A.-W. Heil & Sohn

A.-W. Heil & Sohn GmbH & Co. KG (stylised A.-W. HEIL & SOHN; commonly HEIL-Kfz-Teile or HEIL & SOHN) is a medium-sized German wholesale business specialising in spare parts and accessories for passenger cars and commercial vehicles, together with related industrial products. The company is headquartered in Hanover and operates 22 independent branches across northern, eastern and central Germany, supported by a dedicated logistics centre in nearby Sarstedt. It is one of the larger distributors of automotive and commercial-vehicle spare parts in Germany. The business was founded in 1933 by August-Wilhelm Heil and initially focused exclusively on two-wheelers. Trading in motor-vehicle parts began in 1961, and the product range was progressively broadened over the decades to include industrial technology and other adjacent fields. The company has remained under the leadership of the Heil family since its foundation and employed roughly 900 people as of August 2021. A.-W. Heil & Sohn serves primarily independent (free) workshops, car dealerships and fleet operators. Its core range covers car and commercial-vehicle replacement parts and workshop equipment, complemented by peripheral lines in industrial technology, agricultural and construction machinery technology, and trailer and caravan technology. The company also offers complete workshop planning and equipment packages, customer training, marketing support and a merchandise-management (ERP) system tailored to automotive and commercial-vehicle businesses. It has been a shareholder of the CARAT-Gruppe purchasing cooperation since 1 January 2009. Logistics is central to the operation: the Sarstedt logistics centre, opened in spring 2016, stocks around 130,000 items and allows the 22 branches to be supplied several times a day, largely on a just-in-time basis. The company also runs its own trade fair, "km/H" (Kraftfahrzeugtechnikmesse Heil), first held in 2010, and later developed a hybrid format, "km/H EXKLUSIV", in response to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. In the DtGV survey "Deutschlands beste Autoteilegroßhändler 2021/2022", published on 22 October 2021, A.-W. Heil & Sohn took first place both in the customer-service category and in the overall assessment.

A.-W. Heil & Sohn was founded in 1933 by August-Wilhelm Heil as a family business initially devoted exclusively to two-wheelers. The company began trading in motor-vehicle parts in 1961. Over time the product range was continually adjusted and expanded, and new fields of activity such as industrial technology were introduced. In the following decades A.-W. Heil & Sohn opened additional locations outside Hanover, concentrating mainly on the northern half of Germany. As a result, its 22 branches are today spread across the federal states of Lower Saxony (which has the most locations), followed by Hamburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Brandenburg, Schleswig-Holstein and Bremen. As the original warehouse at the Hanover headquarters reached its capacity limits due to higher goods flows and a greater variety of stocked products, a new central logistics centre was built in Sarstedt. The 26,000 m² building was completed and opened in spring 2016. On 1 January 2009 A.-W. Heil & Sohn became a shareholder (Gesellschafter) of the CARAT-Gruppe, a German purchasing cooperation in the parts wholesale sector. In 2010 the company held its first own in-house trade fair, "km/H" (Kraftfahrzeugtechnikmesse Heil), for suppliers, industry and customers at the Hannover Congress Centrum (HCC). The fair has since become a well-attended platform for exchanging views on the latest industry trends and is attended by visitors from the catchment area of the 22 branches. Because of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and the associated restrictions, a "km/H" in the usual style was no longer possible from March 2020. As an alternative, a mixture of on-site and digital fair was developed, the "km/H EXKLUSIV", in which a smaller group of suppliers and manufacturers stream presentations and demonstrations live online while interested parties log in from home. In 2018, on the occasion of the company's 85th anniversary, a festival was held on the grounds of the new logistics centre; representatives and partners from industry and around 4,000 other guests attended. In the survey "Deutschlands beste Autoteilegroßhändler 2021/2022" by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Verbraucherstudien (DtGV), published on 22 October 2021, A.-W. Heil & Sohn took first place both in the customer-service category and in the overall assessment. As a company based in the Hanover district of Bemerode, A.-W. Heil & Sohn supports the footballers of the local sports club TSV Bemerode as sponsor of the current jerseys. Under this cooperation, young footballers in particular are to be supported by the company with regard to career choice and application management.

• 2021

  Took first place in both the customer-service category and the overall assessment in the DtGV survey "Deutschlands beste Autoteilegroßhändler 2021/2022", published on 22 October.

• 2020

  From March, the usual "km/H" format was no longer possible due to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic; the hybrid "km/H EXKLUSIV" was developed as an alternative.

• 2018

  Celebrated its 85th anniversary with a festival at the new logistics centre attended by around 4,000 guests.

• 2016

  Opened the new 26,000 m² central logistics centre in Sarstedt in spring.

• 2010

  Held the first "km/H" in-house trade fair at the Hannover Congress Centrum.

• 2009

  Became a shareholder of the CARAT-Gruppe purchasing cooperation on 1 January.

• 1961

  Began trading in motor-vehicle parts.

• 1933

  Founded by August-Wilhelm Heil as a family business focused exclusively on two-wheelers.

Medium-sized, family-owned full-range wholesaler for automotive and commercial-vehicle parts, combining a broad product range with high-frequency, just-in-time logistics and value-added workshop services.

• Automotive and commercial-vehicle spare parts

• Workshop equipment and complete workshop concepts

• Industrial technology (hydraulics, seals, pneumatic tools)

• Agricultural and construction machinery technology

• Trailer and caravan technology

• Merchandise management (ERP) system for automotive businesses

• Customer training (technical and commercial)

• Marketing support (flyers, business cards, etc.)

1. 1A.-W. Heil & Sohn – Wikipedia (German)de.wikipedia.org
2. 2A.-W. Heil & Sohn – Wikidatawikidata.org
3. 3Official websiteheil-kfzteile.de