Green Night

As a fitting final, a big anniversary celebration was held at the headquarters in Fulda on 8 November. More than 1,700 guests, including employees, former colleagues, business partners and representatives from international locations, gathered for an unforgettable ‘Green Night’ in Fulda to celebrate the 50th anniversary and toast the company's successes.

Tristan Pfurr, CEO of FFT Produktionssysteme, opened the evening with a heartfelt speech in which he thanked the employees for their tireless efforts. ‘This evening is for you,’ said Pfurr, who welcomed not only the employees on site, but also former colleagues who had retired. He also welcomed guests from the international FFT locations, including Mexico and Spain. The CEO particularly emphasised the importance of internationalisation as a success factor: ‘You are all the heart of FFT’.

Lord Mayor Dr Heiko Wingenfeld was impressed by the history and development of the company and emphasised that FFT impressively demonstrates how tradition and innovation can be combined in Fulda. He praised the company's courage to keep breaking new ground and emphasised the close ties between the city of Fulda and FFT: ‘Fulda stands firmly by the side of FFT,’ said Wingenfeld. District Administrator Bernd Woide also emphasised the importance of regionality for the company's success and announced that the district would continue to create good framework conditions to support FFT in the long term.

Dr Christian Gebhardt, President of the IHK Fulda, emphasised the importance of international cooperation and called FFT an ‘important training company’. Edwin Zhang, Chairman of Easun Technology, expressed his thanks for the excellent partnership and emphasised FFT's successful expansion into new markets since 2019.

The former Managing Directors of FFT, Peter Walper and Manfred Hahl, were honoured for their special services and presented with a robot as a gift. Video messages from Willam Tang, Head of Intelligent Manufacturing at Fosun, and Guangchang Guo, Chairman of the Fosun Group, rounded off the celebrations.

FFT was founded in 1974 by Horst Eckard, Bruno Frey and Gerhard Faust under the name ‘Faust Fertigungstechnik’ in Mücke (Vogelsberg district). Initially, the focus was on welding systems and mechanisation systems for the automotive industry. Over the years, the company expanded its portfolio and built increasingly complex production systems for the automotive and aviation industries. With its growing success and the associated capacity requirements, FFT relocated its headquarters to Fulda in 2000. The capacities in Mücke had already become scarce, and major international orders contributed to the company's growth.

In 2003, the company was renamed ‘FFT EDAG Produktionssysteme GmbH & Co. KG’ and the takeover by EDAG AG. In 2014, the name was finally changed to ‘FFT Produktionssysteme GmbH & Co. KG’ and the company doubled its employee capacity. The expansion of the portfolio to include the aviation industry and the first human-robot collaboration in the automotive industry emphasised FFT's innovative strength.

In 2018, the company was acquired by the Chinese conglomerate Fosun International, which gave the company new growth impetus and access to international markets. Under the Fosun umbrella, FFT has not only driven forward automation, but has also placed a clear focus on sustainability and electromobility.

The anniversary also included a look into the future. CEO Tristan Pfurr and Chairman Edwin Zhang emphasised FFT's technological focus on the coming decades. As part of its transformation, the company has focussed in particular on the development and implementation of production systems in the field of electromobility. FFT's systems are designed to enable intelligent production with maximum efficiency while promoting sustainability.

Today, FFT employs more than 2,900 people worldwide. Geographic expansion and success in international markets confirm the company's strategic orientation. Mücke's view of the world is characterised not only by courage and confidence, but also by the expertise and innovative strength developed in Fulda.

After the official speeches, the guests were treated to an international buffet and entertainment by comedian Franz Habersack and the live band Mambo Kingx. The evening was hosted by Shaggy Schwarz.

The 50th anniversary of FFT Produktionssysteme stands not only for the impressive development of the company, but also for the outstanding importance of innovation, internationalisation and partnerships in today's globalised economy.