HECO France

HECO-Schrauben is a German manufacturer of screws and fastening elements, based in Schramberg in the Black Forest. The story begins in 1888, when Karl Hettich invents an automatic bending mechanism for the manufacture of watch escapements, in a room in his own house in Schramberg. In 1936, the family business started producing screws. In 1967, Ludwig Hettich, the founder's grandson, takes over this screw-making activity and separates it from the Franz Hettich KG group: this is the official birth of HECO. The HECO brand is adopted in 1978, and the current company name in 2002. After the death of Ludwig Hettich in 1975, the fourth generation, Stefan Hettich, takes over management, joined since 2006 by Guido Hettich as managing partner. In August 2015, the Swiss group SFS takes a 30% minority stake in HECO, increased to 51% in April 2018. The company now employs 400 people on a 20,000 m² site, for a turnover of 34 million euros in the professional market, with more than 60% exported to around forty countries, mainly Germany, Austria, the Benelux and France. HECO-Schrauben's core business is the design, development and manufacture of innovative screws and fastening elements for wood, concrete and metal, with more than 1.5 billion screws produced each year for the professional trades. The range includes in particular the HECO-TOPIX wide round-head wood screw, designed specifically for timber construction, capable of transferring up to 50% additional load compared with a countersunk-head screw of the same diameter, as well as the HECO-TOPIX-plus, equipped with a variable-pitch thread for assembling timber facades without deep countersinking of the head. HECO-Schrauben sets quality standards that go beyond legal requirements and offers technical training seminars to support professionals in advising, planning and installing its products.