In an interview, the Chairman of the Supervisory Board Daniel Hager talks about how Hager Group's Franco-German identity has shaped the company's development and cross-border cooperation since it was founded in 1955. From the beginnings in Saarland to the first production site in France in Obernai in the Alsace region to global expansion  - together, the two nations are driving the innovative strength and success of Hager Group. He also talks about the location conditions in both countries and his view of the European Union.

Q: Hager started its first site in France in Obernai in 1959.  This was surely a reaction to the incorporation of the Saarland into the Federal Republic of Germany, which resulted in customs barriers with France. 

DH: In fact, my father, my uncle and my grandfather founded the plant in Obernai in 1959 to ensure that we didn’t lose French customers - and to seize entrepreneurial opportunities.

Q: The chronicle on the Hager website says: "The Hagers now feel at home on both sides of the border." What did this feeling mean back then?
DH: The border region was constantly in different hands. People have always had to adapt to different rules, have developed a certain flexibility and therefore feel at home on both sides of the border. You could say that this region is made up of bridge builders. 

Q: What influence do the German and French sites together have in the Group? 
DH: Because of our history, we have two almost equally strong locations in Blieskastel and Obernai. The company consists of two very strong identities. We have a similar number of employees in Germany and France. Our market positions in both countries have also been equally strong for many years. We are perceived as a French company in France and as a German company in Germany. 

Q: How do the German and French sites stimulate each other? 
DH: Two examples. We have introduced the German dual training programme to our plant in Obernai and set up a toolmaking school. Conversely, we have brought a speed dating concept from France to Blieskastel to recruit young talent, and it has worked wonderfully. The people at the two locations learn from each other. 

 
Q: How would you characterise the cooperation between the two equally strong identities?
DH: Not many companies are able to get German and French people to work together like we do. That's why we were once dubbed the little Airbus. With less politics - fortunately. We have worked hard to make it work together. And working together is not a matter of course. You have to keep working on it. You always have to make sure there is balance. 

Q: What does that mean?
DH: When the borders were still up, we had a French management in France and a German one in Germany. When we started to form a group of companies in the 80s, we made sure that both perspectives were respected. We did this for many years by hiring managers from both countries who were familiar with the culture of the other country: Germans who had lived in France or had a French wife or husband - and conversely French people with a similar background. This used to be a basic requirement for managers at Hager. We have now softened that. 

Q: Why?
DH: Because we were somewhat limiting ourselves. When I took over the management of the company, I also introduced English as the group language. In recent years, we have also recruited more from outside the company. I have seen that it is important for the internationalisation of the Group to have more diverse profiles. We have good market positions in Italy. I am therefore pleased that we have more Italians in management bodies. The global sales manager is Danish. This helps us to grow in terms of diversity in Europe. But I have also continued to pay close attention to maintaining a certain balance between Germans and French. 

Q: What role did Hager’s historically grown Franco-German identity play in the subsequent internationalisation of the group? 
DH: The understanding of a different culture, a different language, the ability to respond to people and listen to them - that was a decisive factor in the internationalisation of the group. We have internalised this attitude. It is a matter of course for us to respond to local customs and not to impose our own way of doing things. 

Q: What strengths and weaknesses do you see in the location conditions on both sides of the border?
DH: We have competent and loyal employees in both locations. Here in Saarland, we have close links between politics, business and science. The short distances make things possible. If we want to implement pilot projects or take our concerns to Berlin, we get heard. In Alsace, the infrastructure is certainly a plus. The esteem in which companies and entrepreneurs are held there is also a plus. On the negative side, there is a shortage of skilled labour and a high level of bureaucracy in both countries - but people are often more pragmatic in France.

Q: What does that mean?
DH: German bureaucracy is very narrow in its application. If you approach politicians in France with your concerns, you get a lot of support. In Alsace, for example, there is ADIRA, an economic development agency that removes bureaucratic hurdles. We were considering whether to build our new logistics centre in Germany or France. ADIRA was very proactive in finding us the best location conditions. In the end, we decided in favour of Vendenheim in Alsace. The logistics centre could also have been built in Germany.
 

Q: As a leader of a company in the energy sector, how do you deal with the very different energy policies in France and Germany?
DH: France relies heavily on nuclear power, while Germany wants to achieve the decarbonisation of its economy without nuclear power and purely from renewable energies. I have mixed feelings about this policy in Germany. A lot of things are piecemeal: no power plant strategy, no grid strategy, no electricity market strategy. The transformation needs an architect. There isn't one at the moment. Politicians want to achieve a major goal, but do not explain how or under what conditions it should be achieved. They are not setting a proper framework, for example through reasonable CO2 pricing. In France, on the other hand, electricity prices are much lower and I don't need to worry about the security of supply.

Q: Economic cooperation in the Greater Region and the Saar-Lor-Lux region has been propagated for a long time. Many people have the impression that little concrete progress is being made. How do you see it?
DH: Much more could be done. In terms of transport infrastructure, for example. Why is it not possible to build a proper railway line to the airport in Luxembourg? So far, the realisation of Franco-German innovation projects in accordance with the Aachen Treaty has also been lacking. The same applies to the promotion of a Franco-German start-up scene. More could also happen in cross-border healthcare. 

Q: In Germany, political players on the right are talking about nationalising the economy. As Chairman of the Supervisory Board of an international group of companies, how do you view this position? 
DH: Hager Group benefits from open borders for services, capital and goods. We sell our products and solutions in over 100 countries. Europe without borders is also extremely important for the German economy in general. But that shouldn't stop us from taking a critical look at Brussels. We are experiencing a complicated and costly bureaucracy. And there is still more to come, such as the Supply Chain Act and the taxonomy. The EU needs to be reformed and fit for the future.

Q: Against the backdrop of the political environment, how do you assess the prospects for Hager Group? 
DH: The future is electric. The solutions we are developing in Germany and France are helping to build the electric world of tomorrow. We are making an important contribution to the energy transition. Whether it's meter cabinets, our charging stations or our energy storage systems. The prospects are therefore positive. However, the framework conditions must not deteriorate any further.

This interview was published on April 9 in Saarwirtschaft, the magazine of the Saarland Chamber of Industry and Commerce.
Interview: Volker Meyer zu Tittingdorf

Photo: Oliver Dietze