Franz Schneider Brakel - Door and Window Fittings

Door and window fittings for the public and private markets remain Franz Schneider Brakel's (FSB) core business but the product range has been consistently expanded over the years.

TAILORED DOOR AND WINDOW SOLUTIONS

Undisputed technical expertise in all aspects of the door handle consistently underlines FSB's position as the nucleus and driver for the future areas of activity of the company. Barrier-free gripping, for example, is the claim FSB lives up to with the diagonal-oval ErgoSystem for bathroom and domestic applications.

Among other products, the handle system includes shower and hand-towel holders, equipment storage and wall hooks - but also hand-rails, shower and bath tub stools as well as support handles specifically aimed at the needs of older people and people with disabilities. From gripping in general, there logically followed the extended requirements of an individual target group - integrated and comprehensive: well thought-out system solutions to grasp.

COOPERATION WITH OTHER DOOR MANUFACTURERS

FSB believe that one supplier should serve everything to do with handles and gripping in a built space. FSB therefore believes in synergy effects and the extending of expertise through partner-like cooperation with related and well-known manufacturers. From as long ago as early 2004, there has thus existed a strategic alliance between FSB and Winkhaus Türtechnik, the leading manufacturer of door and security systems.

Integrated solutions from the proven Winkhaus multi-point locks, profile cylinders and electronic access control systems, combined with the top-quality fittings for commercial applications of the FSB brand, form unique quality packages. The electronic access control system for internal doors thus unites the well known, further developed BlueChip system from Winkhaus with an entirely new handle solution from FSB tailor-made for the system.

DOOR HANDLES DESIGNED FOR SPECIFIC BUILDINGS

FSB goes back to its roots when, in imitation of the art nouveau philosophy that understood a house including interior design and furnishings as a complete work (of art), it increases the emphasis on stylistic unity by incorporating the principal architectural and design features throughout the inside of a building.

It testifies to a high standard of architectural expertise that FSB, in close collaboration with the architects, finds precisely matched handle solutions that are optimal in terms of both appearance and material choice - or which, in individual cases, it even develops exclusively for the building in question.

COMMERCIAL SUCCESS AND ARTISTIC REPUTATION

FSB has long demonstrated that commercial success and artistic reputation are entirely fitting companions and even flourish in the provinces: 125 economically successful years at the original site in Brakel are accompanied by both passionate and natural cultural commitment. Both of these are supported by the employees in production, development and sales, who have always been seen and appreciated as an integral part of the success concept.

This has also been achieved by the designs of Johannes Potente, recognized as the in-house doyen of anonymous industrial design, through to the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York. FSB is nevertheless always open to stimuli from outside: a collection of well-known designers such as Mario Botta, Hans Hollein, Erik Magnussen, Alessandro Mendini, Jasper Morrison, Dieter Rams and Philippe Starck have taken the door handle in hand for FSB and incorporated their own influence into the products.