As with many other companies in the region, the roots of this traditional business lie in the shoe manufacturing industry. In the mid-1980s, the owners recognized the impending relocation of wage-intensive production from the former shoe metropolis of Pirmasens to low-wage countries in good time and opted for diversification. Today, a good 70 percent of the company's mostly long-standing customers are automotive suppliers, as well as tanneries, textile factories, paper manufacturers and, as before, shoe producers. With its 350 employees worldwide, 250 of whom work at the German headquarters in Pirmasens and a smaller branch in Bühl in Baden alone, the Ring Group generates annual sales in the double-digit million euro range.

Customer-oriented delivery from a single source

One hundred years on the market, an independent family business with a solid foundation and a focus on healthy growth: One of the success factors is to always focus on the needs of the customer. This applies in particular to mechanical engineering, where perforating, punching, embossing, tanning and shoe machines are not only planned, developed, designed and delivered by the Ring Group. The one-stop service also includes the supply of tools as well as service, maintenance and training worldwide. Contract perforation is comparatively comprehensive, for example for leather seats, steering wheels, dashboards and headliners. The service package ranges from consulting and design development to sampling and delivery in a wide variety of batch sizes. "Ultimately, however, quality is always the deciding factor," emphasizes Jennifer Ring and describes 'Made in Germany' as a seal of quality that is still recognized worldwide and stands for the highest quality and precision, especially in mechanical engineering: "The high quality and durability of our machines is regularly demonstrated when we take back systems that have been in use by our customers for a very long time for reconditioning and resale."

Rooted in the region and connected to its people

Particularly in the context of 'Made in Germany', she sees the Pirmasens site as being a fixture; a current investment, the large new production hall currently being built at the headquarters, is evidence of this. Last but not least, it is also about the close ties to the region and its people and the continuation of a Pirmasens family tradition that began with company founder Franz Hatzenbühler, has continued for over 100 years and is set to continue in the future.

In terms of employee recruitment, the Managing Director responsible for commercial matters sees the location in the Western Palatinate as neither an advantage nor a disadvantage. However, she sees the advantages of being able to reach the important hub for international flights in Frankfurt am Main relatively quickly, but also being able to get from A to B every day via short and congestion-free routes. Kaiserslautern, Saarbrücken and the Rhine-Main region, for example, would be easy to reach - only the connection to the east via the not yet fully developed B10 to the economic areas of the Rhine and Neckar would leave something to be desired.

"Not being constantly annoyed in traffic jams and thus saving valuable time is just as much a part of the quality of life as living where others from urban centers go to spend their vacations," Jennifer Ring points out. She is alluding to the adjacent Palatinate Forest Nature Park with its natural recreational opportunities such as hiking, cycling and mountain biking and much more. "In addition, the cost of living in the region is extremely affordable." The good cooperation with the city administration is also one of the benefits highlighted, as is the relationship with the city leadership, which "is on hand whenever it is needed". Jennifer Ring is only critical of some of the bureaucratic hurdles in new construction projects - knowing full well that the administration's room for maneuver is limited by law. Her aim is to ensure the continuation of the family business into the fifth generation. Sooner or later, she could also receive support from her younger sister and her three cousins, who are also younger.

"The Ring Group is one of the German flagship companies that harmonize family structures and cross-generational tradition with the performance and reach of a modern global player," explains Markus Zwick, Lord Mayor of the city of Pirmasens. "As a city community, it is invaluable for us to have such nuclei of economic prosperity in our midst. I am thinking here of the large number of qualified jobs, but also of the apprenticeships on offer with six training profiles for technical and commercial areas. Quite apart from this, the Ring Group carries the name and reputation of our city all over the world through its extensive network."