August 6, 2009 – After its successful expansion into North America, the FRABA group has opened its first Asian office in Singapore to position itself to be a strong player in the region’s economic recovery and strong future growth prospects. The timing is no coincidence. While the current economic crisis has undercut market demand, costs associated with an expansion of this kind are the lowest they have been in years. “The positive reception for our state-of-the-art products in the United States and Canada, despite lower market demand for sensor and encoder technology, certainly emboldened us to make this move into Asia now,” says Christian Fell, General Manager for FRABA Inc, the group’s North American subsidiary.
“Our feeling is that a turnaround is just around the corner, especially in Asia, and that you have to be on the ground, making your presence known, before the upturn gathers momentum.” The new subsidiary in Singapore is FRABA Pte. Ltd. Besides developing new market segments in Asia for the Cologne-based FRABA group, its goals include strengthening ties with existing customers in the region. Being present in the region allows FRABA to provide same-day support, eliminating the time zone differences between continents.
The company has introduced Chinese as an additional business language. Additionally, the networking of market information from three continents increases the group’s capabilities to support internationall projects with multinational companies. Product manager Christian Warias and management member Dr. Ingo Mönch, who both have many years of experience with FRABA, have relocated to Singapore. Thus, customer projects and FRABA product installations can be supported and implemented directly with local support.
Providing a high level of consistently good service is very important in Asia, where customers expect a fast response to their needs.
Company background
FRABA Inc. is the North American sister company of POSITAL GmbH, a highly specialized manufacturer of absolute rotary encoders and inclinometers based in Cologne, Germany. The company belongs to the FRABA Group which dates back to 1918, when its predecessor, Franz Baumgartner elektrische Apparate GmbH, was established to manufacture relays. Today, the group consists of six independent companies that develop and produce advanced industrial sensor technology and safety equipment.
