With the acquisition of the Mexican publishing company Editorial Manual Moderno, the Hogrefe Publishing Group has now become the market leader in the fields of psychology, psychotherapy, and psychodiagnostics in Mexico. Manual Moderno is the leading specialist publisher in Latin America in these core areas of Hogrefe and, like Hogrefe, also covers further areas in medicine and nursing. Vesalius is the long-time distributor of Hogrefe publications in Mexico.
For the publications of Hogrefe's Spanish publishing house, Hogrefe TEA Ediciones, Mexico had already been the most important market outside of Spain. The Hogrefe TEA Ediciones program, which is also a market leader in the publication of psychological tools in Spain, has been successfully distributed in Mexico by the company Vesalius for more than 20 years. Earlier this year, Hogrefe took its first step into Mexico by acquiring the distribution company Vesalius.
Beyond merely distributing the publications of its Spanish publishing house, with the acquisition of Manual Moderno Hogrefe now has an optimal base for local publishing activities in Mexico. Manual Moderno was founded almost 70 years ago as a specialist publisher of Psychology and Medicine, and was later taken over by the father of the current managing director, Hugo Setzer.
Hugo Setzer, who will remain the managing director under the new ownership of Hogrefe, stated: “In our search for a forward-looking succession solution for our publishing company, Hogrefe was clearly the best option for us. Hogrefe and Manual Moderno share many similarities, not least the values and corporate culture typical of family businesses. I have had a long-standing friendship with Jürgen Hogrefe himself, and there is a great deal of mutual trust. As part of the internationally active Hogrefe Group, we see many synergies and development opportunities, to the benefit of our authors and customers in Mexico and Latin America.”
Dr. G.-Jürgen Hogrefe, publisher and CEO of the Hogrefe Publishing Group, commented: “Until now, our Spanish publishing activities were very focused on Spain itself. However, we wanted to better meet the needs of the psychological communities in Latin America, especially regarding local publications, adaptations, and norms for psychological tests. With the acquisition of Manual Moderno, we now have the best foundation for this work in the two largest Spanish-speaking countries in the world, Mexico and Colombia. We are aware of the responsibility entrusted to us by continuing the valuable work of Manual Moderno and Vesalius under the roof of the Hogrefe Group, and we do not only want to live up to this responsibility but also aim to build new bridges of collaboration between Latin America and Europe.”
With Manual Moderno and Vesalius combined, Hogrefe now employs 120 people in Mexico, including a large number of psychologists involved in program development, consulting, and sales, across three locations: Mexico City, Monterrey, and Guadalajara. Hogrefe has also taken over the Manual Moderno subsidiary in Colombia, with an additional 15 employees.
Founded 75 years ago as a small specialist publisher focused on psychology in the university town of Göttingen, Hogrefe is now considered one of the world's leading publishers for psychology and related subjects. A particular focus of the publishing program are psychological assessment tools, which are used in clinical diagnostics, educational contexts, and human resources. The Hogrefe Group, headquartered in Göttingen, today has its own publishing companies in 18 countries, most of them market leaders in their respective regions, with more than 650 employees combined. According to its company motto "More than a publisher," Hogrefe also offers numerous services in its core field of psychology, such as training for practitioners and consulting services for businesses. In addition, Hogrefe has a substantial software development unit, for the development of its psychological assessment products.
Founded in 1958, Manual Moderno today is one of the leading Spanish-language publishers for psychology and medicine, headquartered in Mexico City with a branch in Bogotá, Colombia. Manual Moderno publishes professional books for practice and teaching in both print and digital formats, as well as numerous instruments for psychological diagnostics. Manual Moderno collaborates with distribution partners throughout Latin America and Spain. In addition to psychology, psychiatry, and psychotherapy, the publisher's subject areas include medicine, nursing, dentistry, and nutrition.
Originally founded as a medical-psychological bookstore, Vesalius has since shifted its focus to the distribution of psychological testing instruments, particularly by its successful 20-year partnership with Hogrefe TEA Ediciones, the Spanish subsidiary of the Hogrefe Publishing Group. In addition to its continued distribution of medical and psychological books, Vesalius markets educational materials for learning German and several other languages under the independent brand Hemybooks. The company is headquartered in Monterrey, with additional branches in Mexico City and Guadalajara.
Hogrefe Group
Merkelstr. 3
37085 GöttingenManual Moderno
Av. Sonora No. 206
Col. Hipódromo
06100 Mexico CityVesalius
Aldama No. 203
Col. Zapata
64460 Monterrey, N.L.April 2nd, 2025
