Georg Fischer - History

History

Continuity and change

The more than 200-year history of the industrial corporation Georg Fischer impressively illustrates the constant change that a company has to confront if it is to remain successful over the long run. There are periods of significant, often painful changes that are marked by a determination to renew the organization. This determination is also reflected in the process of constant improvement in the Corporation's core competencies.

We invite you to take a trip back into time. Click on a decade on the time scale and discover the key milestones in the history of Georg Fischer.

1802

Laying the foundations in Schaffhausen
On 3 June 1802, the 29-year old Johann Conrad Fischer (1773 - 1854) bought a water-driven mill in the Mühlental valley near Schaffhausen (Switzerland). He used the mill as a copper smelting plant and works for developing new alloys.

1805

First cast steel
Johann Conrad Fischer was probably the first person in continental Europe to manufacture cast steel successfully in crucibles. The quality of the ensuring product was on a par with that of "Huntsman steel" in England.

1814

State guest: Czar Alexander I of Russia
Johann Conrad Fischer's excellent reputation prompted the Russian Czar, Alexander I (1777 - 1825) to visit the Schaffhausen metallurgist's works on a trip to Switzerland.

1827

Expansion I
Johann Conrad Fischer and his son Georg Fischer I (1804 - 1888), founded the Hainfeld steelworks in Austria, where Johann Conrad Fischer also had all his inventions patented.

1833

Expansion II
The Traisen steelworks was also founded in Austria. Berthold Fischer (1807 - 1879), took over management of the Traisen works.

1845

Licensing out
Johann Conrad Fischer developed cast steel moulds and licensed them out.

In the same year the company founder moulded castings from steel for the first time.

1854

Death of the founder
Johann Conrad Fischer, the founder of the company, died in this year. His son, Georg Fischer I, inherited the factories in Schaffhausen (Switzerland) and passed them on to his 23-year-old son Georg Fischer II. In 1856 the grandson took over management of the company and reorganized the factories.

1864

Start of production of malleable cast iron fittings
Georg Fischer II (1834 - 1887), son of Georg Fischer I and grandson of Johann Conrad Fischer, acquired the Schaffhausen works. In 1864, he was the first in Europe to begin the commercial manufacture of malleable cast iron fittings (cast pipe connectors).

1865

Early marketing
The first fittings brochure, containing 91 different items for the gas lighting sector, was published in this year.

1867

Foundation of sickness fund for employees
Georg Fischer I founded a sickness fund for his employees. In 1897 the Fund joined the "Association of Swiss Sickness Funds". In 1907, at the initiative of the then Managing Director, Ernst Homberger, the Family Insurance Plan was created. The national regulations governing health insurance plans came into effect in 1914.

1868

Construction of the first accommodation for employees
Construction of the first living quarters for employees and purchase of several other residential buildings. This was the starting point for the company’s generous policy regarding employee accommodation.

1876

Accident insurance for employees
Georg Fischer I concluded a private accident insurance contract for his employees.

1877

Industrial production
In 1877, Georg Fischer II started the industrial-scale production of cast steel – a process invented by Johann Conrad Fischer in 1845.

1880

Canteen
In the Mühlental Valley (Switzerland) the first company canteen is established. This was an early sign of the founding family's sense of responsibility for its employees.

Start of production of the Rauschenbach wood-working machines.

1888

Steel casting
Cast steel is produced for the first time in Switzerland.

1895

Plant opened in Singen
Georg Fischer III (1864 - 1925) started up a fittings factory in the German town of Singen in 1895. The factory was operated as a branch of the main works in nearby Schaffhausen. At the same time, the first company-owned residential colony was built in Singen.

1896

Conversion into a joint-stock company
The growing need for capital prompted Georg Fischer III to convert the private company into the "Aktiengesellschaft der Eisen- und Stahlwerke von Georg Fischer" ("joint stock company of the iron and steelworks of Georg Fischer").

1898

Old-age pension for employees
Georg Fischer II created the company's old-age pension. At the time, it credited every employee that had worked for the company for more than five years a sum of money from profits to be accumulated every year on a company savings book. Georg Fischer II supported the creation of a works committee whose task was to strengthen relations between management and the workers.

1902

Ernst Homberger takes the helm
Ernst Homberger (1869 - 1955) took over management of the company that he was to shape for the next 50 years. His appointment completed Georg Fischer's transition from a family firm to a commercially run enterprise.

1903

Trademark officially registered
The new GF trademark, with its characteristic crosses representing stylized fittings, was officially registered.

1906-1912

Construction of the first company-owned accommodation
The first company-owned residential colony was built in the 'Hintere Breite' neighbourhood of Schaffhausen.

1918

Acquisition of Klostergut Paradies
To ensure access to food supplies for its own staff, in 1918 Georg Fischer bought two farm estates, including the one belonging to the former Clarissan convent Paradies at Schlatt, near Schaffhausen, which had been closed in 1836. Apprentice training was institutionalized through the founding of the Corporation's own works school.

1919

Founding of Eisenbergwerk Gonzen AG
The Gonzen AG iron ore mine was founded, in which Georg Fischer AG was a part owner. Although mining of iron ore ceased in 1996, Georg Fischer still has a commitment to this industrial monument.

1921

Rauschenbach: GF's involvement in mechanical engineering
With the acquisition of a majority stake in the "Maschinenfabrik Rauschenbach AG" engineering works in Schaffhausen, Georg Fischer entered the engineering and grey cast iron sectors.

1925

Establishment of a company welfare office
A company welfare office was established in order to assist all employees in their professional and private problems and concerns.

1926

Production of textile machinery started
The production of machinery for weaving loom automation (1926), and the start of mass lathe production (1938) marked the beginnings of GF AgieCharmilles.

1927

Ernst Homberger Foundation initiated
The Ernst Homberger Foundation was established with the goal of giving vocational training to the sons and daughters of company employees.

1933

Acquisition of Britannia Iron and Steel Works Ltd.
Georg Fischer bought "Britannia Iron and Steel Works Ltd." of Bedford (England) and began to produce malleable cast iron fittings in Britain.

1935

Development of an accident prevention service
This year saw the establishment of an accident prevention service in order to minimize hazards in production, install protective equipment and educate the workforce.

1936

Marketing of Trilex wheel system
After an extensive development phase, the TRILEX wheel system for goods vehicles was launched on the market.

1939-1945

Second World War
With its plants in Switzerland, Germany and England, Georg Fischer encountered enormous challenges during the Second World War. The historian Hans Ulrich Wipf produced a study of the period in 2001.

1941

Recreation home I
A recreation home for company employees was established in Mogelsberg, in Switzerland's Toggenburg region.

1944

Recreation home II
The Collinetta recreation and holiday home was established for company employees in Ascona in the canton of Ticino, Switzerland.

1947

New name
The company shortened its name to "Georg Fischer Aktiengesellschaft".

1948

Establishment of the Eisenbibliothek Foundation
Georg Fischer founded the Eisenbibliothek iron library as a foundation of Georg Fischer AG. The library was opened in the restored west wing of the Paradies estate on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of Georg Fischer in 1952.

1952

150th anniversary
Georg Fischer held an enormous gala on the Herrenacker in Schaffhausen to celebrate its first 150 years in business and in the same year successfully began to develop and manufacture fully automatic casting and moulding systems using the Bührer system.

1957

Start of production of plastic piping systems
After four years of research, the first production site for PVC and PE fittings went on stream in Singen (Germany).

1963

PVC adhesive Tangit
Working at Georg Fischer, Rudolf Merz developed the PVC adhesive Tangit, which has been made by Henkel since 1964.

1964

GF global
Georg Fischer generated more than half of its sales outside Switzerland for the first time.

1968

Last kitchenware leaves plant
Manufacture of enamelled Georg Fischer kitchenware and cast iron cooking pots ceased.

1970

Record sales
Consolidated sales exceeded CHF 1 billion for the first time.

1971

Seewis plant starts production
The magnesium converter process, developed by Anton Alt (1936 - 1994), was patented in 1971. The same year saw the inauguration of the plant for plastic fittings in Seewis, Switzerland.

1972

Waeschle joins the Corporation
Georg Fischer acquired the Ravensburg (Germany)-based company Waeschle, the global market leader in handling systems for powders and granulates.

1974

A journey to paradise
Georg Fischer opened its training centre in the former Clarissan convent Paradies near Schaffhausen.

1976

Foundation of Georg Fischer Inc., Tustin
Georg Fischer Inc. was established in Tustin, California (USA) as the North, Central and South American sales company for the entire piping systems range.

1979

Expansion
The Arabian Plastic Manufacturing Company APLACO, set up by Georg Fischer, opened in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia). In the same year, Georg Fischer also acquired Buss AG in Basel, Switzerland, which specializes in chemical process technology and mixing and kneading technology. Georg Fischer also embarked upon the stage-by-stage acquisition of an iron foundry in Lincoln (England) which belonged to Ley's Foundries & Engineering Ltd.

1981

Corporate Policy
The Georg Fischer Corporation set out its Corporate Policy.

1982

Georg Fischer Plant Engineering
After thirteen eventful years, the Rüti engineering works' power loom business was sold to Sulzer. The Buss Group, the precursor of Georg Fischer Plant Engineering (later known as Coperion) was made up of Buss, Waeschle and other companies since divested that were active in the areas of logistics systems (OWL), centrifuges (Heine) and food (Mator).

1983

Charmilles Technologies
Georg Fischer acquired 51% of the shares of the electric discharge machining division of Ateliers des Charmilles in Geneva (Switzerland). The operation was renamed Charmilles Technologies SA, and the remaining shares were acquired by Georg Fischer in 1988.

1987-1991

Structural project
Under the auspices of the CHF 250 million Schaffhausen-Singen structural project, foundry operations were centralized in Singen (Germany), while plastic piping systems were concentrated at Schaffhausen (Switzerland). At the same time, the Corporation's properties were systematically refurbished, assigned new uses or sold. GF Piping Systems, the distribution centre, plastic products plant and a modern testing laboratory were all set up in Schaffhausen.

1989

Divestment
The once-prestigious lathe business was sold.

1990

Focus
Georg Fischer AG was restructured into a holding company, and the industrial operations at headquarters were made legally autonomous. Hand in hand with the strategic focus on the core activities of automotive products (now GF Automotive), piping systems (now GF Piping Systems), manufacturing technology (now GF AgieCharmilles) and plant engineering (subsequently Coperion) went the sale or spin-off of many of the Corporation's traditional second-string operations such as electrical fittings, wear parts, rail traffic engineering, and locking systems.

1991

Mühlental
After 114 years of steel casting, Georg Fischer announced the closure of the long-established steel foundry in Schaffhausen. The last day of operation was 1 November 1991.

1992

Sustainability
With the signing of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Charter, Georg Fischer committed itself to sustainability.

1995

New location in Leipzig
Georg Fischer bought the Leipzig (Germany) foundry Schubert & Salzer Eisenguss GmbH, a manufacturer of components for heavy goods vehicles and construction plant. The Corporation's Environmental Management System was launched and developed.

1996

Growth I
Georg Fischer acquired a majority stake in the Losone (Switzerland)-based listed manufacturer of electric discharge machines (EDM) Agie SA, founded in 1954. The two well-known brands of market leaders AGIE and Charmilles Technologies were retained and combined with all the other companies in what was then the Manufacturing Technology Corporate Group (now GF AgieCharmilles) under the common umbrella of Agie Charmilles Holding AG, a listed company headquartered in Zug.

Georg Fischer also joined forces with the Danish firm DISA (Dansk Industrie Syndikat) to create the 50:50 joint venture Georg Fischer Disa in the field of foundry plant engineering.

The takeover of the R&G Sloane Manufacturing Company in Little Rock (USA) and the foundation of George Fischer Sloane Inc. gave Georg Fischer its own North American production site for plastic fittings and pipes for the first time.

1998

First environmental management system
The Singen and Leipzig foundries, both in Germany, were awarded the coveted environmental prize from the CIATF (Comité international des associations techniques de fonderie). Alongside the foundries in Mettmann (Germany), Lincoln (England) and Herzogenburg (Austria), Singen and Leipzig are among the first ten foundries worldwide to introduce a certified environmental management system.

The two joint ventures set up by Agie (1991) and Charmilles (1995) to manufacture EDM machines in China resulted in the foundation of the Beijing-based Agie Charmilles Industrial Electronics Ltd. In 1999 the company began to produce low-cost entry-level EDM machinery under the new Actspark name. The plant was awarded ISO 14001 environmental accreditation in 2001.

1999

Growth II
GF Automotive quadrupled its light metal (aluminium and magnesium) casting capacity with the acquisition of the German companies mb-Guss (Friedrichshafen) and the Mössner Group (Munich).

2000

Change
The year 2000 saw the publication of the Georg Fischer Corporation's first environmental report.

Coperion Holding GmbH, headquartered in Konstanz (Germany), was created from the merger of the two Georg Fischer companies Buss and Waeschle with the Stuttgart-based Krupp Werner & Pfleiderer. The newly formed company is the market and technological leader in plastics processing.

GF Piping Systems acquired the Sydney (Australia)-based Industrial Pipe Systems Company (IPS), which was active in the gas and water supply segments in Australia and China. As part of the deal, Georg Fischer also acquired from IPS a 50% stake in Chinaust, a 50:50 joint venture set up in 1987 with the Chinese Lingyun Group.

GF AgieCharmilles acquired the high-speed milling (HSM) division of the Mikron Technology Group of Nidau (Switzerland). This move reinforced its leading position in the tool and mould-making sector.

Georg Fischer exited the foundry plant engineering business and sold its stake to DISA.

2001

System 3R
GF AgieCharmilles took over System 3R in Stockholm (Sweden). System 3R is a leading global provider of tooling and automation systems.

GF Automotive received its biggest-ever single order, worth 470 million Swiss francs, from Peugeot/Citroen.

2002

200th anniversary celebrations
Georg Fischer celebrated its bicentenary with a series of local festivities around the world. At the Corporation's headquarters in Schaffhausen (Switzerland), the highlights were an exhibition on the history of Georg Fischer and the bicentenary gala in the former steel foundry.

The shareholders of Georg Fischer AG waived their bicentenary dividend, opting instead to create a bicentenary foundation, "Community Benefit". This kicked off the highly praised "Clean Water" project, with which GF aims to help bring clean drinking water to people all over the world.

GF AgieCharmilles purchased Step Tec AG in Luterbach (Switzerland), which develops and manufactures motor spindles for machine tools.

GF Piping Systems announced the foundation of a production joint venture with Simona AG in Kirn (Germany) to manufacture pipes and mould parts from fluorine plastics.

2003

Structural programme
Georg Fischer launched a comprehensive structural programme to increase its earnings power and reduce net debt. The three Corporate Groups were streamlined, involving a reduction in the number of production sites in Europe and the disposal of activities and shareholdings which were not part of the core business. The programme resulted in the loss of around 1,000 jobs. The structural programme resulted in the divestment of the foundries in Bedford (UK), Bitterfeld (Germany), Apc (Hungary) and Lincoln (UK) and the closure of the plants producing plastic products in Genua (Italy) and Huntingdon (UK). The service companies at the Schaffhausen site that had been spun off in 1994 were also sold.

2004

Strong brand
The Corporation launched a revamped brand policy and an attractive new corporate design. The emphasis was on strengthening the GF trademark. Meanwhile, the motto "Adding Quality to People's Lives" – applied to the three specific areas of mobility, comfort and precision – became part of corporate communications. At the same time, the three Corporate Groups were given the names: GF Automotive (formerly Automotive Products), GF Piping Systems (formerly Piping Systems) and GF Machine Tools (today GF AgieCharmilles).

As part of the "EDM Futura" project, GF AgieCharmilles presented the first die-sinking EDM based on the new platform for electric discharge machines.

Georg Fischer won an award from the International Chamber of Commerce ICC for its bicentenary foundation's Clean Water project.

First Sustainability Report as part of the Annual Report.

2005

Light metal foundry in China
GF Automotive opened a die casting foundry in the Suzhou Industrial Park (China), around 100 km west of Shanghai.
GF Piping Systems opened a new training centre in Schaffhausen. GF Automotive announced the closure of the die-casting foundry in Munich. Production will be relocated to existing die-casting foundries in Germany and Austria.

2006

Corporate Headquarters in China
The CEO's delegate in China represents the Corporation's interests in finance, legal and human resources issues.

Georg Fischer sold its remaining shares in Coperion to West Private Equity. The sale marked the end of Georg Fischer's plant engineering activities.

GF AgieCharmilles announced that it would concentrate its manufacturing activities in Switzerland. Mikron set up a new production site for high-speed milling machines in Schaffhausen. Meanwhile, the manufacture of EDMs in Switzerland was concentrated at the plants in Losone and Meyrin. The mechanical manufacturing activities of Charmilles Technologies Maschinenbau AG, Schaffhausen, were sold as of mid-2006 to the Winterthur (Switzerland)-based engineering company Rieter AG.

The first Sustainability Report was published, summarizing Georg Fischer's commitments to the environment, its employees and society in general.

2007

GF AgieCharmilles founded a company for the worldwide replacement, parts and service
business and centralized its installed base business for the brands Agie, Charmilles and Mikron at the logistics hub in Geneva.

GF Piping Systems opened a sales company in Mexico.

The sales companies of the Agie, Charmilles and Mikron brand domiciled in Switzerland were merged into Agie Charmilles Sales Ltd, Losone. In mid-year the sales companies in Germany were also merged.

Good figures for the 2006 business year: for the first time sales topped 4 billion Swiss francs (CHF 4.05 billion).EBIT reached CHF 327 million, corresponding to an EBIT margin of 8.1%.

Georg Fischer announced it would build an iron foundry in China. The investment for the plant in Kunshan is expected to come to around CHF 50 million. The plant is to be commissioned in spring 2009.

GF Automotive was awarded the "Volkswagen Group Award 2007" as one of the 25 best
Volkswagen suppliers.

The Industry/Utilities segment of GF Piping Systems was restructured. A Technology Centre for the development of materials and jointing and production technology was established.

2008

Reorganization at GF AgieCharmilles
Three distinct Technology Units – Wire-cutting, Die-sinking and Milling – were created and allocated to the various GF sites in Switzerland.

Georg Fischer responds to changed economic conditions
The international financial crisis and the worldwide economic slowdown have had a major impact on the automotive industry and on the machine tool sector.

GF Piping Systems invests in Schaffhausen
Extension of the distribution centre and capacity expansion in the production plant for plastic products

Georg Fischer to sell Verkehrstechnik
Georg Fischer AG & Co in Singen is to sell all the ahres in Georg Fischer Verkehrtechnik GmbH, Singen (Germany) to the SAF-Holland S.A. (Luxemburg).

Georg Fischer strengthens its position in building technology
GF to acquire JRG Gunzenhausen AG, a leading Swiss manufacturer of domestic and heating-water supply systems.

Georg Fischer strengthens position in Canada
Acquisition of Alfa Plastics Inc., Toronto

Georg Fischer reports strong growth, profit at prior-year level
In 2007, Georg Fischer reported sales of CHF 4.50 billion. This marks an 11 percent increase.

Georg Fischer acquires market leader in the USA
GF to acquire Central Plastics, the North American market leader in supplying piping systems to gas and water utilities.

2009

Georg Fischer opens factory in India
GF Piping Systems, a Corporate Group of Georg Fischer AG, today inaugurated its new production facility in Ratnagiri, India.

Austrian Economics Minister gives "Coat of Arms" Prize for exemplary training
The GF Piping Systems fittings foundry in Traisen won an award for its exemplary traning of apprentices.

Important step in the Georg Fischer structural programme
With global demand for machine tools continuing to slump by over 50 percent, there is no let-up in the impact on the business of GF AgieCharmilles.

Georg Fischer Haustechnik AG, Schaffhausen, merged with Georg Fischer JRG AG, Sissach
GF Piping Systems merged its Swiss building technology operations in a single company.

Georg Fischer battles the crisis and braces itself for the future
Georg Fischer has been heavily affected by the present economic crisis. In addition to the measures already taken GF has therefore launched a broad-based structural programme in order to effectively cut the Corporation's total costs.

Production officialy launched at the Kunshan iron Foundry
On May 15, the Kunshan iron foundry started up its regular production.

Recession hits Georg Fischer – measures taken
At Georg Fischer, negative currency effects, volatile raw material prices and the slump in the fourth quarter caused both growth and earnings to decline sharply in the past business year.

GF AgieCharmilles responds to changed economic conditions
Focusing production sites. Rightsizing. Job cuts

2010

GF AgieCharmilles sells production building in Geneva
GF AgieCharmilles has concentrated its manufacturing of electric discharge machines (EDM) in Losone (Ticino). The former production building in Meyrin (Geneva) has now been sold to Westcore Europe.

GF Piping Systems wins an international award for environmentally friendly algae bioreactors in special pipes
The Gold SolVin Award 2010 goes to GF Piping Systems. The Corporate Group, which is part of Georg Fischer Ltd, received this international innovation prize for its newly developed piping system made of translucent plastic.

Georg Fischer presents technologies for the markets of the future
Georg Fischer has maintained the fast pace of innovation in recent years despite the economic slump. The Corporation took advantage of unavoidable structural adjustments to align its research and development work more closely to its new markets.

Georg Fischer helps flood victims in Pakistan
The Clean Water Foundation of Georg Fischer donated 50,000 dollars in emergency aid for the flood victims in Pakistan.

GF Automotive wins award for its showcase environmental project
The GF Automotive foundries in Singen won the 2010 Master Energy Award for their innovative energy management.

2011

Georg Fischer acquires US market leader in industrial piping systems
Georg Fischer announced that it has agreed to acquire Harvel Plastics Inc., the US market leader for industrial plastic pipes.

Georg Fischer grants iron alloy license to Grede Holdings – Geographical partnership also agreed upon
Georg Fischer and the US-based metal components supplier Grede Holdings LLC have signed a license and partnership agreement by which Georg Fischer grants Grede a license to use the successful SiboDur® alloy in the US.

Georg Fischer website achieves another top ranking
Georg Fischer is rated among the top companies in sustainability rankings.

Georg Fischer pursues its fast expansion in China
Georg Fischer continues to expand at a fast pace in the Chinese market. The company is this week inaugurating two new plants, bringing its total to 14 production companies in the country.

A strong rebound in sales and profitability
Georg Fischer emerged stronger from the economic downturn and capitalized in 2010 on the worldwide economic recovery.

2012

Shareholders of Georg Fischer Ltd approve all Board proposals and elect two new members to the Board
At the 116th Annual General Meeting of Georg Fischer Ltd on 21 March 2012, the shareholders voted in favor of all the proposals of the Board of Directors. Isabelle Welton and Roger Michaelis were elected as new members of the Board. After many years of service, Board Chairman Martin Huber handed over his office to Andreas Koopmann.

Performance substantially improved despite headwinds
Opportunities seized, challenges mastered, strategy implementation on track: thanks to its global presence and leading market positions, Georg Fischer increased both top and bottom lines considerably.

GF AgieCharmilles wins major order in China
GF AgieCharmilles received the biggest single order in its history from well-known Chinese manufacturer of components for electronic devices.