World-leading cutting-edge technology from Tyrol
Innovation, courage and passion have made the Felder Group the technology leader in the industry.
Turning from a local (Hall in Tyrol) into a global player for woodworking machinery
The Felder Group is one of the world's leading mechanical engineering and technology companies in the field of wood and composite material processing. Each day, more than 800 employees work at the factory in Hall in Tyrol to find intelligent solutions for woodworkers all around the world. The Felder Group's range of products includes well over 180 machines - from combined standard woodworking machines to high-end 5-axis CNC machining centres, as well as smart software and fully automated robotics solutions.
FOUNDING YEAR
1956 - 1960In his workshop in his parents' house in Absam, Tyrol, KR Johann Felder founds the company Johann Felderjunior together with his wife Gertraud in 1956 and presents the first Felder woodworking machines at trade fairs in Vienna and Innsbruck in the same year.
THE BREAKTHROUGH
1961 - 1981At the beginning of the sixties, steady growth required the company to relocate for the first time. Salzbergstrasse 26 becomes the new location of the machine manufacturer. The first machine was exported and the breakthrough with the first series production came, the legendary BU 4 combination machine. Felder established itself on the German market with the successful series BU 5-8 and the heavy combination machine Felder HAT.
EXPANSION AND INTERNATIONALIZATION
1982 - 1989The great success required constant expansion, which was no longer possible at the location in Absam. It was for this reason that in 1982 the company moved with its 65 employees to the new headquarters in Hall in Tyrol, where the company is still present to this day. In 1988 Johann Felder founded Felder Scandinavia in Stockholm, the first subsidiary of the now worldwide present Felder Group. The combination machines BF 3 and BF 4 became so successful that a new hall had to be built after just a few years.
THE EVOLUTION TO A SINGLE-SOURCE SUPPLIER
1990 - 1996With the new production possibilities the next milestone came in 1990. The worlds first combination machine with a sliding table "made by Felder" was presented. The mechanical engineering company Felder has evolved from a combination machine specialist to a complete supplier for trade, commerce and industry. Due to the continuous expansion of the international distribution network, more and more markets have been conquered and in 1993 Felder, as a pioneer in the industry, opened its new EURO logistics centre in Hall in Tyrol.
WITH HAMMER AND FORMAT4 INTO THE NEW MILLENNIUM
1997 – 2001In 1997 Felder brought the new brand Hammer to life and it soon asserted itself with high quality yet affordable woodworking machines proving highly successful against cheap products from the Far East. In 2001 a further brand was introduced: FORMAT4, the premium brand for the highest requirements in business and industry completed the product range of the Felder Group in the professional segment. Within a very short time the computer-controlled machines convince professional users in business and industry.
A FAMILY BUSINESS BECOMES A GLOBAL PLAYER
2002 – 2010In 2000 the company 'Johann Felder' changed from being a registered sole trader to a limited partnership with Johann's wife Gertraud, daughter Elisabeth and sons Hansjörg and Martin Felder all having a share of the family company, Felder KG. Achieving the 80 percent export limit required renewed expansion of the logistics centre, which opened in 2005 - after just 8 months of construction. Already in 2007 the production area was increased by 11,300 m² with the extension of assembly hall 7 and of single-pitch roof 4.5.
EVOLVING TO THE TOP TECHNOLOGY COMPANY AND INNOVATIONS PIONEER
2011 – 2018With the development of pioneering solutions such as the Silent-Power® spiral blade cutterblock in 2012 or the complete software solution F4®Solutions in 2018, the Felder Group has repeatedly caused a sensation in the woodworking machine market. With 35 international patents, around 100 new machine developments and market launches as well as investments of 22 million Euro in research and development, the Felder Group is the innovation leader in the industry. In addition to the numerous showrooms worldwide, new national branches are being established in Berlin, Lyon, Queretaro (Mexico) and Moscow, and also at the site in Hall in Tyrol major investments are being made. With the new manufacturing halls 1 and 8 as well as the expansion of the office and logistics complex with more than 1,600 m² of additional office space and a 30 m tall high-bay warehouse, the plant's effective area has been expanded to over 81,000 m² by 2018.
Further milestones
2019 – TodayIn 2019 Otto Mayer Maschinenfabrik became part of the Felder Group. With the production site in Lombach, Germany, Mayer brings concentrated competence and 70 years of experience in manufacturing vertical panel saws to the worldwide service and sales network. In the same year, at the world's leading trade fair LIGNA, Felder Group presents, among many other innovations, the contactless safety device for sliding table saws - PCS®. This is a further milestone from Felder Group, now managed by Hansjörg and Martin Felder in the second generation.