Portrait

WE ARE PRODUCTION OPTIMIZERS

▪ Since our founding in 1974, we have been characterized by dynamism, solidity, global presence and the constant pursuit of technological leadership.

▪ As a leading global supplier of innovative, flexible and highly complex manufacturing systems, we are also a specialist in development, design and implementation. Providing Turn-Key Solutions we gladly take responsibility for complete projects.

▪ We run projects worldwide with customers in automotive, aerospace and also other sectors.

▪ With over 2,600 employees, we have the capacity and expertise to provide excellent solutions. Knowing that this performance is based on our competent and highly motivated teams, we do our utmost to consolidate and develop our most important potential.

Important company indicators

Total performance in 2023

812,0 Mio. EUR

Employees in 2023

2991

Total Performance(IFRS)

Employee development

History

DEVELOPMENT OF THE COMPANY

The pleating machine factory Rabofsky, which was based in West Berlin, established an additional subsidary in Mücke in the municipality of Merlau in West Germany as backup during the Berlin crisis. The founders and owners of the branch were Mr. Grabowski and Mr. Bock. This branch of the Berlin parent company produced machines for the textile industry from 1961 to 1974.

Year 1974 Foundation of Faust Fertigungstechnik in Mücke by Horst Eckard, Bruno Frey and Gerhard Faust.
Year 1978 New construction of the assembly hall in Mücke with a size of 1,000 m².
Year 1981 Expansion of the production and assembly areas in Mücke by another 500 m².

Patenting of the first automatic system for the positioning and bonding of panels on the body in 1981. This development is the basis of today's fully automated window installation.

Year 1984 New construction of a second assembly hall with 1,000 m² and opening of the office building in Mücke with 2,000 m².
Year 1987 Renaming to Flexible Fertigungstechnik GmbH & Co. KG.
Year 1989 Opening of a sales office in England.
Year 1989 New construction of the third assembly hall in Mücke with 3,000 m² with technical office and social rooms with 2.000 m².

Entry into flexible automobile production with the use of robot handling systems instead of shuttle systems.

Year 1990 Foundation of branch Schmalkalden in Thuringia with focus on component manufacturing and procurement.
Year 1990 Opening of a sales office in Niederzissen.
Year 1990 Opening of a sales and service center in France.
Year 1995 New construction of the assembly hall in Schmalkalden with 1,500m².
Year 1996 Foundation of a branch in Cologne.
Year 1997 Foundation of FFT Mexico in Puebla with own production.
Year 1997 New construction of a second assembly hall with 2,100m² in Schmalkalden.
Year 1998 Foundation of FFT Spain in Silla, Valencia.

Expansion of the production and assembly area in 2001 by opening a new hall with10,000 m² and an office building with 4,300 m² in the industrial estate Fulda West.

Year 2001 Expansion of sales activities to Brazil, in cooperation with EDAG.
Year 2003 Renaming in FFT EDAG Production Systems GmbH & Co. KG. The headquarters moves from Mücke to Fulda-West.
Year 2004 Acquisition of FFT by EDAG.
Year 2005 Foundation of FFT Romania in Campulung.
Year 2008 Implementation of Mücke close to the FFT.
Year 2012 Foundation of the FFT USA in Greer, Spartanburg.
Year 2012 Foundation of FFT China.
Year 2012 Takeover of the Vocational Training Center BBZ in Fulda.
Year 2012 Extruding of FFT from the company structure of EDAG and thus development to a fully-fledged subsidiary of the Aton.
Year 2014 Participation in the company EDAG W + K with 51%.
Year 2014 Acquisition of EKS InTec GmbH from Weingarten.
Year 2014 Foundation of the branch in Bremen.
Year 2015 Opening of a project office in Everett, USA with focus on the aerospace industry.

Commissioning of the world's first flexible lightweight roaming system under the name "FFT Smart Body Production" in 2016.

Year 2016 Foundation of FFT Poland in Poznan and Katowice.
Year 2016 Acquisition of Ciratec in Belgium 100%

Realization of the first human-robot collaboration in a body-in-white production line in 2016.

Year 2017 Strengthening FFT's presence in Bosnia by founding Ciratec Bosnia.
Year 2017 Expansion of the hall in Fulda-West with an additional hall aisle.
Year 2018 New construction of an additional assembly hall in Schmalkalden.
Year 2019 Sale of FFT to the Fosun Group. FFT becomes fully part of the Fosun International Limit network.
Year 2020 Strategic realignment with implementation of proprietary products and digital services in the business model.
Year 2020 Laying of the foundation stone for the new company building in Shanghai
Year 2021 Establishment of FFT Products GmbH
Year 2022 Foundation of an NL in Chengdu
Year 2022 Acquisition of FeRe by EASUN as a strategic partnership
Year 2022 Opening of our new show area