When Heinz Faigle opened a small business under the same roof as his parents’ company 75 years ago, no-one could have guessed that it would grow to become a leading international plastics specialist. What started out in 1946 in the loft of a silk dyeing and weaving works in the town of Hard in Vorarlberg, producing dolls and Punch and Judy figures, is now the faigle Group – an international business with locations in Europe and Asia. faigle produces, processes and sells engineering plastics and engineering plastic solutions, and is the global leader in the plastic wheel and roller market.
Third-generation family business. Friedrich Faigle has been part of the company for several years, taking over as the faigle Group’s Chief Operating Officer (COO) in 2021. This was another step in the generational change at the company, with Friedrich taking the reins from his father Wolfgang. “As I see it, one generation looks after the company before handing it on to the next,” says Friedrich Faigle. “It’s all about the interplay between tradition and innovation. The aim is that faigle remains a healthy, growing business that never loses sight of its values.”
Innovation – part of faigle’s DNA. faigle has always been committed to maximising sustainability. “Plastics and sustainability aren’t mutually exclusive,” Friedrich Faigle points out. “The long service life of our products means that we can do our bit to promote resource conservation and waste avoidance. One of our customers, a well-known global company, recently showed us a faigle wheel that had been in continuous operation for 27 years.