Twenty years of successful cooperation between Hänel Storage Systems and Kasys


Dear Business Partners with your Families and Employees,

This year Kasys celebrates its 20th anniversary and hence also 20 years of collaboration with Hänel. These 20 years have flown by. There have been ups and downs, but in a time when our society is undergoing constant change, these 20 years have been marked by mutual trust and shared successes. 
Looking back, we realize that this collaboration was only made possible by one of the most profound political and economic changes to take place worldwide over the last few decades: the fall of the "Iron Curtain". The crisis was at the same time an opportunity for a fresh start.
Our first contact with Kasys was established by Udo Wagner in 1992. He had already worked with Mr. Sole during his employment at the "VEB Kombinat Robotron". This personal relationship was a mutual reference and was the foundation of their trust in each other.
When I look back, I see that this collaboration was made possible by the vision and the courage of Vaclav Sole. Although he came from what appeared at first glance to be a very different branch of industry, Mr. Sole quickly made the decision to work with Hänel. Today you can say with pride that Kasys was our first distribution partner from the former Warsaw Pact states after the fall of the "Iron Curtain".
By choosing Hänel, Kasys of course opted for a strong partner who is listed today both in the "Encyclopaedia of World Market Leaders" and in the compendium entitled "The best of German engineering". 
The know-how that has been built up in all areas over many years is a key factor in our collaboration and a prerequisite for our shared market success.
These 20 years have been shaped by the establishment and continuous expansion of joint activities on the Czech and Slovakian markets. At the beginning, banks and public authorities made up the greater part of the Kasys customer base. The very first office carousel, for example, was delivered to the Tachov Savings Bank at the end of 1993. Four more Rotomat® office carousels went to the Czech Insurance company, two of them featuring multiple access openings. Our Export Manager at the time, Dieter Carl, was present on site for all of these projects. Since then, Rotomat® industrial carousels have also been supplied to renowned companies like Skoda, Siemens and Bosch. One of the largest office carousel installations in the world can be found in the Czech Republic at the Czech Office for Social Security where there are a total of 232 Rotomat® office carousels.
Back in 1996 our collaboration with Mr. Smolen was established for the Slovakian market. This was a logical step that also had its historical reasons.
Moreover, it was a good decision to pool the sales people on these two markets.
Sales of office carousels continue to be a very important branch of the business today. At the same time, Kasys has set up the industrial lift business and is constantly expanding it. I am certain this is the right way forward and an important step into the future.
The relationship between Hänel and Kasys has matured in all areas and become closer. 
Our partnership in business works in principle like a marriage. It is based on give and take. Antoine de Saint-Exupéry once said, "A good marriage is not when we look at one another, but when we both look in the same direction".
With this in mind, our former Export Manager Dieter Carl laid the first foundations here for a cooperative partnership.
When the baton was passed to Markus Kälin, this strengthened the relationship between Kasys and Hänel Switzerland, and I think that friendships have developed there both under Dieter Carl and under Markus Kälin.
Now our task is to consolidate what we began and expand on it. The dialog we engage in over the coming days should serve to determine our way forward together.
The political and economic turmoil especially of the last few months presents us increasingly with major challenges in Europe and throughout the world as a whole.
Standing shoulder to shoulder is more essential than ever. This also means that we must always seek and find ways to communicate openly.
Dear Family Sole, Family Smolen, employees of Kasys and Hänel employees, I would like to give you my personal thanks for your untiring commitment these past 20 years.
I wish you and your company, and all your employees, lots of luck and all the best for the coming years, and I hope that as we move toward the future our successful cooperation will continue in the same spirit. 


Yours in friendship,
Joachim Hänel