FRT GmbH located in Bergisch Gladbach looks back at 20 years of successful company history. FRT might be grown up; however, the company is far from being tired. FRT customers worldwide use the micro- and nanometer-accurate 3D surface measuring systems for quality assurance and production control in different industry sectors, such as medical technology, automotive industry, semiconductors, and packaging industry.
How it all started
On August 7, 1995, Fries Research & Technology GmbH (FRT) was founded in Bergisch Gladbach by Dr. Thomas Fries as service provider for surface analysis.
The team understood that surfaces would be increasingly important due to the miniaturization of components and structures compared to the volume material. As a result, the importance of surface measuring technology, in other words, the exact measurement of topography, profile, structure, and layer thickness, would increase as well.
"However, we quickly learned that a business model purely based on highly specialized contract measurements, does not offer many scaling possibilities. We had to meet the increasing demand of companies interested in measuring surfaces themselves, and thus requiring measuring systems. Well, and this is what we did!" says Dr. Thomas Fries, company founder and General Manager of FRT.
The benchmark for precision for 20 years
With the revolutionary development of the multi sensor technology and the construction of the first MicroGlider® surface measuring system, FRT starts in 1996 on a new and successful path.
The number of employees increases with this completely new orientation of the company with the three business units Services, Measuring Systems, and Process Control. Internationalization starts with distributors in the US and Japan. This is just one of many milestones in the development of FRT GMBH to a worldwide leader in the area of 3D surface measuring technology.
Today, FRT offers a complete product portfolio from laboratory equipment to fully automated production measuring systems acc. to Industry 4.0. The product lines are MicroSpy (tabletop systems), MicroProf (all-round multi sensor measuring systems), and MicroGlider
(measuring systems with air-bearing technology for highest demands), as well a powerful special equipment engineering department.
The company's flagship product is the MicroProf series. The MicroProf is a universal multi sensor measuring system that can be modularly adjusted to all measuring tasks. With MHU (material handling unit) and EFEM (wafer inspection), complete automated solutions are offered for test specimen measurement and handling. The products are supplemented by the in-house FRT Acquire Automation software for measurements and automation, and FRT Mark III for measurement analysis.
The development and distribution of in-house optical sensors as OEM products were established at FRT as latest business unit.
FRT has already received several awards for their innovative achievements. Among others, FRT was honored by the North Rhine- Westphalian Ministry of Economics within the framework of the "Germany at its best" campaign for their technology leadership in highprecision multi sensor surface measuring technology. The company also received the Industry Prize of the Medium-Sized Business Initiative, the IT Innovation Award, and many more.
Worldwide presence and competence
"Over the years, we have established a cross-industry customer base relying on our surface measuring systems and ultimately, on our knowhow. We measure our actions on the positive and trusting relationship with our customers," says Dr. Bastian Marheineke, second General Manager of FRT GmbH. What started in 1995 is today an internationally acting market leader.
Marheineke does not forget to highlight the importance of the company employees: "The success and business development of FRT would not have been possible without the enormous commitment and detailed knowhow of our employees".
How it all started
On August 7, 1995, Fries Research & Technology GmbH (FRT) was founded in Bergisch Gladbach by Dr. Thomas Fries as service provider for surface analysis.
The team understood that surfaces would be increasingly important due to the miniaturization of components and structures compared to the volume material. As a result, the importance of surface measuring technology, in other words, the exact measurement of topography, profile, structure, and layer thickness, would increase as well.
"However, we quickly learned that a business model purely based on highly specialized contract measurements, does not offer many scaling possibilities. We had to meet the increasing demand of companies interested in measuring surfaces themselves, and thus requiring measuring systems. Well, and this is what we did!" says Dr. Thomas Fries, company founder and General Manager of FRT.
The benchmark for precision for 20 years
With the revolutionary development of the multi sensor technology and the construction of the first MicroGlider® surface measuring system, FRT starts in 1996 on a new and successful path.
The number of employees increases with this completely new orientation of the company with the three business units Services, Measuring Systems, and Process Control. Internationalization starts with distributors in the US and Japan. This is just one of many milestones in the development of FRT GMBH to a worldwide leader in the area of 3D surface measuring technology.
Today, FRT offers a complete product portfolio from laboratory equipment to fully automated production measuring systems acc. to Industry 4.0. The product lines are MicroSpy (tabletop systems), MicroProf (all-round multi sensor measuring systems), and MicroGlider
(measuring systems with air-bearing technology for highest demands), as well a powerful special equipment engineering department.
The company's flagship product is the MicroProf series. The MicroProf is a universal multi sensor measuring system that can be modularly adjusted to all measuring tasks. With MHU (material handling unit) and EFEM (wafer inspection), complete automated solutions are offered for test specimen measurement and handling. The products are supplemented by the in-house FRT Acquire Automation software for measurements and automation, and FRT Mark III for measurement analysis.
The development and distribution of in-house optical sensors as OEM products were established at FRT as latest business unit.
FRT has already received several awards for their innovative achievements. Among others, FRT was honored by the North Rhine- Westphalian Ministry of Economics within the framework of the "Germany at its best" campaign for their technology leadership in highprecision multi sensor surface measuring technology. The company also received the Industry Prize of the Medium-Sized Business Initiative, the IT Innovation Award, and many more.
Worldwide presence and competence
"Over the years, we have established a cross-industry customer base relying on our surface measuring systems and ultimately, on our knowhow. We measure our actions on the positive and trusting relationship with our customers," says Dr. Bastian Marheineke, second General Manager of FRT GmbH. What started in 1995 is today an internationally acting market leader.
Marheineke does not forget to highlight the importance of the company employees: "The success and business development of FRT would not have been possible without the enormous commitment and detailed knowhow of our employees".
