INNOVATIONS@FATH 22-02 EN - Katalog - Seite 6
SOLUTIONS FOR INDUSTRIAL ECOSYSTEMS
FATH INSIDE
A PIVOTAL POINT IN
FATH HISTORY
SPRING 2020 AT FATH
more than five different independent companies
belong to it and the basic catalogue for standard
engineering components alone contains a good
3,000 different products. This is managed by more
than 400 employees worldwide. In addition, there
are partnerships with highly specialised companies,
start-ups and universities. An entire ecosystem has
been created.
At that memorable time when a still new global crisis
is causing uncertainty, a handful of responsible
FATH employees and a small team of consultants
from claudiusbähr+friends sit together, at a great
distance from each other. At issue is a fundamental
repositioning of FATH, not for its own sake and
not out of vanity, but because over the years it has
become increasingly difficult to communicate what
FATH actually does and where FATH wants to go.
A KEY STEP
Now the focus is on how to communicate this
range to potential customers and partners in a
comprehensible and manageable way - and what
goals FATH sets itself for the future.
A SHORT HINDSIGHT
Only 30 years have passed since Mirko Jan Fath
and his father Werner started making plastic parts
with a second-hand injection molding machine in a
historic barn. A little later, Wido Fath joined them,
with freshly acquired business knowledge, and
the exciting process of building an international
corporate group had begun. The company developed
organically in phases: first it was professionalized
and organized, then new markets for plastic and
steel components were sought and found. This was
logically followed by internationalization, initially
with branches in China and the USA. In the decade
of the new millennium, FATH finally began to acquire
completely new competences and open up new
markets through partnerships and acquisitions.
The timing of this meeting seems unfavorable at
first, and yet: in no time at all, the large meeting room
is filled with optimism, good humor and motivation.
Claudia Bähr clearly shows the FATH team the
wealth of intangible assets they have accumulated
in the meantime. It is clear to everyone in the room:
we want to do something with this, we don’t want to
let it go unused!
The first step is to bring order to the portfolio:
People - Machine - Material is the triad with which
every FATH product and every FATH solution can
be represented. Then four Spaces are defined,
i.e. rooms in which the various activities in the
FATH Ecosystem find a home: FATH PS stands for
Parts and Solutions, the products that the classic
customer is familiar with. The FATH LAB is the
place for new developments, also and especially
with external partners. The Academy (abbreviated
FATH AY) serves to store and exchange knowledge,
experience and competence.
AND NOW: THE STOCKTAKING
Now, in 2020, FATH is packed with a wealth of
opportunities, connections, products and activities
that can hardly be represented by just one brand:
Thirteen languages are spoken in the FATH world,
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