One Year of Joint Leadership: Where Does Hoffmann Propeller Stand in Its Transformation?
For the past year, Mark Härtenberger and Heintje Wyczisk have been leading Hoffmann Propeller together. A lot has happened during that time: the engineering team has grown significantly, digital methods have been introduced, production processes are being rethought, and plans for a new site are moving forward. At the same time, the transformation is far from complete. In this interview, the two Managing Directors look back at what has already been achieved, where the biggest challenges remain – and the kind of company they want Hoffmann Propeller to become in the years ahead.
A year ago, you took on joint responsibility for Hoffmann Propeller. Looking back today, what is the first thing that comes to mind?
Mark: Quite honestly? A certain sense of relief. Leading a company through a transformation of this scale means dealing with an enormous range of topics in parallel. Sharing that responsibility gives us the capacity to address them with the necessary depth and professionalism.
Heintje: I completely agree. So many things are interconnected: engineering, production, processes, organization and culture. And many structures and ways of working have evolved here over decades. Repositioning the company means managing these interdependencies and, in some cases, breaking them down. At the same time, day-to-day business continues. So we have to move the company forward while continuing to deliver reliably and to a high standard every single day. That makes me all the more pleased with what we have already set in motion together with the team during this first year.
How has your collaboration developed over the past year?
Mark: Our respective roles have become more clearly defined over time. Heintje focuses more on internal topics such as engineering, processes and automation, while I focus more on external matters, including customer relations and the search for a new site. We share an office and coordinate closely every day, particularly on topics that affect both areas.
Heintje: We also provide good backup for each other, and there is still considerable overlap between our responsibilities. Our experience complements each other very well. We always discuss difficult decisions together. What helps us in particular is that we share a similar set of values – and, of course, the same goal.
Looking at the company as a whole, what has changed specifically during this first year?
Heintje: One major focus has been on expanding our technical and methodological capabilities. In engineering alone, we have grown the team from three to eight employees. At the same time, we have invested in new hardware and software and are developing new numerical methods for aerodynamics, aeroacoustics and aeroelasticity. High-fidelity simulations will help us verify numerical results, enabling us to design new propellers more precisely and further improve existing designs. This also involves making historical data systematically available in digital form – something that remains a major challenge even with the latest advances in AI.
But for us, transformation does not stop with engineering. We are looking at the entire value chain and have concrete modernization projects underway in areas such as propeller manufacturing and quality assurance.
In production, we have started to capture processes more transparently and standardize them. Our CNC milling programs have already been successfully optimized for the first propeller designs, and we are establishing an end-to-end digital chain from design through to the generation of machine parameters for production. We are also exploring methods such as semi-automated propeller blade machining and 3D laser scanning in quality assurance. At the same time, we are further developing our ERP system to significantly simplify day-to-day processes.
In addition, we are experimenting with predictive production planning algorithms. Our aim is to make every step – from development and manufacturing through to maintenance – transparent, plan it across the process chain and continuously improve it.
Mark: I also think it is important to set realistic expectations. In one year, you can initiate a great deal of change and achieve initial results. But it takes time for a transformation like this to have its full effect – and we are deliberately allowing for that time. We want to use our available resources as effectively as possible for current customer orders while maintaining sufficient capacity to develop the company further. The challenge is to combine the two: reliably delivering for our customers today while creating the foundations for tomorrow’s business. What matters is that we continue along this path consistently, step by step.
What role do employees play in this transformation?
Heintje: A central one. Our team at Hoffmann has an enormous amount of specialized expertise and many years of experience. We are proud of that, and it is something we can and must build on. At the same time, we are deliberately bringing new capabilities into the company and establishing regular, topic-specific training. When recruiting, we also consciously look for experienced professionals who can contribute additional perspectives and bring a fresh view to existing processes and challenges.
Mark: A transformation like the one we are going through also means change for every individual in the team. It requires a great deal of commitment, openness and a willingness from our colleagues to repeatedly question established ways of doing things. We are grateful that so many people are taking this journey with us.
A culture of transparency and open communication is particularly important to us. Over the past year, we have held regular employee meetings, but we also deliberately maintain short lines of communication and open doors in our everyday work. At our current size, we can still speak personally with everyone – and we want to preserve that sense of closeness as much as possible. We want to develop Hoffmann into a modern, forward-looking company while retaining the open, honest and close-knit culture that defines the way we work together.
Heintje: We are gradually adapting our salary structures to remain competitive in recruitment, and we place strong emphasis on systematic knowledge transfer between experienced and new colleagues. Anyone joining us today will, in my view, find an environment where they can take on responsibility and actively help shape the future of a true heritage brand – with the prospect of a state-of-the-art working environment once we move into our planned new facility.
What does this repositioning mean for your existing and potential customers around the world?
Mark: Above all, reliability and long-term continuity. Following the insolvency, there was understandably some uncertainty in the market, particularly as we are the single-source supplier for certain aircraft. The feedback we have received from customers and international partners in recent months has been very clear: there is considerable relief that Hoffmann Propeller has a sustainable future.
Customers are already seeing the first process improvements in the handling of current orders. At the same time, we are stabilizing and intensifying our customer relationships. We want to increase our visibility in the market again and demonstrate that Hoffmann is here for the long term.
A strong local presence through our partners is an important part of that. We work closely with established service stations such as Skycraft Propellers in the UK and Aviation Propellers, Inc. in Florida. At the same time, we intend to strategically expand our network of distributors and service partners to provide shorter routes and better service in additional markets.
Heintje: For our customers, a long-term perspective also means that Hoffmann is not simply continuing its existing product portfolio but adapting to evolving technical requirements and applications. We see opportunities both in the hovercraft sector and in aviation, particularly in general aviation and the UAV market. Increasing demands for efficiency and noise reduction are changing the technical landscape, while emerging applications such as electric flight are opening up additional opportunities. We intend to respond with optimized products and targeted new developments, while once again taking a more active role in developing our own solutions together with partners. This is precisely why expanding our engineering capabilities is so essential.
Mark: At the same time, particularly in aviation, you have to think in realistic development cycles. From the initial concept phase and simulation-based design through to final regulatory certification of a new propeller model, the process typically takes up to five years. It is a highly regulated environment in which quality and safety are the absolute priorities.
How has Hoffmann developed economically since the insolvency?
Mark: We are on the right track, even though the transformation is far from complete. This year, we have deliberately invested in the future of the company – in new specialists, technology and IT infrastructure, as well as in the search for a new site. Our parent company from Switzerland supports this path and the investments required to position Hoffmann competitively for the long term. We also benefit from the expertise and exchange of experience within the group, for example in design, manufacturing and IT.
At the same time, we can now build on a solid base level of activity in our operational business. Our revenue streams extend beyond the manufacture and maintenance of our own propellers to include the overhaul of third-party propellers as well as electroplating and non-destructive testing services. This broad operational base is an important element of our stabilization and gives us the scope to continue advancing the transformation in parallel.
If we were to have this conversation again a year from now, what would you like us to be talking about?
Mark: I think we will be talking about very concrete relocation plans – ideally even visible construction progress at our new site. The search for a new location has taken up a significant part of my past year, because this is about much more than simply moving premises. We need a site that fits the company we want to become, with the right conditions for efficient production processes, modern ways of working and further growth. Once the relevant steps have been finalized, we will communicate the decision transparently.
Heintje: I would like to see us having made consistent progress in implementing our technology and innovation roadmap, with development tools and digital manufacturing processes successfully transitioned into regular operations. And I hope that we will have attracted more qualified and motivated people to Hoffmann, because they are the foundation of our products and our company.
In our first year, we set an incredible amount in motion. In the second year, we certainly will not have reached every goal yet. But we want to see continued progress on the changes we have initiated and increasingly embed new approaches into our day-to-day work.
Our aim is not to return to an earlier version of Hoffmann. We want to combine the knowledge and experience built up within the company over decades with new development and manufacturing methods. To me, that is what this transformation is ultimately about.
Mark: Our long-term goal is clear: by 2035, we want to re-establish Hoffmann as one of the leading manufacturers of aviation and hovercraft propellers – recognized for quality, safety, precision and continuous innovation.