The FRABA Group Celebrates its 100th Anniversary
FRABA is officially 100 years old! The company traces its history back to 1918, when the “Franz Baumgartner elektrische Apparate GmbH” was founded in Cologne, Germany. This enterprise specialized in building mechanical relays and control system for industries and grew into a successful mid-size enterprise. The founder, Mr. Baumgartner, was able to re-build the company after 1945 and expand its activities into products such as medical equipment and control systems (including traffic light control), eventually employing over 400 staff. However, by 1993, the company’s core business of electromechanical devices was coming under increasing competition from newer microprocessor-based technologies and found itself under severe financial pressure. At this point, the company was acquired by two brothers, Achim and Christian Leeser.
“We understood from the beginning that FRABA needed to be taken in a very different direction”, explains Christian Leeser, CEO and principal shareholder. “Along with rationalizing product offerings and revamping manufacturing methods, the biggest changes we made related to the company’s culture. Our vision was of a company with a large contingent of ambitious young engineers and scientists with skills in emerging technologies. To keep these people engaged and excited about reaching their full creative potential, we instituted a corporate style that emphasizes information sharing, individual initiative and the eager acceptance of new challenges. Our aim has been to make work at FRABA exciting, even fun!”
FRABA’s success can be measured by its string of innovative new products and steadily growing market share. From a local manufacturer with a production model based on craftsmanship, FRABA has developed into an international business with an expanding range of advanced products. Along with the POSITAL brand (motion and position sensors for industrial automation and mobile machinery), the FRABA Group also includes POSITAL which manufactures and supplies safety systems for the door and gate market. FRABA has operating units in Europe, North America and Asia, with a world-wide distribution network .
| "Mass Customization" Processes Successfully Implemented |
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| FRABA's highly sophisticated production facility is located in Slubice, Poland. Production is based on a data-driven 'mass customization' business model. POSITAL products are assembled from standardized components in accordance with customer-defined specifications, which gives the company a unique ability to offer an enormous variety of possible product configurations, all with short delivery times and competitive prices. This system can efficiently deliver both large and small orders, down to single items. (Minimum order quantity: One!) |