Press release
Blieskastel, 14th November 2013
Shape, function and emotion - Discovering Hager’s design world.
Hager has been creating standards for the electrical
industry for more than five decades. This is most notably
mirrored in our product design. "Everything you see and
touch highlights the notion of ease and quality” is the
way CEO Daniel Hager defines Hager Group's design
aspirations. Hager design originated in the early 1960s
with the first off-the-shelf enclosure for the German
market. Today Hager markets thousands of solutionoriented products which span the complete electrotechnical spectrum, ranging from enclosures to switches,
trunking to touch panels and from safety components to
door phones. Such diversity calls for uniformity
combined with a global strategic design approach.
Erwin van Handenhoven,
Design Director for Hager Group
Strategic design management
Whereas in the past it sufficed to design a few key products emphasising functionality, today
an inconceivable plethora of heterogeneous products needs to be conceived which are all
coherent, recognisable and yet attractive. So as to fulfil this, Hager Group relies on strategic
design management, requiring a design manager whose proximity to the company’s products
assures knowledge of individual product detail, but who at the same time has an aerial
perspective so as to keep track of the complete range. Today this key function is piloted by
industrial designer Erwin van Handenhoven who founded the Winco design agency located
in Illkirch-Graffenstaden in France close to Strasbourg.
Winco – Hager Group's design agency
The prolific cooperation between Erwin van Handenhoven and Hager began back in 2000.
Since then numerous product innovations have Winco's distinctive hallmark. This successful
design cooperation has progressed into a new phase: as of July 2013 the design agency was
fully integrated into Hager Group. As Winco's Managing Director, Erwin van Handenhoven
took on the design management for all future Hager Group developments and every new
product will pass through his hands. Besides the physical product design, part of Erwin's
mission will be to shape the future as well as embody visionary concepts and, in this way,
decisively and influentially advance the evolution of the electro-technical industry. Erwin van
Legal form: Societas Europaea
Head office: Blieskastel
Registration office: Saarbrücken HRB16434
Board of Directors: Daniel Hager (Chief Executive Officer), Philippe Ferragu, Bertrand Schmitt
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Handenhoven puts Hager's attitude towards design in a nutshell when he says "Hager
doesn’t want us to create a mask but to give a face to the product."
design.hager.com – the new design website
This current design vision can be explored on design.hager.com. The new site portrays a
fascinating journey from the conception of a product idea to the finished commodity. This
interface is more than just an information platform as it both involves and inspires the viewer.
The onlooker’s eye and hand can set off on voyages of discovery – in a similar way to how
real Hager products touch and allure the user with their expressive surfaces, materials or
icons. Experience the essence of innovative design attitudes such as Yousability, Sensociety,
Geomorganics or Tail-Spirit. And take a look at the design studio with our video of Erwin and
his team going about their daily work.
Hager's holistic design aspirations
Alongside pure product design, Hager’s production, sales and marketing processes are all
integrated into the design process. Both eco-design and eco-production are as self-evident
as eco-friendly packaging design and customer-friendly communications design. This
approach towards holistic design comes across on the new site thanks to its attractive cross
navigation feature, enabling the inquisitive viewer to either scroll from top to bottom in rapid
succession or turn right or left at important intersections. Further information is available in a
design book that can be ordered directly on the site or from Hager.
Discovering Hager’s design world – at design.hager.com.
About Hager Group
Hager Group is a leading supplier of solutions and services for electrical installations in residential,
commercial and industrial buildings. Our range of solutions and services extends from energy
distribution to cable management and from security systems to building automation.
As an independent family-owned and run company based in Blieskastel, Germany, Hager Group is
one of the industry's innovation leaders. 11,400 employees generate a turnover of 1.6 billion euros
(2012). Our components and applications are produced in 22 locations around the globe and
customers in more than 80 countries all over the world trust in them.
http://www.hagergroup.net / http://www.facebook.com/hagergroup / http://www.twitter.com/hagergroup
Contact
Cate SHAW
Corporate Communications
132 boulevard de l’Europe
BP3 - 67215 Obernai Cedex
France
Tel.: +33 3 69 55 61 93
cate.shaw@hager.com
www.hagergroup.net
Photos
Erwin van Handenhoven – credits: Hager Group
Legal form: Societas Europaea
Head office: Blieskastel
Registration office: Saarbrücken HRB16434
Board of Directors: Daniel Hager (Chief Executive Officer), Philippe Ferragu, Bertrand Schmitt
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