Cuckoo clocks of the company Hekas® / Helmut Kammerer
Anyone who grows up in the Kammerer House in Schonach/Blackforest tends to inherit a love of making cuckoo clocks. The Helmut Kammerer cuckoo clock factory, known as "Hekas" for short, was founded by Helmut Kammerer in 1938. In 1981, the company was taken over by his son Rolf, and since 1998 it has been run by Uwe Kammerer, the third generation. Thus, HEKAS is a true family business. With Uwe's son Leo, perhaps the 4th generation is already growing up.
Uwe Kammerer has undergone extensive training to meet the demands of his role. After training as a woodworker and toolmaker, he attended the renowned watchmaking school in Furtwangen and is therefore ideally equipped to lead the HEKAS company into the future. The decades of experience and the deep connection to the Black Forest with its traditions - and especially to the product cuckoo clock - are reflected in the entire production up to the finished clock.
The HEKAS family business also has its own carpentry workshop, where the cases and blanks for the carvings are still made in-house. Only experienced master craftsmen are responsible for this. Under these conditions it is possible that new creations are not only developed directly at Hekas Clocks, but also realized on site. A Hekas cuckoo clock is therefore always a handmade unique specimen.
The materials used are mainly local, such as lime or fir from the local forests. The Regula clock movements are also genuine "Black Forest Clocks" and come directly from the region. The Helmut Kammerer Clock Factory is one of the few manufacturers to produce the entire range of Black Forest Clocks, from small souvenir clocks to high quality cuckoo clocks in mechanical or battery versions. The range now includes over 500 different models.
In 2020, the traditional company Hubert Herr and its brand name were also taken over by Hekas, so that clocks formerly designed by Hubert Herr are now also included in the Hekas range. This ensures that the good name of Hubert Herr and his cuckoo clocks are maintained in the same quality.
For Hekas Cuckoo Clocks, the connection to the homeland and the control over the production steps are important in order to meet their own quality standards. Each clock is hung for 12-24 hours after production and undergoes an extensive test run. Only then can it leave the Hekas Cuckoo Clock Factory to take a genuine piece of the Black Forest out into the world.