50 years of ifm: how it all began

On 29 October 1969 the time had come: today's ifm group of companies was founded as ifm electronic geräte gmbh+co kg. In ifm's foundation year, success started with the invention of inductive sensors for 220 V.

about us

In the beginning it was passion driving the founders to develop sensors with extraordinary quality and reliability and to provide unequalled customer service. It was with this vision and knowing that 'quality' by far exceeds the actual product that ifm started in October 1969.

Close to you

After many years of intensive cooperation with our customers we have established ourselves in the market as service-oriented sensor specialists and today we are represented by more than 7,300 employees in over 95 countries worldwide. Even though we have grown into a big company we have still maintained the virtues of the founding years: The flexibility and individuality of a small enterprise and the quality and professionalism of a group. And our customers are still today in the center of our work - close to you.

Quality and service

Quality for us means far exceeding the actual product. All of our processes are focused on customer service and product quality. We personally support our customers - no matter where in the world and in which language. And if it has to be fast, our experts will provide competent support through our free service hotlines. We use our customers' feedback to continuously improve the quality of our products. In special test procedures we stress our sensors far beyond their limits to make sure that they keep what we promise in the customers' processes. In addition each product is submitted to a final inspection before it leaves our premises. This is a promise we take seriously and so we offer a 5-year warranty on each catalog product.

Made in Germany

70% of our products are developed and manufactured in Germany. We feel closely connected to the location Germany. But we have reached a point at which we want to further extend the vision of our commitment "close to you". With manufacturing and development locations in the USA, in Singapore, Poland and Romania, we follow our principles and can respond to the requirements of the different markets with competency, flexibility and professionally. Our manufacturing and development locations are set up according to the same high quality German standards, whether it concerns the working conditions for our staff, protecting the environment during production or maintaining high quality standards in development and production.

Innovation and special company culture--our key to global growth  

Our company profits provide the necessary capital for creating and securing training positions and employment and for investing in innovation. Within the ifm group of companies, value-oriented action plays an important role. The founding generation laid down principles in a philosophy which has now been translated into 16 languages and is handed out to every employee. In this philosophy we promote our ethical company culture and encourage our employees into a responsible and sustainable behavior - also in the global context. So for us, successful cost management and morality do not exclude each other. This is confirmed by our continuous growth since the foundation of the company. On the basis of this philosophy we achieved a company turnover of 975 million EUR in 2018.

ifm distinguished!

ifm is always in motion. Constantly, innovations are developed, products optimized and system solutions adapted. Professional perspectives and career opportunities are set to standards and ensure a safe future ... so much so that ifm achieves awards for its performance on a regular basis.