Every Identity has a History
Corporate archives preserve knowledge, create transparency and form the basis for well-informed decisions. Our experienced archivists support companies in establishing a corporate archive, further developing an existing one and ensuring that historical records remain accessible in the long term. We develop solutions tailored to your requirements – either at your premises or at our sites in Mannheim, Hamburg and Berlin.
With the History Hub, H&C Stader in Mannheim has its own office and storage facility. The storage facility houses your collections in a secure, climate-controlled environment and meets all the requirements for a modern storage facility in accordance with DIN ISO 11799. With a capacity of up to 3.5 kilometres of shelving, we can professionally and securely store your archive materials, either permanently or temporarily.
Unsere Leistungen (Kopie 1)
We offer a comprehensive service covering the establishment, management and outsourcing of corporate archives. From the initial analysis and assessment, through structured cataloguing and conservation, to long-term maintenance, we provide solutions tailored to your needs
We work flexibly either at your premises, in our own archive facilities at the History Hub in Mannheim, or using hybrid models. This enables us to implement archiving projects efficiently and precisely, regardless of the size and location of your collections.
Archive Development & Organisation
A structured corporate archive forms the basis for the long-term management of historical knowledge. We analyse existing collections, develop bespoke archiving concepts and advise you on suitable implementation strategies. In doing so, we create clear structures for archiving both analogue and digital documents, including with a view to OAIS-compliant long-term digital archiving.
We view the corporate archive as a strategic repository of knowledge and as a bridge between historical documentation and artificial intelligence. Through structured data, high-quality metadata and suitable archiving systems, we lay the groundwork to ensure that a company’s historical knowledge can also be utilised in future by AI-supported search, analysis and assistance systems.
- On-site review, analysis and assessment of existing structures and archive materials
- Design, planning and establishment of corporate archives
- AI readiness and knowledge management
- Archive modernisation: classification, archiving and disposal policies, implementation planning (including time and cost planning), software, collection preservation
- Dealing with legal issues relating to archiving: GDPR, copyright, rights of use
- IT consultancy on the use of a suitable archive information system (archive database) or implementation within existing CMS/DMS or ECM systems and other databases
- Archival strategy: including long-term digital archiving (in accordance with the OAIS standard) and digitisation strategies
- AI readiness & knowledge management: development of archival structures, metadata concepts and system architectures that make historical corporate information usable for AI-supported research, analysis and knowledge applications
Cataloguing & Documentation
We systematically catalogue your archive holdings, digitise them and ensure they remain accessible in the long term. Through cataloguing, digitisation and structured processing, we enable rapid access to relevant information.
- Assessment and selection of materials worthy of archiving
- Systematic cataloguing and indexing of analogue and digital archive material
- Disposal (archival-compliant disposal with a certified partner)
- Transcription of historical documents
- Creation of finding aids
- Removal of metal fastenings and re-packaging of the holdings in acid-free folders and boxes suitable for archiving
- Inspection for mould or other damage (acidic paper or physical damage)
- Documents up to DIN A1 size, all standard photographic formats including glass plates and slides, moving images (8mm, Super 8, 16mm, VHS, BetaCam), maps and plans up to DIN A1 size (larger formats via partner companies)
- Metadata management
Support & Advice
We assist you with the long-term management and further development of your corporate archive and provide support with organisational and strategic aspects of archive management. In doing so, we undertake operational tasks as well as providing strategic advice – tailored to your needs and, if desired, on a flexible outsourcing basis.
- Ongoing archive management (archive management)Archive maintenance (cataloguing, digitisation, research, archive information systems)
- Enquiry management
- Historical communications
- Training courses and workshops
- Support for internal processes
- Storage of archive material
You can find insights into selected projects in our case studies.
Our clients include Hapag-Lloyd AG, Union Investment, HOCHTIEF and Viega, amongst others, whom we support in setting up and managing their corporate archives. Structured archiving lays the foundations for making targeted use of corporate history in communications and anniversary projects. Find out more in our History & Communication section.
Contact Archive Services
Matthias Schlösser M.A.
matthias.schloesser[at]hcstader.de
+49 621 178288-13
“The archive forms the foundation for a robust and credible corporate history and serves as a repository of valuable experience – a treasure that must be unearthed and preserved.”
Your Benefits
A dedicated, systematically organised corporate archive makes historical documents and collections accessible, enables rapid access to relevant information and safeguards valuable corporate knowledge in the long term.
Range of Use
- Knowledge management
- Corporate communications
- Research and documentation
- Legal and administrative requirements
Impact
- Long-term preservation of relevant organisational knowledge
- Quick access to historical information
- Reduced strain on internal resources
- Increased transparency and traceability
archivalism - spezialisierte Archivkompetenz
archivalism complements and enriches our service portfolio in the field of archive services, particularly for public bodies and institutions. At the same time, our client base also includes companies and corporate groups.
The team led by Raphael Hartisch (BA in Archival Studies; MA in Information Sciences) specialises in processing serial documents and archival holdings from the public sector. This includes the appraisal and professional transfer of records (e.g. from the registry), as well as specialised requirements such as retroconversion or conservation work, ranging from re-encapsulation to professional cleaning.
