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About us

a family run Company in its second generation

I feel it’s my duty, as well as my passion, to manage our company as its second generation owner. High-Performing companies that consistently offer high-quality products will always be in demand.

Philipp Härtel

A family company with a 35-year history in its second generation 

Our 35-year history not only makes us one of the oldest convertible soft top experts, but also means that we have a long tradition and extensive experience as a convertible soft top manufacturer. We also produce a lot of vintage and classic car convertible soft tops under our own direction at our headquarter in Southern Germany close to Stuttgart – the birthplace and one of the hubs of the automotive industry. EUROTOP has been a successful and competent partner for

convertible soft tops since 1985. Our success is based on many years of close collaboration with our customers: automotive manufacturers, automobile trim shops, automobile associations and private customers from Germany, Europe and the rest of the world. Our team is made up of highly experienced specialists with an in-depth understanding of convertible soft tops who are able to provide you with valuable advice.

About us

We think that a competent customer service is just as important as an excellent product.

We don't want to brag, but EUROTOP has both. We're always open for suggestions and try to fulfill individual wishes of our customer, may it be exotic colors or unique sewing. With our long-standing experience, our valued network of treasured suppliers and partners, we are working on making your wishes come true.

Our team

A strong squad

We are EUROTOP - The team We carefully select our qualified team and are proud of our talents in production, in the saddlery and in the office. Despite our modern machinery, our most important asset is still our employees. Through their skills, commitment and Swabian precision, they make EUROTOP

what EUROTOP is today. More than half of our employees have been part of the team for over 15 years - that speaks for our many years of experience, quality and passion. Our most important drive? To keep getting better together.

EUROTOP's history

von der Gründung bis heute

1985 "Thomas Härtel Cabrio+SPORTAUTO" was founded

In October 1985, Thomas Härtel founded the company Thomas Härtel CABRIO+SPORTAUTO. To start off, Thomas and his wife Jutta worked from the basement of their home in Hardt (near Nürtingen) and employed just two seamstresses. Jutta Härtel fondly remembers those first days when they were using their fridge as the packing table.

1986 First relocation

At the end of 1986, the company moved into larger and more modern rooms, which enabled it to increase its in-house production and significantly speed up the production process. The company’s stock, which comprised several hundred soft tops, must have been the largest of its kind at that time.

1988 Introduction of CNC cutting technology

In order to minimise potential errors when cutting the fabric from the outset, we purchased a computer-controlled, fully automatic cutting machine with a CNC cutter in 1988. This made us the first convertible top producer worldwide to use this technology – and long before it was adopted by any of the automotive manufacturers. It also allowed us to set a new benchmark in fabric cutting and seam marking in convertible hood production.


1989 More production space

Our rapid growth meant that we had to rent additional rooms in an adjacent building for our production in 1989. At this point, the company already employed 15 staff. The office team was also expanded and joined by Mr Schirk and Ms Streit.

1990/1991
Rebranding to "Härtel Cabrioverdecke" and relocation

Just a year later, the company moved into a larger industrial building in Nürtingen and was employing 20 people. It also changed its name from Thomas Härtel CABRIO+SPORTAUTO to Härtel Cabrioverdecke.

2001 Rebranding to EUROTOP

Our client base grew considerably over the years to include increasingly more trim shops, dealers and serial manufacturers including from other countries. That’s why we decided to rename the company and give it a more international name. Hence, it was renamed EUROTOP.


2014 Relocation to Frickenhausen

Having since increased its workforce to 30 people, EUROTOP, which is still a family company, relocated to Frickenhausen near Nürtingen in 2014 and has been headquartered there ever since.

2015 generation change

Philipp Härtel – the son of the founder – decided to join the family company and took over EUROTOP’s ownership in 2017. Härtel senior continues to act as the company’s managing director and is still involved in strategic matters.

I feel it’s my duty, as well as my passion, to manage our company as its second generation owner. High-performing companies that consistently offer high-quality products will always be in demand.
Philipp Härtel


What motivated our company’s founder, Thomas Härtel

(excerpt from one of the company’s first brochures)

The first car was a convertible…

... and today, 100 years on, convertibles are considered the crème de la crème of automotive design and engineering. Convertibles have an air of mystique, are out of the ordinary and sought after by discerning motorists. The reason I founded this company was that, over time, I realised that I only enjoyed driving certain convertibles while the roof was down. As soon as the roof had to come up because of rain, the fun would stop because of the endless problems and leaks in the roof of older convertibles. Replacing them was expensive and having a new top delivered would often take several weeks. Not to mention that it was impossible to get tops for some vintage cars, because they were simply no longer being made. This led me to come up with the following plan: to offer conventional soft tops for a wide range of convertible drivers at a reasonable price. I quickly learned that it is not just the material, but also the workmanship and pattern that are crucial to producing a high-quality convertible top. This meant learning to separate the wheat from the chaff. Following a lot of hard work and many trial top assemblies, I finally settled on three manufacturers’ that were able to meet my quality standards with respect to workmanship and fit. But there was still one thing missing: one-off tops for convertibles that had been lovingly built or restored but for which there weren’t any standard tops. To meet this demand, we set up our own production department to perfectly round off our service range. Today, the convertible soft tops we produce in-house are considered some of the best on the market. Our customers include private clients, car repair workshops, small-volume manufacturers and clients from all over Europe and overseas. Knowing about how special convertibles are to their owners, high quality became my top priority.

Yours,
Ihr Thomas Härtel

Customer satisfaction

What our customers say

Als Sattler mit über 25 Jahren Berufserfahrung kann ich diese Verdecke jedem empfehlen, der Wert auf Qualität und Passgenauigkeit legt.
Sascha Hoffmann Autosattlerei Hoffmann

In zweiter Generation und nun schon seit über 30 Jahren arbeiten wir mit EUROTOP zusammen. Und es wird sich in Zukunft auch nichts daran ändern.
Patrick Kinzlin Sattlerei P. Kinzlin

Vielen, vielen Dank für die klasse Zusammenarbeit. Dass Sie immer ein offenes Ohr haben und Probleme lösen. Dankeschön und auf weiterhin gute Zusammenarbeit.
H. Eßlinger Sattlerei Eßlinger, Dresden

Unsere Nummer 1 - Ansprechpartner in Sachen Verdecke. Absolut flexibel, zuverlässig und kundenorientiert! Darüberhinaus sind die Verdecke in höchster Qualität!
D.Ferreira & D.Schulz Sattlerei Corio

Wir verarbeiten seit Jahren als Fachbetrieb die Verdecke der Firma Eurotop Cabrioverdecke GmbH & Co. KG. Als verlässlicher Partner werden uns perfekte Verdecke geliefert und in den selten Fällen bei denen etwas nicht genau passt, wird sofort eine Lösung gefunden.
Boris Bielkine Sattlerei Bielkine

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