We are FUHR

About us

300 people – one goal!

We provide security. And have done for 165 years. We do our very best each and every day to make your life safer and more convenient. Our passion and expertise on the topic of door security drives us to continue to create innovative products. And we’re proud of it. 

 

Family company

FUHR is in its 5th generation of family ownership. Continuity, trust and a sense of responsibility therefore have a long tradition in our company.

65% export share

Our range is shaped by market-specific solutions. We sell two thirds of our products abroad. In Germany, we are the market leader in the area of multipoint locking systems.

14,000 items

Locks and fittings are developed and manufactured with passion every day at our headquarters. Our product portfolio currently includes around 14,000 sellable items.

European focus

In addition to our headquarters in Heiligenhaus, we also have subsidiaries in Poland, the Netherlands and the UK. Our field service also ensures close customer contact in other additional markets too. 

Made in Germany

We have always manufactured our products in Germany. All materials are closely monitored at each stage of production and form the basis for long-lasting functionality and a long service life of our products.

Responsibility

With our core values of continuity, reliability and quality awareness, we actively take on responsibility for the satisfaction of our customers, suppliers and employees. 

Geschäftsführer Andreas Fuhr

Our philosophy

“Our mission is to offer the safest and most convenient solution for all kinds of entrance doors. And we are able to do so thanks to our 165 years of experience and our passion for developing systematised, user-oriented locking systems. We live and breathe our values as an independent, family-run company through our business partners, employees and our environment.
 

Andreas Fuhr, Managing Director

We are:
independent and family-run

As an owner-operated family company with 300 employees in Germany and abroad, FUHR stands for reliable service and a close, partnership-based relationship with our customers. Through this and our focus on door security, we are able to successfully maintain and grow our market position, even while in competition with international groups. 

We build on continuity and trust: this is reflected in our long-lasting collaboration with our suppliers, customers, business partners and employees. Our trusting cooperation with many of them has already spanned decades.

Sustainable development and company modernisation have always been guiding principles for the owner family.

We are:
innovators

Our product range is packed full of ingenious design and innovation. And it’s not just security and convenience that are important: modularity and sustainability are becoming more and more significant in our product developments. That’s why at FUHR, we focus on system concepts and develop user-oriented solutions that are perfectly tailored to aluminium, steel, plastic and timber materials.

With smart ideas and specialist know-how, we work tirelessly to make door locks more intelligent. Our latest automatic locking systems with DuoSecure technology offer our customers possibilities of use and security standards that have never been seen before in this product sector.

We are:
faithful to our roots

FUHR has been based in the lock and fittings hub of Heiligenhaus since 1859. All of our locking systems are still developed and manufactured at our headquarters in the city where the company was founded by Carl Fuhr. Heiligenhaus is also the base for all of our sales activities.

FUHR supports various initiatives dedicated to building security and is an active member of the German industry association for locks and related hardware, the FSVB.

Our hometown of Heiligenhaus holds a special place in our heart. That’s why we are so active in the local community with charitable projects, supporting local education and promoting a skilled workforce. As an established employer, we have a particular responsibility for our local area and workers within the region. That’s why FUHR is a founding and board member of Schlüsselregion e.V., the industrial association for lock and security technology in Heiligenhaus and Velbert. Together with over 220 other member companies, we take part in all kinds of projects, including social projects, environmental projects, initiatives to secure skilled personnel and projects to boost the local economy.

Our history

1859

Carl Fuhr Portrait und Produkte 1859

Founding of the company

In 1859, Carl Fuhr decides to found his own company in Heiligenhaus at just 23 years of age. His first workshop is located not too far from what is now Carl-Fuhr-Straße. Initially a one-man operation, the company quickly grows. Carl’s three sons are born in the years that follow, starting work at the company at just 12 years old.

1888-1898

Carl Fuhr und Belegschaft 1888

The second generation takes over

15 assistants and apprentices join the Fuhr family at the workshop, which can now be found on the current company premises. Germany enters the machine age and the presses are now operated using a steam engine. Carl hands over the company to his sons in 1898.

1904-1916

The company grows

FUHR begins real manufacturing operations. Along with the company’s gradual growth and expansion of its workforce to 45 employees, its orders become more and more complex over time. The second generation of managing directors therefore divide up the areas of responsibility.

1917-1926

The challenges of the war years

As the first representative of the third Fuhr generation, Carl joined the company in the middle of World War I. Willy Fuhr followed one year later. The company overcomes countless crises throughout the post-war period following the war, defeat and resulting revolution. In the years that follow, however, inflation and the global economic crises take their toll on the lock and hardware industry and the export rate falls dramatically. 

1927-1945

Third generation weathers all storms

75 years after its foundation, FUHR overcomes the challenges of the global economic crisis and profits from cheap construction growth. Otto Fuhr joins as the third member of the third generation as Germany finally surrenders to mark the end of World War II. The company is now completely in the hands of the three successors. 

1946-1955

Economic miracle brings prosperity

Carl Fuhr is named as the first postwar mayor in Heiligenhaus in 1946. He holds the office for a total of 18 years, taking part in various honorary posts.

1955 is the most successful economic year in German history. Locks for garage doors for car storage, the new status symbol of this time, become a permanent fixture in the product range.

1956-1969

100 years of FUHR

Managing directors Otto, Carl and Wilhelm Fuhr are able to present a thriving and modern company, that now has 220 employees, as part of the 100-year anniversary celebrations in 1959. The production programme now includes special window fittings, door and gate fittings, garage and bodywork fittings, special locks for electric systems and drive locks.

1970-1979

Modernisation and expansion

CNC technology grows in popularity in the mid 70s and the digital revolution begins to fundamentally change lock and fitting production. 120 years after its foundation under the management of Carl Hermann Fuhr, the branch plant in Heiligenhaus/Hetterscheidt is opened, the new home for the production of INFRONT tilt-and-turn and sliding fittings.

1980-1989

A milestone for multisafe

The safety door lock no. 455 is presented for the first time in 1980 to form the cornerstone of the FUHR multisafe product range. This item group makes up a significant part of the company’s revenue today. The first key-operated multipoint locking systems for doors, balcony and terrace doors are introduced onto the market over the course of the decade. 

1990-1999

The first motor lock with finger scanner

The range of mechanical multipoint locking systems is expanded over the course of the decade. Locks for emergency exit doors with panic function are now offered alongside special solutions for apartment building entrance doors. The high point of technological development comes in 1999 following the presentation of the first motor lock with biometric access control at the International Hardware Fair in Cologne.

2000-2008

European focus

Sales focus lies on the European market and the company’s field staff foster close customer contact in selected countries. The first sales branch is founded abroad in Libiaz (PL) in 2003. In 2008, FUHR Benelux opens its site in Ede (NL) which is also the location of the FUHR Experience Center, a training centre with a product exhibition. Another branch follows two years later in Telford (UK).

2009

150 years of FUHR

The FUHR company history “The History of a Brand” is presented for the company’s 150-year anniversary headed by Dr Ulrich Morgenroth, curator of the lock and fitting museum in Velbert (Schloss- und Beschlägemuseum).
The range now includes more than 6,000 sellable products, documented in a 1,400-page catalogue.

2013

Andreas Fuhr takes over leadership

At the age of 30, Andreas Fuhr takes the wheel and becomes a part of the FUHR company management. The family tradition continues into its 5th generation. Driven by his leadership, the company and its product portfolio undergo stark modernisation, particularly in the areas of SmartHome technology and system solutions. 

2015

Setting course: smart access solutions

Smartphones and tablets start to shape developments as part of a digital lifestyle. FUHR responds to the increasing demand for SmartHome solutions. The company SmartWireless is founded in 2013 in Cologne to drive forward the development of radio-based access controls, such as SmartTouch and SmartHome products. The first smart product is presented on the market in 2015. SmartConnect easy – a WLAN module that allows users to open doors via an intelligent app on their smartphone.

2018

A new generation of automatic locking

With the type 10, a new series of automatic multipoint locking systems was presented at the FENSTERBAU/FRONTALE trade fair in Nuremberg: autosafe 835 and autotronic 836. The innovative latching hook bolt combination with DuoSecure technology guarantees secure, automatic locking for doors of all materials – even in difficult conditions. With it, FUHR expands its existing range of material-specific system solutions with the extensive type 4/10/11 concept. 

2019

Blazing new trails:
if it’s great...

... it’s FUHR! FUHR uses this slogan as part of its anniversary celebrations to mark 160 years in the business. It is the central message of the new colourful marketing campaign that presents new and developed products alongside virtual testimonials. read more

The Covid-19 outbreak put the whole world into disarray. Unfortunately, we were not able to present the diverse world of FUHR products in the way we had originally planned, e.g. at trade fairs. Instead, the campaign website fuhr-richtig-gut.de was created to allow customers to learn about our new products. 

2021

Into the future with FUHR 

FUHR pushes forward with the development of smart products for front doors. The most recent development success story is SmartConnect door – an interactive intercom system that is controlled via your smartphone.find out more

Despite huge challenges posed by the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, FUHR is able to confidently look to the future in 2021: the demand for security systems is as high as it’s ever been. We are therefore highly motivated and look forward to continuing to be your reliable partner. FUHR will continue to gear its developments to the needs of its customers in the future and strive to find increasingly efficient and sustainable product solutions – for joint success on the market.

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