KED

A small plastic processing company starting business in 1985 developed into a successful manufacturer of bike helmets over the years. One reason for success is the company's belief in Germany as the one and only location for manufacturing).
Helmets for sport and mobility is the speciality of D-H-G Knauer GmbH, located in Freiberg am Neckar. Under the KED brand, we have established ourselves on the German and international market with high-quality helmet systems, eye protection and accessories.
In 1985, the founder and General Manager, Hans-Georg Knauer, began with contract work for the plastic industry. The company started to produce increasing numbers of bike helmets from 1991 onwards, for various brands at first. The expertise the company gained was included in their own creation of a brand: KED. The company's own helmet production under this brand, which has now established itself on the market, has existed since 1995. KED is represented at all important bike exhibitions in Germany such as the Eurobike in Friedrichshafen. The brand stands for a top-class and unique product range and the helmets have already been distinguished with several awards; including from the Stiftung Warentest and from specialist magazines such as MountainBike. The company has now created a second string to its bow with motorcycle helmets: in the year 2008, it took over the development and distribution of the Levior and Soar brands to transfer the extensive knowledge on helmets to the motorcycle market.

Research and development, production, shipping, administration and sales are all kept under one umbrella at the company premises in Freiberg. With 95 percent production depth, we gain our independence from service providers and keep all of the strings in our own hand.
We didn't choose our strategy of our own "Made in Germany" production; we inherited it. Products that assert themselves against hard competition thanks to innovations and the highest quality are personally developed, produced and tested by us. Due to our proximity to the core market of Germany, we can react more quickly to the demands of the markets and implement them in impressive helmets.
Proof that "Made in Germany" is well worth it, is provided beyond the national borders: KED helmets are becoming more and more popular throughout Europe. This is why D-H-G Knauer is continually developing the international business. Other companies are now cancelling their orders in the Far East and are letting their products be produced in Freiberg. After all, the company can hold its own with prices and also delivers a better quality – simply "Made in Germany".

The order books are always full thanks to high quality and cost effective production. And our employees also benefit. There has never been any short-time work at D-H-G Knauer; not even during the last economic crisis which did not affect the company. In fact, the opposite is true. "We offer our employees are secure job and hire new members of staff every year - including this year", says Hans-Georg Knauer. We are pleased to be able to retain jobs in Germany and create more. After all, Germany is at the heart of Europe and therefore has relatively quick delivery times without major transport problems. D-H-G Knauer currently employs around 120 staff members. The company has created 20 new jobs this year and if the level of preorders remain stable another 20 new members of staff will be hired at the end of the year. Our growth continues.

Others talk about the quality of their suppliers; whether in the Far East or Eastern Europe. We don't like to talk about ourselves a lot but if we do, we talk about our production; the key to our success in the past decades. We didn't choose our strategy of our own "Made in Germany" production; we inherited it. Products that assert themselves against hard competition thanks to innovations and the highest quality are personally developed, produced and tested by us. Due to our proximity to the core market of Germany, we can react more quickly to the demands of the markets and implement them in impressive helmets. On state-of-the-art production facilities with slimline structures, our motivated employees produce high-tech safety products for all cyclists; from small children to ambitious racing cyclists.

As a German helmet brand with its own production, we are 100% responsible for the quality of our products and can guarantee it.
All of our employees stand fully behind each individual helmet that leaves our factory. The challenge we permanently face is to prove that we can produce superior products in Germany at a fair price, considering all aspects of sustainability and ecological and social responsibility.
However, we don't just produce high-quality, we also produce cost effectively. The efficiently designed and allocated production facilities makes this possible. The machines used at D-H-G Knauer have been individually engineered for our company. The technology is specially orientated towards helmets and guarantees quick production times. We contributed our knowledge and ideas to the development of the machines so that they do exactly what we need.