Ferchau
FERCHAU is a German engineering and IT services provider operating across 130+ European branches with around 10,000 employees, delivering project-based engineering, staff augmentation, freelancer contracting, and executive search to automotive, aerospace, plant engineering, and IT clients.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1966
- HeadquartersGummersbach, Germany
- Headcount5,001–10,000
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Ferchau does
FERCHAU GmbH is a German engineering and IT services provider founded in 1966 and headquartered in Gummersbach. The company delivers technology services across more than 130 European branches under four service lines: COMPETENCE (project teams delivering engineering and IT projects under work or service contracts), SUPPORT (staff augmentation providing qualified engineering and IT professionals to client teams on demand), CONTRACT (curated freelancer network for mission-critical technology projects), and DIRECT (executive and professional search using competency-based interviews and the INSIGHTS MDI psychometric assessment). It also operates FERCHAU SERVICES for third-party management of external personnel.
The company serves eight primary verticals — Automotive, Aerospace & Defence, Plant Engineering, IT, Marine, Pharma & Life Science, Public Sector, and Mechanical Engineering — plus Telecommunications & Media. Specialized units include FERCHAU Automotive (electrics/electronics, product development, production engineering, software) and FERCHAU Aerospace & Defence (end-to-end development for air, space, and defense programs), backed by wholly-owned subsidiaries RST (Rostock) and planting for plant engineering. A digital customer portal, FERCHAU relaX, centralizes personnel procurement, project tracking, and invoicing across service lines.
FERCHAU reports approximately €945 million in annual revenue, with a workforce of around 10,000 employees, a freelancer network of over 54,000, and a candidate pool exceeding 200,000. The company is owner-managed by founder Frank Ferchau (no external institutional investment disclosed), holds ISO 9001 certification, and has been recognized as a top employer in multiple European markets. Operating geographies include Germany, Austria, France, Poland, Spain, and the United Kingdom.
Ferchau firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Ferchau
- Legal name
- FERCHAU GmbH
- Website
- https://ferchau.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1966
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 5,001–10,000 employees
- Short description
- FERCHAU is a German engineering and IT services provider operating across 130+ European branches with around 10,000 employees, delivering project-based engineering, staff augmentation, freelancer contracting, and executive search to automotive, aerospace, plant engineering, and IT clients.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where Ferchau is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Gummersbach
- HQ country
- Germany
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices16 records
Markets served
Ferchau business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Project-Based Engineering Services (COMPETENCE): Complete project delivery through expert teams for engineering and IT projects, including work contracts (Werkverträge) and service contracts (Dienstverträge).
- Staffing and Personnel Services (SUPPORT): Provision of qualified engineering and IT experts to supplement customer teams during peak periods, capacity bottlenecks, or specialized projects.
- Freelancer Contracting (CONTRACT): Network of carefully selected freelancers providing technology contracting services for mission-critical projects.
- Professional and Executive Search (DIRECT): Headhunting services for specialized professionals and executives, including competency-based interviews and psychometric assessments.
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels9 records
Ferchau product offering
Product offeringCore offering
FERCHAU provides engineering and IT services to corporate clients across Europe through four delivery models: project-based engineering teams (COMPETENCE), staff augmentation with on-demand experts (SUPPORT), curated freelancer contracting (CONTRACT), and executive/professional search (DIRECT). The company supplements these services with third-party personnel management (SERVICES) and a digital portal (FERCHAU relaX) for managing personnel requests and tracking project execution.
Product overview
FERCHAU is a technology services company offering a unified portfolio of Engineering and IT services across four core delivery models: COMPETENCE (project solutions with expert teams), SUPPORT (experts on demand for client teams), CONTRACT (freelancer contracting), and DIRECT (executive/professional search with aptitude diagnostics). Additional offerings include SERVICES (third-party management) and the relaX digital portal for centralized service access. The company operates specialized units for Automotive and Aerospace & Defence, serving industries including Plant Engineering, Marine, IT, Pharma & Life Science, Public Sector, Retail & E-Commerce, Telecommunications & Media, Energy, Finance, Construction, and Logistics across over 130 branches in Europe.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- FERCHAU relaX: Digital portal for customers to manage all personnel requirements from procurement through commissioning and tracking of project-relevant information.
- FERCHAU Easy Pay
Products and services
- FERCHAU COMPETENCE
Quantifiable outcome
- 60 years of experience since 1966
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Ferchau
Customer profileSegments9 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
Ferchau technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration1 record
Feature1 record
Ferchau partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- INSIGHTS MDIcoreFERCHAU DIRECT uses INSIGHTS MDI psychometric assessment tool as part of their competency-based interview process. This personality analysis provides insights into candidates' behavioral preferences, motives, and motivators in professional contexts. The tool has Cronbach's alpha between 0.7 and 0.87 across six scales, meeting scientific reliability standards.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Ferchau competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- AKKA Technologies: European engineering and technology consulting firm (now part of Capgemini) offering staff augmentation, project engineering, and digital services across automotive, aerospace, and industrial clients. Strongly comparable business model and customer base.
- Bertrandt: German engineering services provider with deep automotive OEM relationships and a comparable mix of project development, staff augmentation, and IT services across Europe. Most direct comparable given overlap with FERCHAU's primary verticals.
- Hays: UK-listed specialist recruitment and workforce solutions provider with large German and European operations in engineering and IT, closely overlapping FERCHAU's SUPPORT/CONTRACT/DIRECT service lines.
- Brunel International: Global specialist in engineering, technical, and IT staffing with strong presence in the Netherlands, Germany, and broader Europe. Closely comparable in CONTRACT/SUPPORT-style freelancer and staff augmentation services.
- EDAG Engineering: German engineering services provider focused on automotive, aerospace, and industrial customers, offering project-based engineering solutions and staff augmentation analogous to FERCHAU's COMPETENCE and SUPPORT lines.
- Alten: French-headquartered engineering and IT services group operating across Europe with similar staff augmentation and project delivery models. Competes head-to-head in automotive and aerospace verticals.
Broad incumbents
- Capgemini Engineering: Global engineering and R&D services arm of Capgemini (incorporating the former Altran) — much larger incumbent competing in similar verticals with broader digital and IT services capabilities.
- SEGULA Technologies: French engineering services group with pan-European footprint in automotive, aerospace, energy, and rail. Broader geographic and end-market reach than FERCHAU but highly comparable service mix.
Others
- Avanade (Accenture/Microsoft JV): Large IT services and digital transformation provider; relevant adjacency given FERCHAU's IT services horizontal and growing digital transformation practice, though not a direct engineering staffing competitor.
Regional players
- GFT Technologies: German IT services and digital transformation provider serving financial services, insurance, and industry — overlapping with FERCHAU's IT services horizontal but with a different vertical mix.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Ferchau social profiles
Digital presenceFerchau compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
Ferchau financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Ferchau leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Ferchau subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
Ferchau funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Ferchau M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Ferchau
What does Ferchau do?
FERCHAU provides engineering and IT services to corporate clients across Europe through four delivery models: project-based engineering teams (COMPETENCE), staff augmentation with on-demand experts (SUPPORT), curated freelancer contracting (CONTRACT), and executive/professional search (DIRECT). The company supplements these services with third-party personnel management (SERVICES) and a digital portal (FERCHAU relaX) for managing personnel requests and tracking project execution.
Is Ferchau a public or private company?
Ferchau is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Ferchau founded?
Ferchau was founded in 1966. It employs 5,001 to 10,000 people.
Where is Ferchau based?
Ferchau is headquartered in Gummersbach, Germany, in the Europe region.
How does Ferchau make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Project-Based Engineering Services (COMPETENCE) is the primary driver. The others are staffing and Personnel Services (SUPPORT), freelancer Contracting (CONTRACT) and professional and Executive Search (DIRECT).
Who are Ferchau's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are AKKA Technologies, Bertrandt, Hays, Brunel International, EDAG Engineering and Alten. Broad incumbents are Capgemini Engineering and SEGULA Technologies. Avanade (Accenture/Microsoft JV) is listed as an others. GFT Technologies is listed as a regional player.
Does Ferchau have an API?
No public API is recorded for Ferchau.