What does “addi” mean?
After a tour of the addi factory, visitors often ask what addi actually stands for. Other frequent questions include: how do we survive and flourish in the face of competition from Asia and other low-wage regions? People are surprised when we tell them that the company was founded in 1829, has experienced steady growth over recent years and exports over 80 % of its products – to markets including Asia and Mexico.
There is always great astonishment
- about the company's founding year of 1829
- about our constant growth over the last few years
- about the fact that more than 80 % of addi products are exported abroad - to Asia and Mexico, among others.
addi – quality made in Germany
The key answer to the question about production in Germany compared to production in low-wage countries is quality. Thomas Selter, the director of addi, recalls a meeting with a retailer many years ago. She said that “a knitter does not just knit for a few minutes, but for hours – and over and over again. That means they know every square millimetre of their needles, every last detail of the surface and of course, for circular needles, the quality of the join and the right amount of cord flexibility”. We took this to heart, and have been constantly honing the quality of our needles ever since – much to the admiration of our customers. For addi’s standard needles, the rate of complaints is less than 1 %. In other words, 1 needle in around every 1000.
addi product range
We have over 1000 different items in our product portfolio and around 20,000 products leave our factory every day – and that is further proof of our reputation for quality and reliability. That is why several million euros have been invested in new buildings, new machinery, new processes and new products at our site in Altena over recent years. Results for the first six months of 2017 have been extremely satisfactory with growth into two figures in both Germany and abroad.
And what does addi mean?
The answer is simple. The current proprietor’s mother, Hella Selter, started marketing back in the 1950s and published her own catalogue. It was a sensation. Back then, people worked with typewriters and mistakes meant letters had to be completely retyped. Contracts were sealed with a handshake, orders were often handwritten, and the word “marketing” had yet to be coined. Small wonder that the catalogue caused such a stir, and there was more to come: Hella Selter wanted a brand name. Her husband was Gustav Adolf Selter, and the name Adolf was not popular after the Second World War. However, the short form was “Addi” and had no such associations. Hella Selter took the nickname as her brand name. She was probably not aware just how useful it was that the word can be easily understood and pronounced across the world. That is the story of “addi”.
And if you would like to find out more, why not get together a few colleagues or customers and sign up for a tour of the factory. Please click here to read the spanish report
After a tour of the addi factory, visitors often ask what addi actually stands for. Other frequent questions include: how do we survive and flourish in the face of competition from Asia and other low-wage regions? People are surprised when we tell them that the company was founded in 1829, has experienced steady growth over recent years and exports over 80 % of its products – to markets including Asia and Mexico.
There is always great astonishment
- about the company's founding year of 1829
- about our constant growth over the last few years
- about the fact that more than 80 % of addi products are exported abroad - to Asia and Mexico, among others.
addi – quality made in Germany
The key answer to the question about production in Germany compared to production in low-wage countries is quality. Thomas Selter, the director of addi, recalls a meeting with a retailer many years ago. She said that “a knitter does not just knit for a few minutes, but for hours – and over and over again. That means they know every square millimetre of their needles, every last detail of the surface and of course, for circular needles, the quality of the join and the right amount of cord flexibility”. We took this to heart, and have been constantly honing the quality of our needles ever since – much to the admiration of our customers. For addi’s standard needles, the rate of complaints is less than 1 %. In other words, 1 needle in around every 1000.
addi product range
We have over 1000 different items in our product portfolio and around 20,000 products leave our factory every day – and that is further proof of our reputation for quality and reliability. That is why several million euros have been invested in new buildings, new machinery, new processes and new products at our site in Altena over recent years. Results for the first six months of 2017 have been extremely satisfactory with growth into two figures in both Germany and abroad.
And what does addi mean?
The answer is simple. The current proprietor’s mother, Hella Selter, started marketing back in the 1950s and published her own catalogue. It was a sensation. Back then, people worked with typewriters and mistakes meant letters had to be completely retyped. Contracts were sealed with a handshake, orders were often handwritten, and the word “marketing” had yet to be coined. Small wonder that the catalogue caused such a stir, and there was more to come: Hella Selter wanted a brand name. Her husband was Gustav Adolf Selter, and the name Adolf was not popular after the Second World War. However, the short form was “Addi” and had no such associations. Hella Selter took the nickname as her brand name. She was probably not aware just how useful it was that the word can be easily understood and pronounced across the world. That is the story of “addi”.
And if you would like to find out more, why not get together a few colleagues or customers and sign up for a tour of the factory. Please click here to read the spanish report