Company News • 29.05.2012

Hoeft & Wessel: Reorientation leads to substantial streamlining

• Improved product portfolio for ticketing, parking and mobile solutions
•  Hoeft & Wessel plans to show even more customer focus

The Hoeft & Wessel Group has now laid down the details of its initiated reorientation. Following a substantial streamlining of the company with new, simplified management structures as well as an improved and tried-and-tested product and system portfolio, the organisation will show even more customer focus under its Hoeft & Wessel brand name. At the parent company, Hoeft & Wessel AG, the two business divisions based in Hannover, namely ticketing systems and mobile solutions, will be consolidated. As a result, the fragmentation that has occurred in recent years will be corrected. Externally, these divisions will be represented by the corporate brand Hoeft & Wessel.

With its new, uniform presence, its good market positioning for ticketing systems and mobile solutions is to be further extended in Europe as well as in selected countries across the globe.

This also applies to the leading international position of the British Metric subsidiary, whose business development within the Group is to be further enhanced. The objective is an extension of its sales of car park terminals both in its home market, the United Kingdom, and internationally via partner organisations.

On the whole, the group of companies, which perceives itself as a leading IT hardware and software specialist for ticketing, parking and mobile systems, will intensify its special expertise in the field of individually customised solutions even further.

Following an unexpectedly poor business trend in 2011, Hoeft & Wessel had initiated an extensive reorientation. At the beginning of the year, Michael Hoeft, one of the Company's founders and the majority shareholder, took over as CEO and commenced with the strategic repositioning. Within the scope of restructuring the business divisions, up to 90 jobs will be cut at the Hannover Head Office. In the process, the internal structures will be considerably simplified and once again geared more strongly to customers’ needs.

The leadership structures will also be streamlined. The Board of Management will be downsized from two to one person, with Michael Hoeft being the sole member of Management. Thomas Wolf, the past second member of the Board of Management, will remain part of the Company and will be taking over the newly created central function as Head of Sales.

A Chief Restructuring Officer is planned to be temporarily appointed to assist Michael Hoeft in bringing about a consistent reorientation of the Company. The internal restructuring is to be concluded by the end of this year. The CEO expects initial positive effects for business trends arising from the initiated reorientation to emerge as early as 2013.

In order to be able to incorporate the details now unfolding on expenses of restructuring measures in the future planning activities, the publication of the Annual Report 2011 and of the Quarterly Report for 2012 has been postponed to 19 July 2012 and the date for the Annual General Meeting to 30 July 2012

channels: mobile data capture, terminals, mobile terminals, ticketing, e-tickets