Fraba
| FRABA | |
|---|---|
| legal form | Besloten vennootschap met beperkte aansprakelijkheid |
| founding | 1918 |
| Seat | Heerlen |
| Number of employees | 230 (2018) |
| sales | 35 million euros (2018) |
| Website | www.fraba.com |
Fraba ( proper spelling FRABA ) is an international company that was founded in Germany in 1918 . The company manufactures products for manufacturing and process automation and specializes in the manufacture of sensors. Fraba holds several patents for encoder innovations Up until the 1960s, mechanical relays were Fraba's main product. In 1963 the company started selling absolute brush rotary encoders . In 1973 the first optical rotary encoder and in 2007 the magnetic rotary encoder with several turns were developed.
history
1918-1943
Fraba was founded in 1918 by Franz Baumgartner as Fraba Fabrik elektr. Apparatus established. In the same year Baumgartner received his first patent for a Petri switch. This patent was the first of many. The company then specialized in the manufacture of mechanical relays for electrical alarm and safety devices. From 1919 production was expanded. Franz Baumgartner's brother Adolf Baumgartner played an important role in the family business. He headed a department and in the years to come wrote numerous technical articles about Fraba products that could be read in magazines and journals.
The company flourished in the 1920s and 1930s and expanded despite the economic crisis of 1929. Various relays were mass-produced and Fraba pioneered the manufacture of relays for traffic. In 1930 glass-blowing factories were integrated into the company. The glass was used as a switching mechanism. Towards the end of the 1920s, other relay types were also developed, making Fraba a pioneer in remote control systems. In 1928, the company was commissioned by the mayor of Cologne , Konrad Adenauer , to build the remote control systems for the public street lights in Cologne. The cities of Mainz , Munich and Duisburg followed . This innovation enabled the street lamps to be switched on and off centrally using a switch. The importance at that time was enormous. Fraba was based in Cologne- Klettenberg until 1943 .
1943-1968
At the beginning of the 1940s, the company offered a diverse range of products. During the Second World War , the company in Cologne-Klettenberg was destroyed and the parent company relocated to Brüchermühle , where production stagnated in 1945. In the following year, Franz Baumgartner opened a new plant in Bergisch Gladbach with just 10 employees . Fraba expanded again and was part of the German economic miracle of the post-war period. Production was resumed, contacts with foreign customers were strengthened and domestic business was also expanded. In 1951, Fraba was the largest German factory for electrical switchgear. This was the result of the innovative character of the company: Since copper, which was used to manufacture relays, was hardly available during the Second World War, Fraba invented a glass pressure relay with mercury. The company flourished and in 1953 moved to the new premises in Cologne- Niehl .
Until the 1960s, Fraba's main product was the mechanical relay. In 1960 the company's production was changed. Fraba started manufacturing the first mobile dialysis system for hospitals. Relays, such as special systems for the German railways and certain combination systems for traffic lights, continued to be produced. In 1962, Fraba also manufactured relays for the traffic lights in Haifa . In February 1962 a major fire damaged the office and production of Fraba in Cologne-Niehl. Production continued anyway: In 1963, Fraba launched its first (brush) absolute encoder on the market - a product that was to remain its main business. In 1968 the company celebrated 50 years of Fraba and flourished with 400 employees. In the same year Franz Baumgartner retired at the age of 80. Two nephews took over the company. In 1969 Franz Baumgartner received the Federal Cross of Merit in honor of his work for the disabled and seriously ill .
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1968-1993
The medical department was sold in 1970 and the focus shifted back to the encoder. In 1973 one of the first non-contact optical absolute encoders was developed in the Fraba offices in Cologne . The company then expanded the encoder portfolio to include new mechanical designs and electrical interfaces. Magnetic elevator switches were also manufactured. Due to less fortunate decisions, Fraba missed certain changes and lost contact with newly established technologies.
1993-2019
In 1993 the brothers Christian and Achim Leeser bought Fraba together with Axel Wiemann, which with 114 employees was practically bankrupt. They had to drastically reduce the workforce and hire or sell individual departments. In 1994 Fraba brought the first optoelectronic safety edge (OSE) onto the market. In the years that followed, the brothers hired well-trained staff. In 1998 the turnaround into a new business enterprise was completed. The company was reorganized into a group of independent companies based on a common mission and guiding principles. Since 1997 the company has been growing with industrial encoders from POSITAL (POSItion digiTAL) and door security sensors from VITECTOR (VITa protECTOR) by an average of 10% per year. Over the years, Fraba opened subsidiaries and relocated business. In August 2000, the first foreign subsidiary was opened in Princeton , USA. In 2007 Fraba opened its CONISTICS production facility in Słubice , Poland. The first Asian subsidiary was opened in Singapore in 2009 . In 2011 the research and development department CENTITECH moved to Aachen . Fraba Holding was relocated to Heerlen , Netherlands. The workforce grew again to 120 people. In 2015 the office in Shanghai was opened by POSITAL Fraba. In 2018, Fraba celebrated its 100th company anniversary.
Product groups
Fraba is a manufacturer of position and speed sensors that are used in factory automation , in mobile machines and medical technology through to systems for renewable energies . The product portfolio includes optical and magnetic rotary encoders , inclination sensors, linear position sensors , kit encoders and Wiegand sensors . These products are marketed under the Posital brand. Security systems for the door and gate market are manufactured under the Vitector brand. The product portfolio includes optical and pneumatic switching strips, switching elements and light barriers that meet international standards for safety devices. The products are used in gates, bus and train doors and production machines. The sensors are used where moving edges endanger the safety of people or objects.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b FRABA is growing double-digit worldwide , industr.com, June 3, 2019
- ↑ Business register. Retrieved April 17, 2020 .
- ↑ Google patent list. Retrieved April 17, 2020 .
- ↑ Baumgartner, Adolf: Gas pressure switch (relay made of glass) . In: Journal for Telecommunications, Plant and Device Construction . No. October 10 , 1940, p. 156-158 .
- ↑ Baumgartner, Adolf: Remote switching: for electrical house installations and street lighting . In: Technisches Universum, magazine for technology and philately . tape 2 , p. 56-60 .
- ↑ Let there be light! - at the touch of a finger. Electrical apparatus from Bergisch Gladbach all over the world . In: Bergische Rundschau . 1950.
- ↑ When someone presses the button ...: Visit to the electrical apparatus factory of Franz Baumgartner . In: Bergische Rundschau . 5th October 1951.
- ↑ Joachim Latka: kidney center opened: ten machines are available - 3000 patients in Germany . In: Kölnische Rundschau . May 10, 1969.
- ↑ Clemens, Hans: Controlled typewriter for double-arm amputees . In: Kölner Rundschau . September 12, 1967.
- ↑ Entrepreneur in the service of suffering people: Franz Baumgartner received the Federal Cross of Merit . In: Bergische Landeszeitung . 1969.
- ↑ Order fpr the company boss . In: Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger . 1969.
- ↑ FRABA Group celebrates 100th birthday with strong financial performance and market growth. May 14, 2018, Retrieved April 22, 2020 (American English).
- ↑ 100 years of the FRABA Group. Retrieved May 11, 2020 .