HOF – history HOF company history 1988 – 2018 Sometimes things don’t turn out as planned Our philosophy According to the original idea, HOF (or Schäfer & Hof – Vakuum und Kältetechnik Sonderanlagenbau GmbH, as it was when it was founded in 1988) was to become a nationally active service company, offering and providing services in the form of main- tenance and modifications for existing freeze-drying plants. With the basic philosophy of offering and delivering “on-time quality for discerning customers”, after a 30-year company his- tory HOF is today the leading specialist for individual solutions. This much is underlined by the innovation and management awards that HOF has received in recent years. However, this service company never existed in this form, because when the company was founded the order for the construction of a new freeze-drying plant was placed directly. So, from day one, the business model was based in the me- chanical engineering sector, and it was always clear that serv- ice in any form would have to play a key role. A strong team, the right knack and the necessary amount of luck meant that the available space had already been used up in the business’ second year and a large assembly building was erected. Since then, the company premises have been expanded in several stages to create a total building area of 13,500 m² at three sites. Challenges: our driving force HOF’s development has been constantly accompanied by the growing demands of the pharmaceutical and biotechnology in dustries. At the same time, it was always our customers’ chal- lenges that served as the driving force for innovations and fur- ther developments. In addition to solutions in the field of freeze- drying technology, pioneering HOF products such as freezing and thawing equipment for blood plasma in blood donation centres, effective systems for loading and unloading freeze-dry- ing plants, freeze-thaw units for tempering pharmaceutical and biotechnological products and, most recently, thawing and cut- ting devices for bottled plasma were developed. Letting knowledge grow In keeping with this doctrine, HOF attaches a great deal of im portance to training specialists and has been a training com- pany for over 25 years. In addition to offering the classic skilled occupations in the commercial and industrial segments, HOF has been a university partner for the Dual Study integrated de- gree programme and other degrees for many years. In-depth specialist knowledge, many years of experience and a high degree of flexibility, coupled with short decision-making paths and the spontaneity of a medium-sized, owner-managed family-run business, have made HOF strong – not only in the field of plant engineering, but also in the all-important area of service. This has been just as important as plant engineering since the company was founded, and, like the company, has been steadily expanded over the years. Today, HOF manages more than 2,000 plants – both its own and ones from third-party manufacturers – at international level. With knowledge and experience, crucial quality and the familiar flexibility we’re known for, HOF will remain a stable partner in the future as a specialist for individual solutions. 1988 1993 2011 3