If you look at the development of the family-owned business Henze BNP, it sounds like a great success story. From 1 person to 50. From 9 square meters to 3500. From machined components to self-pressed sintered bodies. However, it was not always as easy as it seems…
The story of Henze BNP AG starts with Peter Henze.
Peter Henze was born in North-Rhine Westfalia. He started his professional career in 1980 at Elektroschmelzwerk (ESK) in Kempten. There he established and expanded the field of fracture mechanics and non-destructive material testing. During this time, he first came into contact with the material boron nitride.
After spending several years at the ESK, in 1992 Peter Henze decided to turn his back on his current employer and take over a new position. However, after a few months he regretted his decision and quit. A hiring freeze prevented his return to the ESK. What seems to be a bad decision for Peter Henze at the time laid the fateful cornerstone for the founding of his company.
Peter Henze himself never wanted to be an entrepreneur. However, due to his specialization in non-destructive materials testing, he was not considered employable on the Allgäu job market.
Finding another suitable job in Kempten? Virtually impossible.
So in November 1993, Peter Henze decided to become an independent sales partner for ESK. This was the birth of today's Henze Boron Nitride Products AG.
The company started business in the 9 square meters utility room of the family’s home. This room was quickly repurposed into an office, while the hallway served as a storage area. Peter Henze sawed his first boron nitride components under a trailing roof outdoors.
The early years were not easy for Henze BNP AG. Sometimes Peter Henze waited for days for the next customer contact and the worries about the future kept the father of four awake at night. However, giving up was never a real option for Peter. His belief in the material and its properties drove him on and on. After the initial difficulties the order situation developed increasingly positively. In fact so positively that in 1995 Peter wanted to build a garage to make room for a saw but the bank refused to give him a loan. Therefore, without further ado, he decided to build a wooden hut himself right next to the family residence and as befits to a true family business, everybody pitched in to help.
The positive development of the company continued and in 1997 Peter Henze hired his first employee – Johann Bentele. Hans (as everyone called him) remained loyal to Henze BNP for over 25 years and went into his well-deserved retirement in 2022.
In the following years the order volume and the number of machines and employees increased. The wooden hut as a temporary premise was no longer sufficient and in 1998 the company moved to the COMETA Technology Park in Kempten.
Business flourished and grew. The order situation continued to develop positively until the fateful September 11, 2001 when terrorists attacked the World Trade Center in New York. This terrorist act plunged the entire world into a massive economic crisis.
After years of continuous success, the first major crisis hit Henze BNP. Revenue slumped and layoffs were threatened. During this challenging time, the great cohesion of the entire team became evident. Through mutually agreed temporary salary cuts, combined with the reduction of working hours for all employees, no one had to be laid off. The company emerged from this crisis stronger than before.
Up to this point, Henze BNP had only operated in German-speaking countries. The economic crisis made it clear to Peter Henze that his company needed to broaden its international base in order to secure its future. As a result he brought reinforcements into the sales team and began attending international trade fairs.
In the following few years, the company continued to grow, operating increasingly on a global scale und focusing on the entire spectrum from boron nitride powder to finished sintered components.
Nevertheless, no company is safe from international crisis. The economic crisis of 2001 was followed by the great stock market crash and a global banking crisis just seven years later. The whole world stumbled, and so did Henze BNP.
In 2009, the company had to cope with a 28 % drop in sales. However, just like in the previous crisis, the great cohesion of the team kept the company afloat. Henze BNP used this phase for further investments in the machine sector.
In 2012, two of Peter Henze´s sons – Matthias and Christoph Henze – took over the management of the company. This marked an early step by Peter Henze to ensure the seamless transition of his company´s leadership.
At this time, the company was already bursting at the seams (figuratively speaking). The technology park became too small and so Henze BNP bought a plot of land around 10,000 m² in nearby Lauben. On this plot, Henze built its current company building. In January 2014, the company was able to move into the new building, which was last enlarged in 2022. On more than 3,500 m² Henze BNP develops, produces and sells hexagonal boron nitride products to Customers all over the world. Finally the company expanded its value chain by purchasing its own hot press.
Today - 30 years after the foundation in the family's utility room, Henze BNP records approximately 14 million euros in revenue, boasts a state-of-the-art machinery fleet, manufactures its own sintered components and employs over 50 people.
Even though the first years of the foundation were not easy for Peter Henze and his family, the ambition and the strong cohesion of the team wrote an extremely successful story. A story that is far from over.
