With the addition of its tenth company in Germany, Håndverksgruppen (HG) reaches an important milestone: Around three years after entering the German market, the development shows that the group’s model has also gained a strong foothold there.
Håndverksgruppen was founded in Norway in July 2020, when 30 local crafts businesses joined forces to form a group. This was followed by Sweden (April 2021), Denmark (November 2022) and finally Germany (May 2023). Today, the group includes more than 160 crafts businesses across the four countries, with total revenue of around EUR 780 million and approximately 5,000 employees. At its core are businesses providing surface-related trades: in particular painting, flooring and tiling, as well as adjacent trades such as plastering and stucco work, drywall construction, external insulation/façade systems and concrete refurbishment.
All companies continue to operate independently under their own names and remain firmly rooted in their local markets. At the same time, they benefit from the group’s know-how and from sharing experience with a wide range of like-minded companies.
– Ten companies in just over three years shows that our model is gaining traction in Germany, says Sascha Gellrich, Managing Director of Håndverksgruppen Deutschland.
– We are not looking for volume, but for well-run companies with clear values and strong local roots. When a business becomes part of HG, it gets the best of both worlds: it keeps its independence and identity while also gaining access to know-how and exchange within the group. The fact that ten businesses have already chosen this path confirms that we are creating real added value.
For the companies, joining the group means one thing above all: access to a network that shares knowledge, resources and experience, while each business remains operationally independent. The companies exchange knowledge and experience, visit one another and share proven solutions. Where it makes sense for the customer and the companies involved, they can also combine capacity and expertise and deliver projects together. In addition, they benefit from better terms from suppliers, training opportunities and support on issues such as digitalisation, skilled labour recruitment and succession planning – challenges that many crafts businesses find difficult to handle on their own.
Øyvind Emblem, Group CEO of Håndverksgruppen, looks back on the development in Germany:
– When we entered the German market in 2023, our goal was to establish the model that has already proven successful in Scandinavia: strengthening local crafts businesses without standardising them.
– Ten companies in just over two years show that this approach also works here. For us, people are always at the centre – a business partnership is also a human one. And this is only the beginning: we continue to see significant potential in the German market.
Among the companies is also Beck GmbH farbrat from Stuttgart, which joined HG as early as November 2023. Managing Director Wolfram Beck sees a clear advantage in the growing network:
– It is great to see how quickly the group is growing in Germany.
– For us, this means even more exchange with businesses facing challenges similar to ours – whether in skilled labour recruitment, digitalisation or succession. You can really feel that something is taking shape here that will ultimately benefit everyone.
Håndverksgruppen plans to continue its growth in Germany in the coming years and to bring more well-run, locally rooted crafts businesses into the network.
Photo: The General Managers of German companies networked with their Scandinavian colleagues at the “Craft” executive conference in Oslo.