Mannheim. The Südzucker Group will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2026. The history agency H&C Stader has been working with the internationally active company throughout this anniversary year. At the heart of the collaboration is the anniversary chronicle “100 Years of Südzucker. Part of your Life”, supplemented by interviews with contemporary witnesses.

The collaboration between H&C Stader and the Südzucker Group began with a joint workshop. The aim was not only to document the company’s history, but also to make it usable as a strategic resource for internal and external communication. In addition to a printed anniversary publication, interview formats and a podcast were developed to communicate key milestones.

The anniversary chronicle

At the heart of the project is the anniversary chronicle “100 Years of Südzucker. Part of your Life”, which H&C Stader conceived and edited on the basis of extensive historical research and more than 15 interviews with contemporary witnesses.

The publication traces the development of the Südzucker Group since its foundation in 1926, situates it within the history of the German sugar industry, and highlights key phases of diversification and transformation. The chronicle is supplemented by personal recollections from contemporary witnesses and an outlook on future developments. What makes the chronicle special is that it is hybrid – QR codes link directly to short clips from the interviews with contemporary witnesses, thus offering a highly personalised perspective.

The content, design and feel of the chronicle are perfectly coordinated. The design is based on a modern corporate identity developed specifically for the Südzucker Group, featuring colour gradients that reflect the Group’s diversity. Text and images are given equal prominence. The cover is finished with the ‘anniversary badge’ using UV varnish.

The chronicle was printed in a run of 10,000 copies, produced in German and English, and is 242 pages long. It is aimed at employees and business partners of the Südzucker Group and is not available for general sale.

Dr Wolfgang Kraus, Head of Communications at the Südzucker Group, on the collaboration with H&C Stader:

“From the extensive research and conceptualisation of the anniversary publication, through the detailed drafting and revision of the text, right up to the ‘live presentation’ at the festive anniversary evening on 19 March 2026 for our nearly 500 guests – the H&C Stader team provided us with fantastic support through their dedication. It was a very pleasant and straightforward collaboration with our entire team, including our corporate archive, which provided a wealth of content as well as visual material.”

The celebratory anniversary evening in Mannheim

A highlight of the anniversary year was the celebratory anniversary evening “100 Years of the Südzucker Group” on 21 March 2026 at the Rosengarten in Mannheim. As part of the stage programme, Dr Ingo Stader, CEO of H&C Stader, and Dr Max Schlenker, Division Head, together with Mannheim’s Lord Mayor Christian Specht, spoke about the history of the Südzucker Group and examples of the partnership with the city of Mannheim. They particularly emphasised the Südzucker Group’s close collaboration with the agricultural sector and the relevance of its own corporate history to current and future transformation processes.

Dr Ingo Stader:

“Those who know their own history also understand the forces that make change possible. The history of the Südzucker Group illustrates how closely origins, transformation and future viability are intertwined.”

The press release can also be found here.

Mannheim. Since our foundation in 2013, two square brackets have defined our visual identity. Positioned in the top left and bottom right corners, they frame the H&C Stader logo – symbolising an open book and alluding to our work as historians and researchers. Or, to paraphrase the saying: those who write, remain.

After 13 years, much has changed. Our company has grown, and our range of services has expanded significantly. Today, we support companies, institutions and organisations far beyond the traditional book – strategically, in terms of content and in communication.

It was therefore time for a logo refresh.

The circle represents the holistic nature of our services: a comprehensive, coordinated package of services covering corporate history. From historical research and analysis through to presentation and communication, right through to archiving and preservation. We cover the entire value chain. The circle symbolises continuity, reliability and our commitment not only to researching history, but also to preserving it for the long term and communicating it effectively. The modernised logo will be introduced gradually and will replace the previous design step by step over the coming weeks. During this transition phase, both versions may be visible in parallel – both digitally and in print.

Our new logo is therefore not a break with the past, but a logical evolution: it embodies our historical roots – whilst also reflecting what H&C Stader stands for today.

Dortmund/Mannheim. In 2026, Continentale Krankenversicherung a.G. will celebrate its 100th anniversary. H&C Stader was commissioned to research the company’s history and produce various forms of presentation. Based on extensive research – including a thorough analysis of the company’s history during the Nazi era – as well as numerous interviews with contemporary witnesses, a high-quality anniversary brochure and a visually striking historical film were produced, which impressively trace the company’s development. The project timeline of just under six months proved particularly challenging.

The company was founded in Dortmund in 1926 as the “Volkswohl Krankenunterstützungskasse der Volksheilbewegung” – the origin of today’s Continentale Krankenversicherung. Through cooperation with the Münchener Pensionsverein, the founding of Volkswohl Allgemeine Versicherungs-AG and the takeover of Continentale Allgemeine Versicherungs-AG, the joint Continentale brand was established in 1971. Since then, the range of insurance products has been continuously expanded. With the opening of the Continentale Campus in Dortmund in 2025, the company also created a central hub for exchange, communication and collaboration.

Düsseldorf/Mannheim. Flughafen Düsseldorf GmbH will celebrate its centenary in 2027. The team at H&C Stader won the contract for the historical review with its pitch. The project is based on comprehensive research, which will be used to digitise and index historical materials and prepare them for the anniversary in a central content pool. The airport's extensive image archive, comprising over 30,000 photographs, poses a particular challenge.

Düsseldorf Airport opened in the spring of 1927. After an interruption during the Second World War, it resumed civilian operations in 1948 and grew over the following decades to become the central commercial airport for North Rhine-Westphalia. The construction of the new terminal in the 1970s and the comprehensive modernisation after the fire in 1996 were formative events. Today, the airport serves a catchment area of over 18 million people and is one of the largest airports in Germany – with a wide range of services from air travel to shopping and gastronomy to event and conference rooms.

Munich/Mannheim. To mark the 100th anniversary of MARTIN GmbH, H&C Stader brought the history and present of the family-owned company to life in a variety of formats. An anniversary film, a calendar, and the book “100 Years of MARTIN” trace the development of the global market leader. An accompanying LinkedIn campaign conveyed the content digitally and reached a broad specialist audience.

MARTIN GmbH, founded in 1925 by Josef Martin, began as “Josef Martin Feuerungsbau” – with an innovation that would shape the industry: the reverse-flow grate, developed for the combustion of demanding fuels. Over the decades, this technical pioneering achievement developed into a globally active specialist in the construction of thermal waste treatment plants. To this day, the company is an international market leader in its technological niche and is now in its fourth generation of family ownership.