The fischer group of companies looks back on a successful financial year 2016. With a gross turnover of 755 million Euro, the family business from Waldachtal in the northern Black Forest exceeded the previous year’s good figures (711 million Euro) by 44 million Euro (plus 6.2 percent). On a currency-adjusted basis the growth in turnover amounts to 58 million Euro (plus 8.2 percent), amounting to a total of 769 million Euro. The business divisions belonging to fischer – fischer fixing systems, fischer automotive systems, fischertechnik and fischer Consulting all achieved good turnover growth.
46 subsidiaries – further internationalization
The group of companies is continuing its internationalization strategy. At the beginning of 2016, a new subsidiary was created in the Philippines through an acquisition. fischer founded a further subsidiary in India in the second half of the year and can now boast 46 subsidiaries. The family business can thereby underline its sustainable internationalization strategy, which will be continued in the current financial year with the start of further subsidiaries.
Attractive employer – training ratio of nine percent
The group of companies employed approximately 4,600 members of staff at the end of last year. fischer again placed great importance on training in 2016. 103 apprentices and students from dual-education schools are currently employed by fischer. fischer offers apprenticeships for a total of 26 professions. 825 young people applied to 41 apprenticeship and dual study positions in the past financial year.
In 2016, a new Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) for business studies media and communications with dialogue and online marketing was added. In 2017, fischer will offer a machine and plant operator apprenticeship for the first time.
As well as apprenticeships, fischer has also focused on the further training of its employees. The Klaus Fischer BildungsZentrum, the company’s own general training facility, has recorded over 7,750 registrations for over 500 free events since its foundation in 2010.
Important awards received
The fact that fischer is one of the employers that gives its members of staff the best career opportunities was confirmed in a study by the magazine ‘Focus Money’ in 2016. The family business came second in the construction materials industry. Furthermore, fischer was honored as one of the top 500 family businesses in Germany by the Foundation for Family Businesses, for which a ten-year study on the economic significance of family business served as a basis. In 2016, the magazine ‘Wirtschaftswoche’ analyzed approximately 3,500 medium-sized companies from eight industries and evaluated their innovative behavior. The fischer group of companies came sixth in the overall ‘2016 Innovation Champions’ ranking.
fischer documents its sustainability
The fischer ProcessSystem guarantees a constant improvement of processes for all of fischer’s sustainability activities. These were documented in the first sustainability report of the group of companies, who were also involved as a partner of the Germany Sustainability Award in 2016. In addition, the German Federal Government prominently highlighted fischer in light of their high-tech strategy. The green anchors from fischer’s greenline range of products are one of ten selected projects of the future for the high-tech location that is Germany.
Outlook 2017: fischer continues to grow
fischer forecasts the turnover growth for the current financial year to be comparable to that of 2016. The 800 million Euro threshold is expected to be surpassed for the first time. fischer’s growth is characterized by consistency and profitability. This development will continue consistently.
This year fischer also continued its sustainable development of digitalization, e-commerce and industry 4.0. Start-up companies will continue to join the group of companies in the current financial year, as they did in the previous year.
The fischer Consulting business division is continuing its internationalization as part of its further expansion. New process consulting subsidiaries will therefore initiate their activities in Italy and China. Meanwhile, a new large plant for the fischer automotive systems business division will open in China in 2017 over a surface of 10,000 square meters. A production hall of 6,000 square meters for the fixing systems division will open in the Czech Republic.
The group of companies has also already received an award in 2017. The Company was listed as the “World Market Leader Champion 2017” in the “anchor and fixing systems” category in the new world market leader index by the renowned University of St. Gallen and the Academy of German World Market Leaders. The award highlights the outstanding position of the family business in the industry. The magazine ‘Focus’ awarded fischer as one of Germany’s best employers. The group of companies is thereby a “TOP national employer”.
