External workers have long been an integral part of day-to-day operations in German companies. Nevertheless, only a few companies treat them as an integral part of their overall workforce. Instead, different departments manage the use of external personnel largely independently of one another: HR is responsible for temporary staffing, purchasing handles service and work contracts, and line departments commission support from their project budgets. The result is a fragmented procurement landscape with overlapping responsibilities and inconsistent data.

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How can maritime defense systems be developed more quickly, integrated efficiently, and kept operational over the long term? At the DWT Marine Workshop 2026, FERCHAU and RST Rostock System-Technik will demonstrate how they support stakeholders in the defense industry.

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planting GmbH, an engineering service provider for the process industry and part of the FERCHAU Group, and Tiger Solutions GmbH Europe, provider of the TAI AI platform, are entering into a development partnership. The goal is to combine engineering expertise with artificial intelligence to develop digital products that engineers in the process industry, pharma & life sciences, public & infrastructure, energy & hydrogen, and defense sectors can use directly in their project work. The partnership will take effect on September 15, 2026, and will be publicly unveiled for the first time at the Engineering Summit 2026.

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The automotive crisis is affecting not only plants and budgets, but also the core of value creation: development. The key factors will be where system expertise is developed and how quickly it can be applied in projects.

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For Emily Petersohn, continuing education is an integral part of her professional future: The Ferchau apprentice is hoping for greater political support and better conditions.

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The energy sector is no longer in the phase of abstract goals—it is in the midst of implementation. Technologies are in place, programs have been launched, and regulatory frameworks have been defined. But what has not kept pace is the capacity for implementation: the ability to make the energy transition a reality in a scalable, rapid, and highly precise manner. To achieve this, the industry needs capital, a stable political environment, and technical innovation. Above all, however, it needs people who can structure projects, manage interfaces, take responsibility, and deliver results.

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Geopolitical crises drive up costs, fragment markets, and force companies to adopt new strategies: resilience, regionalization, and quick decision-making are becoming crucial.

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In this episode of Staffingpreneur, Thomas André Sola travels to Gummersbach and speaks with Frank Ferchau, Chairman and shareholder of the FERCHAU Group, about the company’s sixty-year history, the moment of letting go, and the question of whether FERCHAU is actually still a staffing firm.

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The FERCHAU Group operates throughout Europe as a technology service provider—for the Next Level: from mechanical and plant engineering to energy, pharmaceuticals & life sciences, aerospace & defense, IT, and the automotive industry. This article focuses on the latter industry. This is because it is undergoing an unprecedented, globally impactful transformation that is having a profound effect on technological project work in Germany — whether in terms of ever-shorter development cycles or highly networked vehicle systems.

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Frank Ferchau and Martin Sauerschnig of the technology service provider Ferchau know the German aerospace industry better than almost anyone else. What is the state of the industry?

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Ferchau's Head of AI explains why organization — not technology — is the biggest hurdle to AI —and how companies can successfully integrate AI.

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Today, the technology service provider has 10,000 employees. We spoke with Frank Ferchau about this development and what lies ahead.

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Gummersbach, July 7, 2026 – FERCHAU is turning 60 – and taking the next step in its development: Under the motto “Creating Tomorrow,” the company is systematically expanding its activities in future-oriented fields such as artificial intelligence, energy, and pharmaceuticals & life sciences.

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Companies prefer to invest in Eastern Europe, says the chairman of the small-to-medium-sized business Ferchau. The current reforms are the right path for entrepreneurs — with two caveats.

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Software development service providers are suffering from the industry crisis. Here's how leading CEOs and experts assess the situation.

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Fowzia Abida (30) discovered her interest in artificial intelligence (AI) while in college. Today, she works in AI development and talks about her journey and her day-to-day work in the field.

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Gummersbach, June 4, 2026 – From June 10 to 14, the FERCHAU Group will be showcasing its Aerospace & Defense division at the ILA Berlin. Under the theme “Pioneering Aerospace,” the leading international trade fair will focus on key future topics in the industry—and the technology service provider will demonstrate how it applies its expertise to complex development programs: at Booth 136 in Hall C.

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Justin Ladwig, Abdul-Malik Akiev, and Finn Nils Maybauer were honored as the top graduates at the Gummersbach campus of the Technical University of Cologne.

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Gummersbach, May 5, 2026 – Under the theme “Thinking in a networked way & acting with confidence as a response to a national defense strategy,” AFCEA 2026 brings together representatives from the German Armed Forces, government agencies, industry, and the technology sector. At booth R56, the FERCHAU Group will demonstrate how its Aerospace & Defense division provides targeted support to OEMs and system suppliers as a development partner with many years of experience in national and European defense programs.

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Today, vehicle functions are no longer created solely through code; they are trained. Behind this transformation are engineers who feed vehicle data into AI models, validate them, and activate them. Philipp Nolte works precisely at this intersection.

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Gummersbach, April 8, 2026 – From April 14 to 16, 2026, the FERCHAU Group will be exhibiting with its Aerospace & Defence division at the Aircraft Interiors Expo (AIX) in Hamburg. The leading international trade fair for aircraft cabins, inflight entertainment, and passenger experience brings together airlines, manufacturers, and suppliers. As a leading engineering partner in the Cabin & Cargo sector, the division—together with FERCHAU subsidiary RST Rostock System-Technik—will present its comprehensive service and product portfolio for the aerospace and defense industries at Booth 6E80C-01.

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With sales of €945 million, around 10,000 employees, and over 130 locations, the FERCHAU Group has laid the foundation for targeted growth in future-oriented industries in 2026.

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For decades, the title “Dipl.-Ing.” was a mark of quality. But what is the actual state of the engineer’s reputation in a country where bridges collapse and trains are rarely on time? Varinia Bernau discusses this with Frank Ferchau. Not only is he a Dipl.-Ing., but he also led one of the country’s largest engineering and IT service providers—Ferchau—for 20 years. Now he is chairman of the family-owned company, which deploys its employees across nearly every sector of industry: automotive, aerospace, and more. This episode also explores the spirit of engineering—both male and female. It’s about freedom. And about 180 sleepless nights.

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In this interview, Christoph Sedlmeir, COO of the Contract Division, discusses the strategic rationale behind the consolidation, the expansion of IT expertise for these future-oriented industries, and his outlook on developments in 2026. A conversation that illustrates how Ferchau brings together technology, people, and processes—and why “1 + 1 can be more than 2.”

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Part of the FERCHAU Group for many years, top itservices AG will also bear the name FERCHAU from January 1. This will bring the technology service provider from Gummersbach even more into focus in the contracting market—and enable it to respond to customer requirements with an expanded network of freelancers in the future.

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Gummersbach, 1 July 2025 – Founded 15 years ago as a single office in Cologne, planting GmbH is now one of the established engineering partners of the German process industry. With over 430 operational employees, 13 offices and annual sales of around 50 million euros, the company has grown strategically and technologically since then.

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Munich, 1 July 2025 – Where desks once stood, engines will now be tested, prototypes manufactured and cable harnesses assembled: FERCHAU Automotive is opening a new location for its motorcycle technology division at Hufelandstraße 13, directly opposite BMW Motorrad. With an additional 580 square metres of workshop and project space, the company is responding to growing demand for specialised engineering services for two-wheeled vehicles.

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Gummersbach, April 9, 2025 - planting GmbH can look back on the most successful financial year in its 15-year history. With an increase in turnover of 15 percent compared to the previous year, the premium partner to the process industry defied the difficult service and engineering market environment. In the 2024 financial year, the company achieved a turnover of 50 million euros after 44 million euros in 2023. There was also an increase in the number of employees to a total of 435 (410, 2023). The team almost doubled, particularly at the Hamburg location. Just a year ago, there were 15 employees at the port of Harburg; now there are almost 30.

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2024 was a successful year for the ABLE GROUP – Germany's leading group of companies for cross-industry IT and engineering services. It again generated solid total sales of almost 1 billion euros in the past financial year and expanded its network of branches to more than 145. It is thus bucking the economic trends in the industry and the market as a whole. With a new structure and under a new name, the FERCHAU Group has been strengthening its position in a highly competitive environment since January 2025.

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The IT and engineering service provider supports the care of sick children Augsburg, December 12, 2024 - The year 2024 brought with it many challenges, especially for vulnerable people such as sick children and young people. The “Der bunte Kreis” foundation offers them much-needed support in uncertain times. For the fifteenth time in a row, the FERCHAU Augsburg branch donated 1,000 euros and a basket full of chocolate Santa Clauses to the “Bunter Kreis” foundation in Augsburg at the end of the year.

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