Franke Holding AG, based in

Aarburg Aarburg is a historic town and a municipality in the district of Zofingen in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland. The small town lies in the southwest Aargau, in a narrow section of the Aare valley, at the confluence with the Wigger. It lies in t ...

, Switzerland, is an industrial manufacturer with companies located around the world. Franke has about 8,100 employees working in 63 companies in Europe, South and North America, Africa, Australia and Asia. In 2021, the Franke Group had a total turnover of CHF 2,557 million.

Franke History

Founding years

Hermann Franke founded a sheet metal business in his name in Rorschach, Switzerland, in 1911. In the late 1920s the economic upturn in the industry and construction sector led to the incorporation of a sanitary installations department. Franke began with the production of oven tops, skylights and dormer windows. In the 1930s Franke started production of the first sink units in nickeline, monel-metal and later in stainless steel. Franke built a new factory with offices and residential building, and the company's ten employees relocated to Aarburg, Switzerland. Franke initiated the first production series and the first fully welded, smooth sink unit. Hermann Franke died on January 25, 1939, and his son Walter took over the business. The Second World War led to great difficulties in obtaining materials. During the years after the war the company's factory facilities expanded and the production of complete kitchens began. Franke started to export products to European countries.

Expansion years

The construction sector developed encouragingly. Business expanded rapidly. Franke sold kitchen sinks. In 1950 the Washroom and Sanitary Equipment product group was established as part of Franke with products for communal washrooms and WCs. Production of components for propulsion systems began. Franke saw its first foreign investment in Germany and by 1955 had 500 employees. In the late 1950s, Franke's production doubled. Factory facilities were expanded further. A "Commercial Kitchens" division was founded. By 1961 Franke had 750 employees. Over the next twelve years Franke experienced rapid growth: 13 new subsidiaries were established and two companies began manufacturing under license. In 1972, Franke built and installed the first kitchen for McDonald's in Munich. By 1974 the company had 2,600 employees. In 1975 Franke ownership changes: Walter Franke's friend and business partner Willi Pieper took over. Four subsidiaries and two licensees were added to the group. In 1979 the Franke compact sink system was introduced. In the late 1980s the divisional organization was established.

Today

Michael Pieper joined Group Management in 1989. Rapid and consistent expansion transformed Franke into a corporate group with worldwide operations. Today Franke consists of approx. 8,500 employees in over 70 companies in Europe, South America, North America, Africa, Australia and Asia.

Franke Companies

Switzerland

Franke Artemis Group has its headquarters in Aarburg/Switzerland.

United Kingdom

Franke took over the Sissons company based in Chesterfield, who are a manufacturer of stainless steel catering sinks and washroom systems. Sissons were one of the first companies to manufacture stainless steel sinks in the 1930s, and were founded in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. The company is known as Franke Sissons Ltd. In 1990 it bought the Falkirk-based

Carron Phoenix Carron may refer to: Rivers * River Carron, Forth, a river in Central Scotland * River Carron, Wester Ross * River Carron, Sutherland * Carron River (Queensland), a river in Australia * Carron Water, Aberdeenshire, a river that flows into the N ...

. Franke Coffee Systems UK are based in

St Albans St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major town on the old Roman ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For gov ...

and sell and service bean-to-cup, pod and traditional style coffee machines.

France

The company has also bought the companies Blinox and Roblin (producing hoods). United States Franke Foodservice Systems Americas, Inc. is based in Smyrna, Tennessee, in a office and warehousing facility located near the Smyrna Municipal Airport and a factory in

Fayetteville, Tennessee Fayetteville is a city and the county seat of Lincoln County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 6,994 at the 2000 census, and 6,827 at the 2010 census. A census estimate from 2018 showed 7,017. History Fayetteville is the largest c ...

. The company was established in the 1970s with the purchase of a stainless steel manufacturer in the

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

metro area. The company moved operations to Tennessee in 1998. The business was divided into two sister companies, Franke Foodservice Solutions and Franke Foodservice Supply, in 2016, before being merged back together into a single entity (Franke Foodservice Systems Americas) in 2019. The Americas division is focused on the manufacture and sale of custom stainless steel heated and refrigerated equipment for quick-service restaurant chains.

External links

Franke Website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Franke (Company) Manufacturing companies of Switzerland Manufacturing companies established in 1911 Multinational companies headquartered in Switzerland Swiss brands Swiss companies established in 1911