up to 7,000 packages per day to be sent – or even up to 10,000 at peak times. On average, roughly half a million Hama products make their way to our customers every day.

The new logistics building with a view of the dispatch centre

State-of-the-art dispatch centre

State-of-the-art dispatch centre

The reception area of the new logistics building

Construction of the logistics building

Experience Day

Hama welcomes guests to its first Experience Day. Roughly 400 local young people, most accompanied by their parents, availed of the opportunity not only to get to know the company itself, but also the twelve apprenticeships and six co-operative degree programmes it offers.

The Hama Showcar

In the photo studio

Queuing for registration

90 years of Hama

Hama also celebrated its 90th anniversary in 2013. As Christoph Thomas said one year previously in his speech on the official opening of the new building: “From a shed to a global company!”

The logo for Hama’s 90th anniversary

Expansion of the logistics centre

In May, Hama Germany moved into a new incoming goods/office building with just under 9,000 m² of additional floor space.

The new office building

“Between Nature and Imagery” sculpture

The new building overlooks a several metre-tall, colourful work of art entitled “Between Nature and Imagery” (Camera obscura). The sculpture unites tradition and modernism. It symbolises our tradition as a photography company and our forward-looking focus as a modern company.

Christoph Thomas, Pavel Tasovský (Czech artist of “Between Nature and Imagery”) and Rudolph Hanke

Hama worldwide

A subsidiary is founded in China. It was initially intended to deliver products faster to a major international customer. However, the Chinese subsidiary now also supplies other customers.

The Hama in-house trade show

The Hama in-house trade show is brought to life. To date, 1500 customers from over 30 nations take part in this event each year, to see the latest Hama products and participate in product training.

The 2011 Hama in-house trade show

The 2011 Hama in-house trade show

Special offers at the 2010 in-house trade show

Showroom at the 2010 in-house trade show

2500 employees worldwide

The group now employs a staff of 2500, 1500 of whom work in the Monheim headquarters.

Further expansion into Eastern European markets with the founding of the Russian subsidiary.

Jörg Hempen, Thomas Kopp and Christian Seel-Mayer are given procuration

After the retirement of Hans Seidl, the new authorised representatives Thomas Kopp, Christian Seel-Mayer and Jörg Hempen take over his areas of responsibility. Henceforth, Thomas Kopp is responsible for finance and accounting, Christian Seel-Mayer for human resources and IT, and Jörg Hempen is responsible for the company’s international business relations.

Extension of the logistics centre

The logistics centre is supplemented with an additional automatic high-rack storage system and an automated box storage area. A new building is constructed for incoming goods, quality control and technical service.

Automated box storage area

Schoolbags in quality control

Incoming goods

Technical service

Mourning for Adolf Thomas

In February 2002, Hama GmbH & Co. KG mourns the passing of its senior executive, Adolf Thomas.

Hama GmbH & Co. KG enjoys continued growth

Hama now has 1600 employees, 1000 of whom work at the company’s headquarters in Monheim. The other 600 employees work in the now 11 subsidiaries.

Entry into further markets in Western Europe

Hama expands further into Western Europe: Agami in Belgium joins Hama GmbH & Co. KG as a new subsidiary.

Hama’s employees in Belgium

Hama’s building in Belgium

Initial online store developments are completed

Hama GmbH & Co. KG’s first online store is developed.

Awards for our online store

Award for the best online catalogue

A new hands-free set with DSP echo suppression is developed.

Entry into markets in Eastern Europe

Hama takes another step to develop the Eastern European markets by founding its Polish subsidiary.

Subsidiaries in Austria and Slovakia

An existing company in Breitenfurt near Vienna is renamed: Hama Technics Handels-GmbH in Austria is created as a subsidiary of Hama. Hama Austria opens its doors with 18 employees in 1998. The number of employees has tripled by 2014. From the outset, it has its own warehouse and other departments such as sales, product management, purchasing etc.

The building of the Austrian subsidiary

Hama’s warehouse in Austria

The Slovakian subsidiary is founded in the same year.

75 years of Hama

Hama celebrates its 75th anniversary. To celebrate the occasion, a variety of campaigns are held. The logo is reflected on many new products and special giveaways. There is, of course a party too – what would a birthday be without a proper party?

A dispatch centre is added to Plant III. It offers enough space for state-of-the-art picking and dispatch systems. 25,000 pallet spaces are also added to the fully-automated high-rack storage system.

Picking

The dispatch systems

The high-rack warehouse

New accessory ranges are added for computers, telecommunications and CD archival. The new in-house developments in this area include one of the first ever hands-free phone sets: the MobilSafe system.

Exhibitor at CeBIT

This year marks Hama’s first time exhibiting at the CeBIT trade fair. CeBIT was already the world’s largest computer trade fair at that time.

CeBIT logo

In 1993, Hamaphot changed its name to Hama GmbH & Co. KG. A product developer who was already with Hama in 1993 recalls that everyone had been calling the company Hama since the logo was changed in 1958. That was one of the reasons for the new official name.

The subsidiary in Hungary is founded.

Plant III is built

With the new Plant III building in the industrial park, Hama takes on a new dimension. It allows the design, development, quality control and manufacturing departments to expand.

Quality control

Manufacturing

Hama now employs a staff of 500..

The subsidiary in Great Britain is founded.

Christoph Thomas now joins Rudolph Hanke and Adolf Thomas at the top of the company hierarchy. Adolf Thomas’ son is a third generation family member, and will later take over the management of Hama.

The early days of Hama in France

The subsidiary in France is founded with 20 employees. There are no departments yet in 1985, just individuals who each had the responsibilities of a present-day department (e.g. controlling, purchasing, sales etc.).

The Hama building in France

By 2014, the staff level has increased to 80 employees.

Diversification

The photo product range is supplemented with audio and video accessories.

The first products in the new segments

The first products from the audio and video segment were the Magnum video light, video lenses and the VHS video rewinder.

VHS video rewinder

Before its introduction, video cassettes always had to be rewound in the camera. And that was precisely the reason that many camera video cassette decks failed at an early stage. That made the video rewinder ideal for anyone who wanted to take more care of their camera! It allowed users to rewind cassettes without the camera, extending the deck’s service life.

Staff levels have increased to 300. Plant II is expanded to twice its original floor space.

Plant II

Aerial photo of Plant II

The company moves into Plant II

The now 80-strong team moves into our current administration building (Plant II) in Dresdner Straße. Plant II contains its own production facilities, warehouse, sales, product management and administration areas.

New management

After his father’s death in 1958, Rudolf Hanke and his brother-in-law Adolf Thomas take over the management of the company in 1959.

Martin Hanke

The logo continues to change

The Hamaphot logo continues to change until the familiar, present-day logo is developed (1968): Hama in broad, red lettering.

The Hama logo until 1966

The Hama logo until 1968

The Hama logo since 1968

The company’s first own factory building

Hamaphot moves into its first own factory building.

The new Hamaphot logo centres on the word “Hama”.

The Hamaphot logo until 1954

The Hamaphot logo until 1960

The company’s first own factory building today

The “Green House” now contains apartments, most of which are home to Hama employees.

Hamaphot at photokina

The first photokina trade fair opened its doors on 19 May 1950, and of course Hamaphot was there from day one. Hamaphot exhibited picture frames, laboratory accessories, slide boxes and the powder flash unit.

The early days of photokina

photokina soon firmly established itself as the world’s largest and leading trade fair for the photo and imaging industry. While the trade fair section remains exclusively national in 1959, with 300 German companies, the photo exhibitions are already international. Even back then, 75,000 visitors poured into the exhibition centre in Cologne.

Today, photokina welcomes roughly 185,000 attendees.

It all started in a shed

Martin Hanke’s first office is a shed in Monheim.

Martin Hanke in his “office” in a shed

He has his wife and four children follow him from the Soviet-occupied Dresden to the “American” Monheim. He personally travels by bicycle to suppliers throughout Southern Germany and initially trades in brushes, rubber for soles, stationery etc.

Hanke family, with Rudolph Hanke on the left

New headquarters

In 1946, Hamaphot moves into a larger building which remains the company headquarters until 1953.

Hamaphot now features a new logo.

The Hamaphot logo until 1949, with a powder flash unit as its symbol

Leipzig Trade Fair

Hamaphot attends the sample fair in Leipzig as an exhibitor. The company first presented its wares at a trade fair in the Leipziger Messe exhibition centre.

Catalogue cover from 1937/38

Founding

After completing an apprenticeship as a photographer, Martin Hanke founds Hamaphot KG in 1923.

The Hamaphot logo until 1945

The company initially specialises in photography wholesale and producing laboratory equipment and camera accessories.

Hamaphot in Dresden

Destruction of Hamaphot in Dresden

After destruction of the company in Dresden in 1945, Hamaphot was re-established in Monheim.

The Hamaphot building in ruins