KBB’s publisher Natasha Selhi recently attended the German kitchen brand, Häcker Kitchens, “A Taste of Germany” in-house exhibition at the Rödinghausen, Germany, European headquarters. The Taste of Germany is the company’s main annual event to introduce new products, and representatives from 50 countries were in attendance, according to owner of Häcker Kitchens Germany, Jochen Finkemeier. Founded in 1898, Häcker Kitchens is a fourth-generation family cabinet and storage business that exports product to 70+ countries, including the North American market.
The brand is well known for its dedication to quality with its PUResist moisture protection seal, as well as sustainability with the PURemission air protection system, its low carbon footprint and recyclable packaging. Häcker Kitchens is also known for service, reliability and honesty and is expanding into the whole home – even some multifamily units – with product offerings for laundry rooms, wardrobes and walk-in closets.
Showroom & Lab Tours
On the showroom tour, we learned that Häcker is now offering a 24-inch cabinet depth to U.S. customers, which takes out the guessing game of measuring in metric units. The brand offers more than 2,200 colors, and customization is available. Among the innovative product offerings we saw was the Moving Table (photo below), an island countertop that can reposition itself to cover up a cooktop or expand the island surface.
On the laboratory tour, we got to see up close and personal just how much Häcker Kitchens is dedicated to quality. The brand conducts several product tests, including reaction to high temperatures near cooking areas, water vapor testing to mimic humid conditions and corrosion, weight and light testing.
Chemical testing is done to see how the material reacts to substances like wine and coffee. The durability test entails opening and closing a drawer 80,000 times to mimic a lifetime of use. Surface testing shows the results of various impacts to the surface, and condensation testing is conduced to see how well the adhesive sticks to the surface.
Attendees getting a view of the different tests products undergo at the Taste of Germany event.
Factory Tour
The Häcker Kitchens’ factory, which is located on ample land to someday double its capacity, opened in 2020 and allowed an increase in production with an output of about 1,000 kitchens daily. Every item produced is for a specific order – not mass produced, and driverless/automated forklifts are used to move heavy items around the factory.
In terms of the automated processes at the factory, Andreas Gommeringer, president of Häcker North America, explained it is great in the early stage for quality control and picking up on problems but that humans are working with product where it matters – sanding, lacquering and assembly.
As another nod to sustainability, all the scraps from the cutting boards are burned and used for hot water and to heat in this facility. A sustainable glue is used to apply edge banding to make the product more water repellant. When the factory workers – some 250 per shift – go on break, the facility is shut down; machinery and lighting is turned off until they return.
Fun Facts from the “Taste of Germany” Trip
- The factory forklifts are all named after the players on the local soccer team.
- Their stadium is located on the large Rödinghausen campus.
- For the lacquering process, each day is dedicated to only one color.
- Eucalyptus is the most commonly requested material for door and drawer fronts.
