![\"Nicole](\"https:\/\/sw.fst.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/20_28_DSC04596k_4c_ret-1160x1282.jpg\")
<\/figure>Focusing On The Process Industry<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSeveral companies rolled into one.\u201d That was a title of an FPS profile in \u201cMarktplatz,\u201d a newspaper for the Freudenberg site in Weinheim. First of all, the plan was to focus on the process industry, that is, the food and beverage, pharmaceutical and chemical sectors, and initially the oil and gas industries as well. A second goal was to combine the technical expertise in seal production with the logistical approach, high product availability and flexibility of a distributor. A third goal was to provide market- and customer-specific services \u2013 from a batch size of one, to packaging and kitting, to tests on the company\u2019s own CIP\/SIP test stand*. The fourth was to build up \u00adtechnical know-how and develop unique consulting expertise in the market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSomething is happening here. I think it pays to face these challenges together every day and to find or explore the way forward.\u201d That was what employees were saying in 2005 in an internal publication as they marked the company\u2019s 1,000th day in business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Photo: Nicole Schneider presents the birthday cake for FPS\u2019s 20th anniversary.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
When long-time FPS employees today are asked about their memories of the early years, they talk about motivation, enthusiasm, inspiration, boundless energy, dedication and a sense of optimism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The conversations turn again and again to the fun, enjoyment, a team spirit and solidarity at the time, even outside of work. Down to the present, the FPS summer festivals and events have been as imaginative as they are popular \u2013 from employee ice hockey and soccer games all the way to recording a song in a sound studio and, this year, a summer event in Schwetzingen Castle Park. FPS is revealing a somewhat different youthful vigor as a twentysomething.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The positive atmosphere that employees constantly mention is tied to the company\u2019s hard-earned success as well. Founded in 2002, the startup is now superbly established in the market. The initial focus on Germany has long given way to a global orientation. \u201cWe are at looking at India and Australia,\u201d said Nicole Schneider, Vice President, Global Process Industry, in an interview with SEALING WORLD magazine last spring. She described a \u00advision that extends beyond Europe, the United States and China. \u201cThe business is also highly profitable. And we see more growth potential,\u201d she added in the same interview. FPS\u2019s revenue has increased more than tenfold since it was launched.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cA sincere thank-you goes out to all our employees who work on behalf of our customers day-in and day-out and make success possible in the first place with their tremendous team spirit,\u201d Schneider said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/sw.fst.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/fst-sw-2022_3_0000_exclamation-mark-white.png\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nFreudenberg Process Seals<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
After its early days at its former facility in Viernheim, FPS moved to \u00adWeinheim in 2008. Its newly built premises \u00adincluded an office building and warehouse within sight of the Weinheim Technology Park. The facilities in \u00adViern\u00adheim were no longer adequate for a fast-growing business. The company has been integrated as an organization into Freudenberg Industrial Services since 2017. In the two decades since its launch in 2002, FPS has seen its workforce grow to nearly 70 \u00ademployees, up from a little more than a dozen at the start.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
*CIP\/SIP
CIP: Clean-In-Place (cleaning right on-site)
SIP: Sterilization-In-Place (sterilizing right on-site)<\/p>\n