Fronius International
| Fronius International GmbH
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|---|---|
 |
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| legal form | GmbH |
| founding | 1945 |
| Seat | Pettenbach , Upper Austria , Austria |
| management | Elisabeth Engelbrechtsmüller-Strauss (Management) |
| Number of employees | 5,440 (2020) |
| Website | www.fronius.com |
Fronius International GmbH is an Austrian company based in Pettenbach in Upper Austria. Fronius is active worldwide in the fields of welding technology, photovoltaics and battery charging technology.
history
Foundation and development
In 1945 Günter Fronius founded a specialist repair shop for radio and electrical engineering in Pettenbach. This was the starting signal for today's Fronius GmbH. At that time, charging car batteries was not a matter of course, which Günter Fronius did not want to accept. The trained electrical engineer therefore developed the first battery charging systems. A little later he hired 15 employees. The company began manufacturing electronics and welding torches in the mid-1960s. In 1972 Fronius opened a second location in Thalheim near Wels , where production was relocated. In 1980 Günter Fronius handed over the management to his two children. From now on, the company concentrated more on expansion and internationalization. In the following years, locations were opened both inside and outside Austria. At the same time, Fronius continued to develop in the areas of battery charging technology and welding technology. In 1992, photovoltaics was added as a new focus . In 2001 Fronius opened a plant in Pettenbach, the place where the company was founded. In 2007, the Sattledt logistics and production site was opened . In the years 2002 to 2007 the sales area was expanded to include the USA.
present
In 2020 Fronius will already have more than 5,400 employees worldwide. In addition to the company headquarters in Pettenbach and other locations in Wels, Thalheim, Sattledt and Steinhaus, Fronius has a production facility in the Czech Republic. The company has a total of 34 subsidiaries.
Business units
Perfect charging
The Perfect Charging business unit is the oldest at Fronius International. Fronius has been researching and developing charging technology since the company was founded in 1945. In the 1990s, inverter technology was first used for clocked chargers for charging vehicle starter batteries. With the ACCTIVA series, electronically safe and powerful charging of starter batteries is possible. When it comes to drive batteries, Fronius has the SELECTIVA series. Both product areas are based on what is known as "Active Inverter Technology". The battery charging systems with Active Inverter Technology and the so-called "Ri charging process" are designed to ensure maximum energy efficiency, low CO 2 emissions, long battery life and high availability. Further services and components of this business unit are the planning, implementation, equipping and operation of battery charging stations and battery charging rooms. In the automotive workshop area, Fronius is developing battery charging systems with car manufacturers.
Perfect welding
The Perfect Welding business unit sells products and complete systems - manual and automated - as well as corresponding services in the field of welding technology. Around 1950 Fronius launched its first welding transformer with a magnet-yoke control that allowed the welding current to be continuously adjusted. 50 years later, it introduced CMT (Cold Metal Transfer), a thermal joining of steel with aluminum. With the introduction of the world's first fully digitally controlled MIG / MAG welding power sources (TransSynergic 4000/5000 and TransPuls Synergic 2700/4000/5000), quality can be reproduced 100%. The introduction of the DeltaSpot welding system (resistance spot welding system) finally made it possible to produce car bodies made of aluminum in large series. Steel Transfer Technology provided a solution for welding in the steel processing industry. TPS / i, a new MIG / MAG welding machine platform, followed in 2013.
Solar energy
The Solar Energy business unit has been dealing with the subject of photovoltaics since 1992 . Today Fronius develops, produces and markets string inverters as well as storage systems for grid-connected photovoltaic systems . The range of products and services is supplemented by components for professional system monitoring, data visualization and analysis as well as for increasing self-consumption . Fronius offers support in the planning and execution of photovoltaic projects as well as microgrid and PV genset systems.
24 hours of sun
“24 hours of sun” is a short term coined by Fronius for an energy future in which a global energy supply is realized through renewable sources and is permanently available to everyone. For implementation, it is necessary that renewable energy is efficiently generated and stored and intelligently distributed and consumed. The main sources of energy supply are the natural resources of sun, wind and water. In order to bring the energy future "24 hours of sun" closer step by step, Fronius is working on the development of solutions and cooperates with companies, universities, research institutions and interest groups, with a focus on:
- In the development of product solutions
- In the definition of industry standards for communication protocols
- In the development of energy management solutions
- In the development of network and storage management solutions
- In field research projects for long-term storage of renewable energy sources
- In field research projects to develop green intralogistics solutions
Locations
Austria
Pettenbach
Pettenbach is the place where Fronius was founded and is also the headquarters of the company. Finances & controlling are housed in an area of 6,000 square meters.
In the course of the facade renovation in 2010, the facade was clad with photovoltaic modules, which reduced the direct solar radiation into the building and thus the cooling load, a custom design and an annual electricity yield of around 13,200 kilowatt hours. The energy generated at the site is used, among other things, to test the company's own inverter production in building integration.
Sattledt
The company's production and logistics facilities are located in Sattledt. Since 2007, all battery charging systems, welding systems and solar inverters have been produced here on an area of over 100,000 square meters. On the roof of the house there is a photovoltaic system with a module area of 3,600 square meters, as well as a biomass heating plant, which provide most of the energy required.
Thalheim near Wels
Thalheim bei Wels is the company's research and development location. This was expanded to 22,500 square meters in 2011. The special features of the Thalheim site include power generation through photovoltaics, geothermal probes and the use of waste heat from the test laboratories.
catfish
The Fronius marketing and sales center is located in Wels. The location opened in 1990 has a total area of 17,000 square meters. The active energy construction, the photovoltaic system and modern environmental technologies ensure that as much energy as possible is obtained in order to cover personal needs. A highlight of this location is the “water feature”, which, through its architecture and functionality, simultaneously reflects the three Fronius departments. The basic idea of this architectural center was to provide part of the energy supply for lighting and water pumps with solar power.
- The element stainless steel, the surface of which is sandblasted, is used to cover and surround the pool and represents the welding technology division.
- The photovoltaics used stand for the Solar Energy business unit. A curtain of water covers the cells embedded in glass. The overall appearance is rounded off by the water fountains incorporated in the base area and the lighting, which is also integrated in the glass wall, which is implemented using fiber optic cables. Only ONE large glass element with integrated solar cells should be used for the front view of the fountain. For this purpose, this module was manufactured with dimensions of 2113 × 4828 mm and a weight of more than 485 kilograms. It has an output of 900 Wp and generates an annual yield of approx. 700 kWh. The inverters used to convert the generated direct current come from Fronius.
- The red points of light, which can also be seen next to the lighting, represent the charge controller department.
Stone house
The Repair Center International (RCI), formerly located in Sattledt, has been located in Steinhaus since 2010 on a total area of more than 4,000 square meters, where repair work is carried out for all three business units. An existing hall was bought in the neighborhood, where only automation components are manufactured.
International locations
In addition to the eight locations in Austria, Fronius has 34 international Fronius companies and sales partners / representatives in more than 60 countries (as of 2020).
Awards and prizes (extract)
- Plus X Award (2015, Best Product)
- Plus X Award (2013, products, brand)
- European Change Communications Award (2012, branding)
- Silver Dolphin in Cannes (2011, corporate film)
- Austrian State Prize for Innovation (2009)
- Innovation Prize Upper Austria (2008)
- Climate Protection State Prize Austria (2008)
- World Energy Globe (2008, HyLOG)
- Energy Globe Austria (2008)
- Family Oscar of the Province of Upper Austria (2008, company kindergarten)
- Austrian State Prize for Environmental and Energy Technology (2008)
- Energy Globe Award (2007)
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ fronius.com ( memento of January 16, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) on the Pettenbach location and company headquarters
- ↑ History - Fronius. Retrieved June 22, 2020 .
- ^ Careers - Fronius. Retrieved June 22, 2020 .
- ↑ With Tesla Entering Market, Hope for Home Batteries Grow The New York Times. Retrieved September 22, 2016.
- ↑ New standards for solar storage technology by Fronius & Tesla oekonews.at. Retrieved September 22, 2016.
- ↑ SunSpec Alliance Recognizes Fronius with Award Solar Power World. Retrieved September 22, 2016.
- ↑ FRONIUS SOLAR ENERGY integration in evonHOME evonHome.com. Retrieved September 22, 2016.
- ↑ Fronius and Loxone offer comprehensive energy management system pv magazin.com. Retrieved September 22, 2016.
- ↑ New standards for solar storage technology through Fronius & Tesla FH Campus Wien. Retrieved September 22, 2016.
- ↑ Fronius and Victron work together on island grids photovoltaik.eu. Retrieved September 22, 2016.
- ↑ research project wind2hydrogen ( Memento from September 22, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) klimafinds.gv.at. Retrieved September 22, 2016.
- ↑ Upper Austria Ferngas and Fronius put hydrogen into the gas ( Memento from September 22, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) WirtschaftsBlatt.at. Retrieved September 22, 2016.
- ↑ E-Log BioFleet ( Memento from September 22, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) klimafonds.gv.at. Retrieved September 22, 2016.
- ^ Architecture at Fronius
- ↑ Fronius water feature
- ^ Careers - Fronius. Retrieved June 22, 2020 .