For over 40 years Honorary Professor Honorary Senator mult. Dipl.-Ing. (FH) Klaus Fischer has stood at the head of the fischer Group of Companies. Under his management, fischer developed from a medium-sized company with a strong focus on Germany and plastic plugs to a globally-active company. fischer was expanded to become the European market leader in fastening technology and the world market leader for anchors – with a constantly growing range of products. Strong competence was built up in chemical fixings and steel anchors through the acquisition of the major competitors in Germany, Upat GmbH & Co. (Emmendingen), and ROCCA Bauchemie GmbH + Co. (Denzlingen). Prof. Klaus Fischer has also consistently driven internationalisation by founding and purchasing subsidiaries and further expanding production sites in Europe, Asia and America. By taking on the new divisions of fischer Automotive (high quality vehicle interiors) and fischer Consulting (process consultation) he has expanded the commercial base of the Group of Companies.

In 1987 Prof. Klaus Fischer introduced the fischer philosophy which defines the company’s aim and its values which are binding for all those employed by the company: innovative, responsible, respectable. He identified the need for new organisational structures and management methods early on. He developed his own philosophy for the improvement of all company processes and the elimination of waste (fischer ProcessSystem) according to the Japanese Kaizen ideas (continuous improvement). In 2007 Prof. Klaus Fischer received the Federal Cross of Merit 1st Class for his dedication to in-house and external apprenticeships and further training programmes.

The fischer name and brand stands for plugs and construction kits, but also for components for car interiors, process consulting and electronic systems. “Innovative solutions” reflects the claim by the people working worldwide for the fischer Group of Companies to offer its customers the best solutions and the best products. A wealth of initiatives in education, health and community affairs sets standards in the personal development of co-workers and future generations. While the company meanwhile generates about 75 percent of its sales outside Germany, the Fischer family and many people working for fischer feel that their roots are back home in the Black Forest and that this identity constitutes the groundwork for worldwide growth and innovative solutions.

Inspiring people, creating space for responsible and entrepreneurial thinking and actions, and to give people the values and tools to accomplish the best: these are the key factors for the success of the family-owned enterprise headquartered in Waldachtal-Tumlingen, about 40 miles southwest of Stuttgart in the northern Black Forest. Prof. Klaus Fischer is the owner, chairman of the Holding and chairman of the advisory board of the company founded in 1948. Marc-Sven Mengis is the Chief Executive Officer for the Group of Companies.

As far back as 1987, the company developed its corporate values together with its people and consolidated these values in the fischer philosophy. It defines the corporate targets and values of the fischer Group of Companies which hold unchanged throughout the enterprise to this day: Innovation, accountability, reliability. The group operates globally with a result-oriented approach for the benefit of customers and users. The focus is on avoiding waste and enhancing value creation.

The fischer ProcessSystem eventually evolved from the fischer philosophy, Japan‘s kaizen philosophy, and the awareness that continuous improvement is the key to success. “Staying open-minded for all things new, being ready for changes and remaining adaptable and fast-responding, these are the essentials for a successful future”, says Prof. Klaus Fischer: “Our people know best what works well at their place of work and what doesn’t. They move our company ahead by thinking every day about what we could do better today than yesterday”. This is how they fill the concept of continuous improvement with life.