History Georg Fischer (Swiss company)

the fischer steelworks in mühlental near schaffhausen, around 1850

johann conrad fischer (1773 - 1854) laid cornerstones today s company in 1802 acquisition of mill in schaffhausen, transformed foundry. 1827 , 1833 followed acquisition of 2 steelworks in austria, opened johann conrad , son georg (1804-1888). after johann conrad s death in 1854, son georg inherited enterprise; , grandson, george ii (1834-1887) took on management of schaffhauser enterprise in 1856, had been closed after death of grandfather.

in 1861, company received name georg fischer schaffhausen georg ii. in 1864, aquired company father, , began production of fittings made of malleable cast iron , introduced first trademark product: stylized fish letters gf.

a health insurance staff established in 1867, , 1 year later construction , purchase of workers houses began in mühlental, dominated georg fischer. 1876, accident insurance put place @ georg fischer, , in 1880, 1 of first company restaurants in switzerland set in mühlental. death of george ii, in 1887, forced son george iii (1864-1955) give on studies take on management of company.

under georg iii, company overcame crisis triggered vienna stock market crash; on period of 9 years, workforce tripled 550 employees. in 1895, factory in german neighboring town of singen on hohentwiel opened branch enterprise of schaffhaus main works, in order avoid high german custom fees. in order meet increasing capital requirements, georg iii converted individual company «aktiengesellschaft der eisen- und stahlwerke von georg fischer» in 1896, led fischer family. turn of century, company had workforce of 1600 employees.

overcapacity in market led crisis in 1901. on board of directors there tensions between georg iii , banks representative, ernst homberger (1869-1955). because of pressure bank, georg iii forced out of company in 1902, , homberger took on head of company next 50 years.

locomotive ge 4/4 75 of former company-owned factory railway, traded on stretch network of streetcar schaffhausen, visible + gf + trademark

the first external sign of change introduction of new brand mark in 1903, current gf logo 2 crosses (+ gf +), symbolize cross-fittings.

the company acquired estate of former monastery paradies in schlatt in 1918. in 1919, gf took part in founding of iron mine gonzen ag; mine shut down again in 1966 , has since been preserved industrial monument. mechanical engineering began in 1926, first textile machines, , in 1938 production of lathes followed.

the homberger foundation founded in 1927 aim of supporting children of gf employees in vocational training. under homberger, britannia iron , steel works ltd. founded in 1933. in bedford , transferred gf subsidiary.

in 1947 company received name georg fischer aktiengesellschaft . stiftung eisenbibliothek founded in 1948, , library opened in 1952 in partially restored monastery paradies.

for first time, in 1957, plastic fittings manufactured @ singen plant, , processing of plastics became central business area. in 1964, first time, more half of sales generated abroad. george fischer plastics ltd. in english huntingdon opened in 1966 factory plastic fittings. in 1968 production of enameled cooking utensils , pouring pans discontinued.

in 1970, company first surpassed mark of 1 billion swiss francs in sales; following years marked expansion. swiss factory seewis, plastic fittings, opened in 1971. in 1972 company waeschle bought in german town of ravensburg, , in 1974 renovated monastery paradies opened own training center.

numerous restructurings carried out in 1980s. weaving machines (rüti maschinenfabrik) sold sulzer in 1982. between 1987 , 1991, activities of schaffhausen , singen locations reduced. singen became future location of steel foundry, while in schaffhausen business concentrated on plastic pipes. through this, end of traditional steel cast in schaffhauser mühlental on 1 november 1991.

the lathes production sold in 1989, , in 1990, company transformed holding company. 4 divisions of vehicle technology, pipeline systems, manufacturing technology , plant engineering implemented. other activities did not fit new structure sold or became independent.

already in 1983, 51% of ateliers des charmilles in geneva acquired , renamed charmilles technologies sa. company taken on gf in 1988 , made part of division of manufacturing engineering. electro erosions departement enlarged in 1996, through take on of majority shares in agie sa in losone, switzerland, , brought them under common roof @ newly founded agie charmilles holding ag in zug.

in 2000, plant engineering division became independent coperion holding gmbh, headquartered in konstanz. in 2004, new corporate design introduced, wherethe divisions received current names: automotive technology became gf automotive, piping systems became gf piping systems, , manufacturing technology became gf machine tools

the remaining shares in coperion sold in 2006 , restructuring of swiss sites of gf machine tools division announced. production of electro-erosion machines concentrated in losone , meyrin , part of production sold winterthur machine factory rieter. @ beginning of 2007, agie charmilles holding ag merged gf group, gf machine tools division became gf agiecharmilles division. on 1 january 2014, gf agiecharmilles renamed gf machining solutions. new name underlines profile of georg fischer single company 3 divisions.

on july 1, 2014, gf machining solutions acquired liechti engineering ag , thereby strengthened competence in aviation industry.

former subsidiaries
gf pipe coupling technology

founded in schaffhausen, switzerland in 1960, gf pipe coupling technology division focused on production of pipe , tube cutting, facing, , beveling machines high purity process piping. sales , management of division moved singen, germany in 1993. in 2006 georg fischer sold gf pipe coupling technology division illinois tool works inc. (itw), company renamed rohrverbindungstechnik gmbh orbitalum tools gmbh.