Letter from the Chief Executive Officer
Letter from the Chief Executive Officer
Leading into the future with purpose
Dear reader,
In December 2023, I officially took over from Daniel Hager to become the new CEO of Hager Group. It is an honour to lead Hager Group through a time of change and I am especially thankful for the exemplary handover period Daniel and the Hager team have organised for me. The deep commitment, customer enthusiasm and the close ties between colleagues in this family-owned company is remarkable and the basis for its current and future success.
The strong family values that define Hager Group will continue to guide us as we navigate the future: courage, authenticity and integrity will lead us forward as we follow the path outlined by our company strategy, “Project 2030.” In an increasingly electrified world, our business is at the heart of the ongoing energy transformation.
Project 2030 identifies three levers for our product, solutions and service growth: customer centricity, digitalisation and sustainability. The needs and requirements of our customers and partners are evolving and therefore guiding the way: they expect digital and sustainable products and solutions from us. The greener and more digitally enabled – the better! While always staying true to our “safe and simple” Hager product and solution approach. Digitalisation is particularly essential because it enables us to become more sustainable. Our Blue Planet Commitment is a perfect example of how we at Hager Group are taking our business choices with keeping a healthy planet in mind.
More on this in our sustainability report in the second half of this annual report. We hope to give you good insight into facts and figures, commitments and action plans here at Hager Group. For us, sustainability covers Ethics, Employees and the Environment, the 3Es. So, expect more than information on greenhouse gas emissions and product lifecycle data. Business integrity and employee happiness also feature prominently.
We are living and working in uncertain times. Wars have bought political instability and economic uncertainty. Scarcity of raw materials make our business more difficult to plan. Rising energy prices have put a strain on all energy-intensive businesses and the challenge of global warming demands of us to rethink the way we do business. New, mainly Chinese competitors, have flooded the European solar and storage markets in an extremly fast manner. And finally, there is a global shortage in skilled labour.
Remaining true to our values, we continue our projected path for growth.
We cannot solve these various challenges alone. The key to success lies in cooperation and collaboration with our employees, customers and partners, encouraging them to play a fundamental role in finding joint solutions: we continuously invest time and resources in the education of our people, while at the same time working with our partners and suppliers on digitizing our customer journey to ensure a seamless customer experience when dealing with Hager Group.
In 2023 we completed a successful switch to SAP S4/HANA, acquired Eficia and PmFlex and were awarded Ecovadis Gold in recognition of our sustainability standards. We are continuing on this sustainable growth path in a caring manner, taking into account the opportunities arising from innovations, future partnerships and careful geographical expansion.
In this annual report you will hear from colleagues inside Hager Group who are spearheading our digitalisation and sustainability transformation. You will hear from our customers and partners, who are an essential part of us. And hopefully you will get an sense of what we at Hager Group stand for.
The future is electric and I am looking forward to shaping it together with all of you!
Sabine Busse
Hager Group Chief Executive Officer