Sustainable innovation

The fischer name has always stood for innovation. In 1949, company founder Artur Fischer invented the flash gun for cameras with synchronous activation. The legendary S plug was added in 1958, and still serves today as a symbol for fischer and for the fastening materials industry as a whole.

fischer holds over 1,500 patents. 20 times more patents are registered by the workforce than from the average German company. Approximately one third of these are directly implemented in new products, procedures or applications. The industry average is 10 %.

The percentage of new products is measured in relation to the entire assortment. In 2019, new products made up 12.7% of the fixing systems division.

Construction engineers, mechanical engineers, materials experts, chemists and engineers for energy and environmental technology at fischer work closely with suppliers and partners in order to create the best products with regard to performance, quality, safety and sustainability. Ultimately, products are part of overall systems, and have to function perfectly at their interfaces.

For example, to date hollow drills are integrated in the approval documents for 32 of over 50 approved fastening systems, so that the processors can use an innovative drilling method that enables faster progress without requiring additional cleaning of the drill hole. Fine dust production is over 95 % lower in hollow drilling, compared to conventional hammer drilling.

To further reinforce this systematic approach, fischer has now added another hollow drill bit range to its existing drill bit range

In 2019, the company completed its planned introduction of a vacuum cleaner. The hollow drill bit system was further optimised in 2021. fischer is now a partner in the “Cordless Alliance Systems” (CAS), with an ideally coordinated range of cordless impact drivers, concrete screws, hollow drill bits and vacuum cleaners that facilitate efficient work on the construction site. This means that the impact driver is compatible with batteries and chargers from other leading manufacturers, saving users space and money.

fischer is also the first manufacturer worldwide to produce plugs primarily from renewable raw materials. All products in the GreenLine range are produced from at least 50 % renewable raw materials. These do not compete with food and feed products or with corresponding cultivation areas. In addition to six different kinds of plugs, the product range also includes dual-component FIS GREEN injection mortar for heavy loads, with ETA certification option 7 and masonry. Fischer chemists developed recipes specifically for the purpose using renewable raw materials, a global first. The renewable material percentage is always confirmed by independent testing and certification by the DIN CERTCO / TÜV Rheinland. Even the plastic cartridges for the FIS GREEN are made of bio-based materials. The products are in the “BIOBASED 50 85 %” class. 

• Establishing in-house pre-development to promote research alongside other institutes, in order to implement innovative products, production processes and other processes later on.
  
  
• Supporting start-ups. They work through small, effective teams to get new product ideas ready for the market. Structures and facilities have been created for this purpose.
  
  
• Creation of an open and innovative company culture based on the mission statement introduced in 1987, with the help of the ongoing improvement process (introduced 2001) and the fischer ProcessSystem developed on this basis (entirety of our business processes and the organisational principle with which we align it with our goal) developed from it, including the fischer IdeaProcess (introduced 2006, process for improvement suggestions).

• Involving and motivating all employees with bonuses, an annual fPS prize and inventor remuneration.
  
  
• Ongoing support for the innovation process by the management via the Product Policy Board (management committee for development projects).
  
  
• Roadmap: The roadmap lists development projects with their most important key data, such as scheduling and strategic assessment, and serves as a foundation for the Product Policy Board. 
  
  
• Creation of structured sustainability-oriented innovation management (holding innovation workshops, for example with the involvement of 3R thinking – Reduce, Reuse, Recycle – and introduction of an IT-based standard process with PDP (Product Development Process) and fiPATIS.

FAZ II:

Through consistently analysing customer needs, applications and difficulties with current regulations, we are able to generate solutions, such as permitted use of cap nuts, the use of holes drilled in inches, or use in sand lime bricks and for service lives of over 120 years (previously 50 years).

Power-Fast II:

fischer received the 2020 German Design Award in the “Building and Elements” category and the Red Dot in the “Red Dot Award: Product Design 2020” for its chipboard screw. The new Power-Fast II chipboard screw combines technological expertise with outstanding quality design. The product stands out for its universal use in woodworking and its excellent performance. The Power-Fast II also meets a very high standard of design, preventing surface cracking.

Craftsman app “Craftnote”:

fischer is combining forces with the GC Group in a strategic partnerships in order to develop the start-up founded in 2018. Craftnote is a communication and project management platform for trade companies. The app offers a practical, legally conforming alternative to previously available solutions on the market. The app is specifically designed as an open platform available to all manufacturers and retailers that can be linked to other trade app software solutions.

fischer FiXperience Suite:

The fischer dimensioning software FiXperience supports planners, structural engineers and craftsmen in securely and reliably dimensioning their projects. FiXperience employs a modular structure and can be used in a variety of applications. The user-friendly program can be used to easily and flexibly design and dimension anchors and fixation materials. The software fulfils all the pre-requisites for global use by taking decisive international standards into account. The modular structure of the program incorporates engineering software and special application modules. This means that entire projects and individual applications can be planned in a targeted and cost-effective manner.

The company BMW Fassadensysteme has been part of the group since 2018. The company uses innovative products and intelligent design to create façade structures with thermal bridge optimisation, and even without any thermal bridges at all. In this way, fischer is making an active contribution to saving energy in buildings and efficiently reducing CO2 consumption. 

fischer DuoLine:

Innovative fischer DuoLine plastic plugs use a dual component technology that combines a variety of functions in a single product. Self-tapping fischer DuoBlade plugs are installed as part of the drilling process. The fischer DuoPower has a unique geometry that allows it to spread, kink or fold depending on the substrate, serving customers as a universal solution for any construction material. In addition to improved function, the products also deliver prize-winning design. DuoLine products have received the German Design Award and the renowned Red Dot Design Award, among other honours. 

Bonding instead of wrapping:

In the past, pallets at the Global Distribution Centre (GDC) were wrapped with stretch foil in either an automatic or manual process in order to safely transport goods from production. Today, individual outer boxes are either manually or automatically bonded together using a specialised, water-based adhesive. This guarantees the individual boxes will be delivered to the GDC in precise stacks. High shear forces ensure the boxes do not shift, although low peeling forces leave them easy to lift. The way in which sustainable innovation is handled and practised at fischer helps promote SDG 9, support innovation, and expand infrastructure