FRABA
 | |
| Founded | 1918 in Cologne, Germany |
|---|---|
| Founder | Franz Baumgartner |
Number of locations | 5 |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Franz Baumgartner - Founder Christian Leeser - CEO |
| Products | Position sensors and motion sensors |
| Brands | POSITAL, VITECTOR |
Number of employees | 200 worldwide (2013) |
| Website | www.fraba.com |
FRABA is a worldwide company founded in Germany.[1] The company manufactures products for fabrication and process automation and is specialized in sensor manufacturing, for example sensors which are used in windmills and heavy machinery. The company holds several patents of encoder innovation.[2] Until the 1960s, FRABA’s main product was mechanical relays. In 1963 the company started selling brush rotary encoders, leading to the development of the first optical rotary encoder in 1971 and the magnetic multi turn rotary encoder in 2007.
History
FRABA was founded by Franz Baumgartner in 1918 as the FRABA Fabrik elektr. Apparate GmbH. Until the 1960s,FRABA’s main product was the mechanical relay. In 1963 they started selling “brush” absolute encoders and in 1973, one of the first non-contact, optical absolute rotary encoders was produced in the FRABA offices in Cologne.
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1918 | FRABA Fabrik elektr. Apparate GmbH founded by Franz Baumgartner based on a patent for a "Petri Switch". |
| 1960 | The company diversifies with the first mobile dialysis system into medical systems. |
| 1963 | FRABA starts selling "brush" absolute rotary encoders. |
| 1968 | Baumgartner retires at the age of eighty, two nephews take over. FRABA employs 400 people now. |
| 1970 | FRABA sells its medical systems division to the Braun, Melsungen company. |
| 1973 | FRABA introduces one of the first optical absolute rotary encoders. |
| 1993 | Achim Leeser, Christian Leeser and Axel Wiemann take over the company. The new owners completely restructure the company into a group of three independent companies. (FRABA,VITECTOR and POSITAL). |
| 2000 | The first foreign subsidiary has been opened up in Princeton, New Jersey, USA. |
| 2007 | A new production plant, CONISTICS, opened in Poland. The Group also starts CENTITECH as an independent R&D Company. |
| 2009 | The first Asian subsidiary has been opened up in Singapore . |
| 2015 | The second Asian office has been opened up in Shanghai . |
See also
References
- ^ [1], Amtsgericht Köln HRB 2596.
- ^ "Google patent list". 2014.