Also online at: www.dijonline.co.uk 16 THE door industry journal summer 2024 Industry News Remembering Senior Partner Thomas J. Hörmann Is there anything he would have done differently today? “Nothing at all, to be honest!” Thomas J. Hörmann once said with complete conviction. He looked back with satisfaction at the many decisions he had to make as a company director and the ever-increasing responsibilities that came with the job over the decades. Born in Bielefeld, Thomas J. Hörmann became a chartered engineer before officially joining the company in 1963, at a time when it was very different from what it is today. The product range was smaller, there were fewer employees and sites and very limited sales outside Germany. However, the deep roots in the region and the inextricable link between family and business are as strong today as they were then. In 1963, Thomas J. Hörmann joined his father, Hermann Hörmann, in a company that his grandfather, August Hörmann, had founded in 1935 under the name ‘Bielefelder Stahltürenfabrik’ (Bielefeld steel doors factory). His roles within the family business The young entrepreneur was initially drawn to Freisen in the Saarland, where a factory for steel fire-rated doors had recently been completed. From there, he managed the business for 25 years. The company founded another plant in Eckelhausen in the Saarland in 1972, followed by acquisitions in Germany and abroad in the 1980s. As the 1980s drew to a close, Thomas J. Hörmann, together with his brothers, took on greater responsibilities alongside his father at the company’s headquarters in Steinhagen and relocated from St. Wendel (Saarland) to Bielefeld to play a more active role in the business’s operations. In 1990, he joined his father, Hermann Hörmann, as a personally liable partner of the Hörmann Group. Other forward-looking decisions were made during this period, highlighting the entrepreneur’s open-minded approach. In 1988, Thomas J. Hörmann seized the opportunity and took over Schörghuber Spezialtüren KG, Germany’s leading supplier of timber fire-rated doors. He also took the family business international, paving the way for its current global focus. A new factory was built in Genk, Belgium and the acquisition of the French door manufacturer Tubauto gave the company a strong presence in France. Hörmann now has sites in more than 40 countries. Following the death of his father, Hermann Hörmann, in 1994, Thomas J. Hörmann, together with his sons Martin J. Hörmann (joined in 1990) and Christoph Hörmann (joined in 1992), became the third and fourth generations of the family to run the company. Today, the first members of the fifth generation are already working in the company. In the last few years, Thomas J. Hörmann increasingly handed over the operational side of the business to his sons. However, he remained a personally liable partner and was involved in new construction projects, investments in the production sites and new products. Up until his death, he could be found at the company headquarters in Steinhagen almost every day. When asked to describe his perfect working day at Hörmann, he once replied: “From 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the office.” Even if work seemed like a hobby, he made time for many other interests. He was a keen horse rider, tennis player and golf and ski enthusiast. In addition, he also cared deeply about social and cultural issues. Together with his wife, Sybille Hörmann, who initiated the projects, he promoted integrative golf tournaments, offered production factories as venues for cultural events, or sponsored sporting activities. Environmental awareness was another topic close to his heart. Sustainable production and green transport logistics were as important to him as the environmental projects he supported with his sons and grandsons. An influential entrepreneur Thomas J. Hörmann’s outstanding personality was characterised by his warmth, strong sense of responsibility, entrepreneurial vision and courage. With his exemplary motivation, exceptional expertise and admirable energy into old age, he led the Hörmann Group to its present international significance. He accompanied many employees along their careers at Hörmann and was a direct contact person and role model. He firmly believed that the employees were at the company’s core and the foundation of its success. Thomas J. Hörmann, a personally liable partner of the Hörmann Group, passed away in March at the age of 85 after a long and fulfilling life. He was the third generation of his family to manage the Hörmann family business. Under his visionary leadership, the company evolved into a global door manufacturer with firm roots in Steinhagen in the East-Westphalian region of Germany.
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