Agfeo
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AGFEO is founded in 1947 as a small family business.[1]. During the first years, their activity is based in telecommunications components manufacturing and shortly moves to producing telephone switchboards as a core business. After the liberalisation of the telecom market in Germany, the company starts producing PBX systems for small to medium enterprises, diversifying its activity to manufacturing and distributing telephone systems as well as other telecom products. In 2006, the company numbered around 200 employees.
AGFEO stands out in Europe as an OEM equipment manufacturer, being chosen Manufacturer of the Year 2006 in Germany by specialized magazines.
History
Foundation years: 1947-1950
- AGFEO started as a family business right after World War II, in 1947. Effectively with no start-up capital and a reduced workforce from the Westphalia region, Hermann Boelke established in the city of Bielefeld AGFEO, Appartebau Gesellschaft für Fernmeldetechnik/Feinmechanik, Elektronik und Optik, an acronym meaning "Telecommunications device Engineering/precision Mechanics, Electronics and Optics Society".
- As a result of the good relations between the German businessman and the British occupation forces, the company's commitment to manufacturing morse code transmitters for the British army flourished. Soon after that, this also applied to the Belgian Army. This initial sales allowed for the elaboration of optic devices for the company, as well as the improvement of its initial products.
The German economic miracle
- AGFEO’s growth maximized in the 1950s, when Germany's Post Office, Deutsche Bundespost, a large monopoly with control of post mail, telecommunications and the Deutsche Postbank. This giant was the origin of the later Deutsche Bundespost Telekom and the current Deutsche Telekom. This business relationship has been maintained throughout time and constitutes the foundations of some of AGFEO's differential values.
- Similar to other companies, AGFEO was not oblivious to the German economic miracle and with the rise in sales they expanded their installations to Brackwede, a suburb in Bielefeld. The company found in Gaswerkstrasse 8 the optimal installations to settle: an old naval torpedo assembly room where their headquarters are located today.
AGFEO and Deutsche Bundespost
- The first major order from the Deutsche Bundespost was for Z 27, a meter that records the load of incoming calls at a telephone switchboard. This product became a historical milestone for the company, as more orders were placed on this model, allowing AGFEO to gradually become one of the main providers of call load meters for the Bundespost.
- In the early 1960s, the Bundespost published an announcement for the manufacturing of call monitors for a set of telephones controlled from a switchboard. The AGFEO model managed to win the contract, selling millions of units under the name GAZ 65.
The brand's development
- In parallel, especially as a result of the fall of the Berlin Wall, new measures were introduced in Germany to liberalize the telecommunications market,[2] at the same time that Deutsche Bundespost's monopoly was progressively being reduced compared to previous decades. This situation implied the opening of a competitive international market for the presentation of new services, applications and telephony equipment in Germany. In this context, at the end of the 1980s, AGFEO developed a switchboard, including telephones for the system. This telephone system was successfully marketed in 1990 by Deutsche Telekom, under the name focus L, which meant for AGFEO the launch of a complete and new line of products.
- The 1990s saw the entry into force of a European standard for the Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN): the Euro ISDN. This agreement between the European States opened up new possibilities for companies in the sector to develop more powerful switchboards and telephone systems with greater customer service capabilities. In this line, AGFEO consolidated itself as a manufacturer of ISDN equipment, focusing its production on high-quality technological solutions for small and medium-sized acquisitions[3]
Products tailored to needs
- According to data from 2006, once the boom in IP telephony had already exploded in countries like Germany, AGFEO was a European manufacturer of analog PBX systems, ISDN, as well as those based on IP technology, making compatible the classic systems with VoIP telephony. As a consequence of the diversification that this market had undergone since the 1990s, the Bielefeld company also manufactures DECT applications, telecommunications software, and components for remote communication with devices through EIB standard.
External links
References
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- ↑ PresseBox (c) 2002-2021 (2007-10-24). "60 Jahre AGFEO –Eine erfolgreiche Unternehmensgeschichte, AGFEO GmbH & Co. KG, Pressemitteilung - PresseBox". www.pressebox.de (in Deutsch). Retrieved 2021-04-06.
- ↑ Schmidt, Susanne K. (1991-06-01). "Taking the long road to liberalization: Telecommunications reform in the Federal Republic of Germany". Telecommunications Policy. 15 (3): 209–222. doi:10.1016/0308-5961(91)90025-7. ISSN 0308-5961.
- ↑ PresseBox (c) 2002-2021 (2021-03-11). "NEU - DECT IP-Repeater pro, AGFEO GmbH & Co. KG, Pressemitteilung - PresseBox". www.pressebox.de (in Deutsch). Retrieved 2021-04-06.
