Matthias Hellinger

Matthias Hellinger and his brother, Andreas, own Rohema which was founded in 1888 by Eduard Robert Hellinger and produced batons, drumsticks, and percussion instruments. The company was small enough during socialist times in East Germany to remain private, but production was challenging. The company had to source hickory wood for drum sticks from a factory producing skis. In 1989, after the reunification of Germany, Matthias and Andreas took over the company from their dad, Armin, and developed export opportunities at international trade shows. A specialty of the company is the production of batons; the firm is the sole producer in Europe and more than 20,000 are sold each year. Rohema is set to stay in the family for 5 generations with cousins Maik and Tobias Hellinger.