Hella is Among 20 Most Innovative German Companies

PLYMOUTH, Mich., April 13 -- Global automotive lighting supplier Hella KG Hueck & Co. has been cited as one of the 20 most innovative companies in Germany by the trade journal Junge Karriere (Young Career) in its March issue.

The study rated 250 companies and 20 research institutions. Survey respondents were rated based on product development initiatives and the importance the company places on research and development. In the last year Hella spent 167.9 million euros ($207 million) on R&D, an impressive 9.5 percent of total company revenues.

Lippstadt-based Hella employs 1,800 engineers and technicians in its research and development group, more than 14 percent of its total employment in Germany.

Current innovations from the global lighting and electronics supplier include bend-lighting systems, which enable drivers to safely see during turns and reduces glare for oncoming traffic. These advanced systems soon will enter full production on eight new European vehicles.

Hella's automatic headlamp system AFS (Advanced Front-Lighting System) and headlamps with LEDs as light sources also are being readied for production in the near future.

A unique intelligent battery sensor (IBS) is one of Hella's latest electronics innovations. The tiny IBS, which is about the size of a postage stamp, permanently measures the current, voltage and temperature of the battery, and makes this data available to the vehicle's power-management system.

Hella also is focusing its research efforts on other electronic driver assistance systems to come later in the decade such as lane-departure warning, blind-spot recognition, a rear-view camera and infrared night-vision systems.

Lighting, electronics, complete vehicle modules, air conditioning systems, vehicle wiring systems and signal processing for the automobile industry, as well as parts suppliers to the aftermarket, are the core competence fields of automotive supplier Hella KG Hueck & Co. Sales for the Hella Group are approximately $3.8 billion, placing Hella among the top 100 German industrial companies.

With its corporate headquarters in Lippstadt, Germany, the company employs more than 22,800 people at 61 manufacturing facilities, production subsidiaries and joint-venture companies in 18 countries. Over 1,800 engineers and technicians work in research and development. All of the world's leading automobile and systems manufacturers are Hella customers as well as the automotive components aftermarket.

Additional information is available on the Internet at www.hella.com .