Successful Investor Search – HMC Hightech Media Components Acquires hörbert as of January 1, 2023

Children’s MP3 player hörbert goes international

• Successful search for an investor – insolvency administrator Dr Dietmar Haffa sells to Hightech Media Components
• Takeover effective 1 January 2023 – development and service to remain in the Esslingen area
• Production is being relocated, but remains “Made in Germany” – the unique features of the children’s MP3 player hörbert remain unchanged

Frickenhausen/Esslingen am Neckar/Bremen. The key in Bremen’s coat of arms traditionally symbolises the key to the world. Symbolically, it now stands for the future of the children’s MP3 player hörbert. That’s because Hightech Media Components GmbH & Co. KG (HMC), based in the Hanseatic city, is taking over the production and distribution of hörbert with effect from 1 January 2023. hörbert is manufactured entirely in Germany and almost exclusively from ecological materials – primarily wood – and features specially developed electronics. “The aim of the search for an investor was to find a partner who could take the production and distribution of the hörbert MP3 player in particular to a new level and with whom the internationally oriented plans for the future of this excellent product could be realised,” says insolvency administrator Dr Dietmar Haffa of Schultze & Braun. “With the takeover by HMC, these goals have become realistic and achievable. I am all the more pleased that we have reached this takeover solution,” says Dr Haffa. Specialist in international distribution and service Hightech Media Components is a specialist in international sales and marketing strategies as well as cross-border logistics and service. HMC is represented in numerous European countries with its own offices and partners. The company already supports and distributes several audio brands, so hörbert complements the existing portfolio very well. hörbert inventor and service team stay on board Following the takeover, development and service for hörbert will continue to be based in the Esslingen area. From there, hörbert inventor Rainer Brang will continue to shape the future of the MP3 player with a team of four employees to begin with. Production of the device will be taken over by a previous long-standing main supplier and relocated to the Eppendorf site. In this way, production will be developed further in terms of both quality and quantity, without giving up “Made in Germany” and unique features such as the sustainability of the materials used and the device’s repairability. At the same time, however, the move means that production at the Frickenhausen site cannot be continued. “Of course, this step – for which there is no alternative in terms of competitiveness – is very painful for us, especially because all our employees have worked with us so excellently and with such dedication,” says Brang. However, he is certain that the 14 employees who cannot continue to be employed will very quickly find follow-on employment in the economically strong region around Esslingen. “We will support them as best we can in moving on to other employment.” About the MP3 player hörbert The children’s MP3 player hörbert is produced entirely in Germany. hörbert is made almost exclusively from ecological materials – primarily wood – and features specially developed electronics. Operating hörbert is reduced to a minimum and is therefore child’s play. It can be used as an MP3 player, internet radio, Bluetooth streaming box or recording device. The product is sustainably produced, durable and easy to repair if needed. In 2019, Stiftung Warentest named the predecessor of today’s even further developed hörbert the test winner in a comparison with twelve other MP3 players for children. hörbert is currently sold via its own web shop (www.hoerbert.com), online marketplaces and selected specialist retailers. Pressemitteilung_hoerbert_2022-12-19