Fronius International GmbH is an Austrian photovoltaic manufacturer based in

Pettenbach Pettenbach is a municipality in the district of Kirchdorf an der Krems in the Austrian state of Upper Austria. Geography Pettenbach lies in the Traunviertel The Traunviertel (literally German for the ''Traun'' quarter or district) is an Austrian ...

Upper Austria Upper Austria (german: Oberösterreich ; bar, Obaöstareich) is one of the nine states or of Austria. Its capital is Linz. Upper Austria borders Germany and the Czech Republic, as well as the other Austrian states of Lower Austria, Styria, a ...

. Fronius is active in the fields of

welding Welding is a fabrication (metal), fabrication process that joins materials, usually metals or thermoplastics, by using high heat to melt the parts together and allowing them to cool, causing Fusion welding, fusion. Welding is distinct from lower ...

technology,

photovoltaics Photovoltaics (PV) is the conversion of light into electricity using semiconducting materials that exhibit the photovoltaic effect, a phenomenon studied in physics, photochemistry, and electrochemistry. The photovoltaic effect is commercially us ...

and battery charging technology.

History

Formation and development

In 1945,

Günter Fronius Günter Fronius (11 November 1907 – 21 July 2015) was an Austrian entrepreneur and the founder of Fronius International GmbH.Photovoltaics Photovoltaics (PV) is the conversion of light into electricity using semiconducting materials that exhibit the photovoltaic effect, a phenomenon studied in physics, photochemistry, and electrochemistry. The photovoltaic effect is commercially us ...

became a new focus in 1992. In 2001, Fronius opened a factory in Pettenbach, the town in which the company started. The logistics and production site at Sattledt was opened in 2007. With the capture of the American market between 2002 and 2007, the company has now gained a foothold outside Europe.

Today

Fronius employs more than 5,400 people worldwide in 2020. In addition to the company's headquarter in Pettenbach and other sites in Wels, Thalheim, Sattledt and Steinhaus, Fronius also has a production site in the Czech Republic. Fronius also has 34 subsidiaries.

Business Units

Perfect Welding

The business unit Perfect Welding provides products and complete systems - both manual and automated - as well as services in welding technology. Around 1950, Fronius launched its first welding transformer with magnet-yoke-control, which allowed the welding current to be continuously adjusted. Fifty years later the company launched the CMT ( Cold Metal Transfer) process, which permits the thermal joining of steel to aluminium. The introduction of the DeltaSpot welding system (resistance spot welding system) finally facilitated the mass production of aluminium car bodies.

Solar Energy

The business unit

Solar Energy Solar energy is radiant light and heat from the Sun that is harnessed using a range of technologies such as solar power to generate electricity, solar thermal energy (including solar water heating), and solar architecture. It is an essenti ...

has been involved in photovoltaics since 1992 and develops and produces high-performance inverters for grid connected photovoltaic systems from 1 kW upwards. The product range is complemented by components for

system monitoring A system monitor is a hardware or software component used to monitor system resources and performance in a computer system. Among the management issues regarding use of system monitoring tools are resource usage and privacy. Overview Software ...

, data visualisation and analysis - all available as standalone product add-ons.

Perfect Charging

Perfect Charging is Fronius International's oldest business unit. Fronius has been researching and developing charging technology since it was founded in 1945. The 1990s saw inverter technology applied for the first time to pulsed charging devices for charging vehicle starter batteries. The ACCTIVA series is a starter-battery charging system. In the field of traction batteries, Fronius offers the SELECTIVA series.

Sites

Austria

Fronius is based in Pettenbach, where the company was founded. Covering an area of 6,000 m², it is the "centre of excellence" for Fronius welding torches and accounting & internal auditing.
The production and logistics site of the company is located in Sattledt. Since 2007, all battery charging systems, welding systems and solar inverters have been produced here on a site more than 100,000 m² in size. One of the largest photovoltaic systems in Austria, with a module area of 3,600 m², can be found on the roof of the building. There is also a biomass power station that supplies the majority of the energy required.
Thalheim, near Wels, is the Research & Development site of the company and will be extended to cover 22,500 m² by 2011. Special features of the Thalheim site in the future will include photovoltaic electricity generation, geothermal probes (geothermal fields) and the systematic re-use of waste heat from the test laboratories.
Wels, with its historic brick building, is the sales hub of Fronius International. The site, which was opened in 1990, extends over 17,000 m² and is the starting point for the international activities of all three Fronius divisions. The active energy design, photovoltaics system and modern environmental technology ensure that as much energy as possible is collected to meet its own requirements.
The Repair Center International (RCI), which used to be in Sattledt, relocated to Steinhaus in 2010.

International sites

In addition to the eight sites in Austria, Fronius has 34 international subsidiaries and sales partners/representatives in more than 60 countries (as of 2020).

References

External links

* {{Authority control Manufacturing companies of Austria Manufacturing companies established in 1945 Energy companies established in 1945 Solar energy in Europe Photovoltaic inverter manufacturers Austrian brands Austrian companies established in 1945