Hama (company)

Hama GmbH & Co KG
Company type	Private
Genre	photo and electronics technology
Founded	Dresden, Saxony, Germany, 1923; 101 years ago
Founder	Martin Hanke
Headquarters	Monheim, Bavaria, Germany
Number of locations	12 Subsidiaries (2011)
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Christoph Thomas, Rudolph Hanke; CEO
Revenue	€532.2 million (2009)
Number of employees	2500 (2011)
Subsidiaries	Hama Technics Handels GmbH (Austria); Agami NV (Belgium; Hama spol. s.r.o. (Czech Republic); HAMA EURL. France; Hama (UK) Ltd. (Great Britain); HAMA Kereskedelmi-Kft. (Hungary); Hama Group Holst BV (Netherlands); Hama Polska Sp. z o.o. (Poland); Companhia Hama Portugal LDA (Portugal); Hama Slovakia spol. s.r.o. (Slovakia); Hama Technics, S.L. (Spain); Hama Technics AG (Switzerland)
Website	hama.com

Hama GmbH & Co KG is a German distributor of consumer electronics specialising in accessories. The company acts as a distributor of various product ranges in photo, video, audio, multimedia, computer and telecommunications. Hama employs around 2,500 people worldwide, 1,500 employees work at the headquarters in Monheim, Bavaria, Germany. Hama is represented by 17 subsidiaries and numerous commercial agencies in Europe and beyond.

View to administration building of Hama GmbH & Co KG

Among the products Hama manufacture are:

Filters
Tripods
Memory cards
Camera bags
Headphones
Flash and studio accessories
AV cables (coaxial and SCART)

along with various computer accessories including peripherals and USB, FireWire, and Ethernet cables and other miscellaneous items.

History

Formation

In 1923, the 18-year-old photographer Martin Hanke founded the Hamaphot KG (limited partnership) in Dresden, which specialized in photo accessories.^[2] When Dresden was bombarded in the Second World War, the company was destroyed. It was rebuilt in Monheim in 1945.^[3] In 1958, the first synchronized flash powder device was presented, in 1972 the world's first automatic film splicer. Three years later, the "Hamafix" slide mounting system came onto the market. In 1990, Hama established their UK branch Hama PVAC Ltd. (Hama Photo, Video, Audio, Communications) and are UK distributor for Celestron, Tasco, Sandisk, Vivitar and Koss products. In 1991, Hama launched the "Videocut 200" which - according to company representatives – was the most frequently sold video editing device in Europe at that time. In 1993, the company name changed from Hamaphot to Hama. Two years later, the "MobileSafe" mobile phone holder was put on the market. In 1998, the company celebrated its seventy-fifth anniversary.

Today, the product range does not only comprise articles for photo and video applications, but also accessories from the areas of audiovisual, multimedia, game console, telecommunications and from a number of more areas.

Scandals

In early 2008, over 30,000 flash drives built by a fraudulent Chinese supplier were distributed by Hama. The flash drives were manipulated to overreport their capacity to the computer, possibly leading to data loss upon attempted writing to physically nonexistent sectors, which usually initially is unnoticed by users.^[4] Upon discovery, a product recall was launched.^[5]^[6]^[7]^[8]

Well-known Hama products

Automated Film Splicer Cinepress (1972)
Slide Mounting Device "HamaFix" (1975)
Video Cutting Device "Videocut 200" (1991)
Mobile Phone Holder/Fixing System "MobilSafe" (1995)

References

^ Hama Hamaphot Hanke & Thomas GmbH & Co KG, Monheim, consolidated accounts per 31 December 2009 on [1]
^ Dresdner, Albert (1968-12-31), "Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte der Kunstkritik", Repertorium für Kunstwissenschaft Band 37, De Gruyter, pp. 163–168, doi:10.1515/9783111684598-012, ISBN 9783111684598, retrieved 2022-01-31
^ "Ausführungsbestimmungen zum Reichsstempelgesetze", Das Reichsstempelgesetz vom 15. Juli 1909 in der durch das Zuwachssteuergesetz vom 14. Februar 1911 geänderten Fassung nebst den Ausführungsbestimmungen des Bundesrats vom 25. Januar 1912, Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer Berlin Heidelberg, pp. 55–158, 1912, doi:10.1007/978-3-662-39757-2_2, ISBN 978-3-662-38839-6, retrieved 2022-01-31
^ Zeit Online (2020-02-12). "Speicherkarten sind Datenschredder". Die Zeit (in German).
^ "Vorsicht, Datenverlust!". stern.de (in German). 2008-01-16.
^ Warentest, Stiftung (2008-02-28). "USB-Speicher - Gefälschte USB-Sticks - Stiftung Warentest". www.test.de (in German). Stiftung Warentest.
^ "USB-Stick-Betrug greift um sich - speicherguide.de". www.speicherguide.de (in German). 2008-01-19.
^ Plischke, Sascha (2008-01-15). "Hama ruft "Mogelsticks" zurück". www.t-online.de (in German).

External links

Hama website

[1] Hama Hamaphot Hanke & Thomas GmbH & Co KG, Monheim, consolidated accounts per 31 December 2009 on [1]

[2] Dresdner, Albert (1968-12-31), "Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte der Kunstkritik", Repertorium für Kunstwissenschaft Band 37, De Gruyter, pp. 163–168, doi:10.1515/9783111684598-012, ISBN 9783111684598, retrieved 2022-01-31

[3] "Ausführungsbestimmungen zum Reichsstempelgesetze", Das Reichsstempelgesetz vom 15. Juli 1909 in der durch das Zuwachssteuergesetz vom 14. Februar 1911 geänderten Fassung nebst den Ausführungsbestimmungen des Bundesrats vom 25. Januar 1912, Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer Berlin Heidelberg, pp. 55–158, 1912, doi:10.1007/978-3-662-39757-2_2, ISBN 978-3-662-38839-6, retrieved 2022-01-31

[4] Zeit Online (2020-02-12). "Speicherkarten sind Datenschredder". Die Zeit (in German).

[5] "Vorsicht, Datenverlust!". stern.de (in German). 2008-01-16.

[6] Warentest, Stiftung (2008-02-28). "USB-Speicher - Gefälschte USB-Sticks - Stiftung Warentest". www.test.de (in German). Stiftung Warentest.

[7] "USB-Stick-Betrug greift um sich - speicherguide.de". www.speicherguide.de (in German). 2008-01-19.

[8] Plischke, Sascha (2008-01-15). "Hama ruft "Mogelsticks" zurück". www.t-online.de (in German).

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