Erfi Ernst Fischer

What Erfi Ernst Fischer does

erfi Ernst Fischer GmbH + Co. KG is a second-generation, family-owned German manufacturer founded in 1955 and headquartered in Freudenstadt, Baden-Württemberg. The company designs and produces integrated laboratory and workstation systems, electrical testing and measuring devices (elneos connect, elneos five/six, ABZ, basic, acto, CANclass, varantec, highlab), and automation services targeted at industrial manufacturers, technical and medical educational institutions, and medical device testing laboratories. Its core offering is a tightly coupled bundle of modular furniture, purpose-built electronic test instruments, and proprietary software (CANDY, highlink Power, AWM with 3,000+ installed licenses) sold as turnkey solutions rather than individual components.

The business operates a hybrid go-to-market: direct field sales and a 2,200 m² customer center in Freudenstadt serve German industrial and public-sector accounts, while an international network of sales offices in more than 20 countries and an online shop (shop.erfi.de) handle export demand, with roughly half of devices shipped outside Germany. Customers include Siemens and BMW as preferred suppliers since 2007, the German Armed Forces (Bundeswehr), BVG Berlin, and TU Freiberg, alongside a broad base of 30,000+ active customers. Production is vertically integrated across 8,600 m² of manufacturing floor rebuilt in 2017 with Industry 4.0 automation, supported by ISO 9001 (since 2006), GS, and CE certifications.

The company is privately held with no external funding rounds reported; revenue and growth figures are not publicly disclosed. Headcount is estimated in the 51–100 range, and the CEO is Andreas Fischer, son of founder Ernst Fischer (who passed in 2025 at age 99).

Name

Erfi Ernst Fischer

Legal name

erfi Ernst Fischer GmbH + Co. KG

Website

https://erfi.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1955

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Family-owned German manufacturer of integrated laboratory workstations, electrical testing devices, and proprietary automation software, serving industrial, educational, and medical device customers across more than 20 countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Laboratory Workstation Systems and Electrical Testing Equipment

NAICS

Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing (334516), Instrument Manufacturing for Measuring and Testing Electricity and Electrical Signals (334515), Other Measuring and Controlling Device Manufacturing (334519)

SIC

Laboratory Apparatus & Furniture (3821), Laboratory Analytical Instruments (3826), Industrial Instruments For Measurement, Display, And Control (3823)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYHLAGAIAM

Lab Furniture, Facilities & Utilities (Benches, Casework, Gas/Water Systems)

Healthcare & Life Sciences/Life Science Tools & Services (CRO/CDMO/Lab Services)/Laboratory Equipment, Instruments & Consumables

SECONDARYEDAEAIAC

Science & STEM Lab Equipment & Supplies (Chemistry, Biology, Physics, Makerspaces)

Education/Education Facilities & Support Services/Education Supplies, Equipment & Furniture Procurement

SECONDARYHLACAMAI

Lab Middleware, Instrument Connectivity & Automation

Healthcare & Life Sciences/Digital Health & Health IT/Laboratory Information Systems (LIS/LIMS) & Pathology Informatics

Keywords

• Laboratory workstation systems
• Electrical safety testing
• Measuring and testing equipment
• Industrial laboratory furniture
• Didactic training systems

Headquarters

HQ city

Freudenstadt

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Hardware sales - workstation systems and laboratory furniture: Sale of workstation systems including elneos connect, ABZ, varantec, and laboratory furniture. These are manufactured in-house at the Freudenstadt production facility.
2. Hardware sales - measuring and testing equipment: Sale of laboratory equipment systems (elneos six, basic, acto), standalone devices, and test systems including CANclass multifunction testers for electrical safety and functional testing.
3. Software licensing and updates: CANDY testing software, highlink Power room control software, and AWM assembly workflow management provided with customer-specific configurations and ongoing software updates.
4. Professional services: Consulting, planning, installation, and training services including 3D visualization, on-site installation by in-house staff, and training sessions for customers.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Erfi manufactures and sells modular laboratory workstation systems (elneos connect, ABZ), capacitive-controlled laboratory power supplies and measurement devices (elneos six, basic, acto), multifunction electrical safety testers (CANclass), and complementary software (CANDY testing software, highlink Power laboratory room control, AWM assembly workflow management). Offerings are designed as complete solutions combining furniture, electronic devices, and software for industrial laboratories, educational training facilities, and medical device manufacturers, with consulting, planning, and on-site installation services included.

Product overview

Erfi Ernst Fischer offers an integrated portfolio of laboratory and workplace equipment solutions consisting of hardware systems and complementary software. The product portfolio includes: (1) elneos connect - a modular aluminum profile workstation system with RGB LED lighting and height adjustment, paired with the capacitive-controlled elneos six device system for DC/AC power supplies, multimeters, and function generators; (2) ABZ - a cost-effective alternative workstation system; (3) Test and analysis systems including the CANclass Compact Tester multifunction testers with various test combinations for HV, ISO, PE, and leakage current testing, complemented by CANDY testing software for automated test planning and execution; (4) Organizational furniture including elneos Orgatower cabinets, elneos cubix storage system, and elneos stay seating; (5) Didactic systems with learning fields and automation technology teaching materials; (6) Supporting software including highlink Power for laboratory room control and AWM for assembly workflow management. The products are designed for electrical laboratories, industrial production, training facilities, and medical device testing, with emphasis on modularity, ergonomics, and integrated system solutions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• elneos connect Modular aluminum profile workstation system featuring height-adjustable table legs, continuous media routing via connector technology, RGB LED lighting, and flexible configuration options for laboratories, industrial assembly, and training environments.
• ABZ workstation system Cost-effective modular workstation system with aluminum profile construction, designed for laboratories and training facilities requiring a balance of functionality and economy.
• elneos six laboratory device system Capacitive touch-controlled device series for DC and AC laboratory power supplies, digital multimeters, power meters, function and arbitrary waveform generators, featuring intuitive gesture/touchless operation.
• basic laboratory device system Laboratory device system with semi-automatic and manual test devices for high voltage, insulation, protective conductor, and leakage current testing.
• acto laboratory device system Compact device program with ergonomic height of only 113mm and minimum installation depth, suitable for laboratory benchtop use.
• CANclass Compact Tester (Multifunction Tester) Multifunction tester combining high voltage (HV), insulation (ISO), protective earth (PE), and leakage current testing in one device. Available as standalone or 19-inch rack technology with over 20 models for industrial and medical device applications.
• Industrial Test Systems (Prüfanlagen für Industrie) Complete test workstations, production line transfer systems, and end-of-line (EOL) workstations for industrial manufacturing applications.
• Medical Device Testing Systems (Prüfanlagen für Medizingerätehersteller) Testing systems specifically designed for medical device manufacturers, supporting compliance with medical device electrical safety regulations.
• Manual Testers Manual testing devices for electrical safety testing applications.
• CANDY Testing Software Testing software for dynamic test planning, test execution, and statistics with automatic test plan generation for electrical safety and functional testing; integrates with Industry 4.0 environments.
• highlink Power Laboratory Software Laboratory software for controlling and visualizing laboratory rooms, enabling remote control of DC power supplies and intelligent measuring devices; over 3,000 licenses installed since 1990.
• AWM Assembly Workflow Management Worker assistance system with image and video-supported sequential work steps for assembly guidance and quality control, including a flexible work plan generator and professional sequencer.
• elneos Orgatower Organizational cabinets for modern and flexible workplace organization in laboratory and industrial environments.
• elneos cubix cabinet system Cabinet system for flexible and functional storage solutions in laboratory and industrial workplaces.
• elneos stay seating furniture Functional seating furniture series designed for modern laboratory and industrial workplaces.
• Learning Fields (Lernfelder) Didactic teaching materials covering installation technology, electrical engineering, building systems technology (KNX), photovoltaics, automation technology (PLC), drive technology, and operation monitoring, including DIN A4 learning boards for experiment frames.
• Automation Technology Teaching Systems Industry 4.0 automation teaching systems and learning content for technical educational institutions.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 30,000 active customers served globally
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• KRAUSS-LAW (Dr. Krauss and Dr. Wertheimer)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLegal partnership with law firm KRAUSS-LAW for professional legal advice and support. Attorneys Dr. Krauss and Dr. Wertheimer understand erfi's highly technical products, ensuring the company's rights are protected in public contracts. Through intensive collaboration, erfi has successfully defended its leading market position and secured major public contracts.
• HOMAGcoreTechnology or IntegrationSupplier of automated production machinery for Industry 4.0 manufacturing. HOMAG equipment enables erfi's fully automated and interlinked furniture production including cutting, edge banding, drilling, and milling operations.
• Gerd Flohr (University of Applied Sciences Dresden)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProfessor of Product Design who collaborated with erfi to develop the capacitive surface for elneos five, described as a 'visionary new development' and 'the iPhone of measurement technology.'
• Radio ApollominorGTM or Marketing PartnerExternal podcast partner featuring erfi workplace systems including ESD workstations and ergonomic chairs. Focuses on how design and technology work together to meet requirements of modern workplaces.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves11 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Megger Group: Global supplier of electrical safety and cable test equipment including insulation, high-voltage and protective earth testers; the closest broad incumbent competing with erfi's CANclass multifunction testers.
• Hioki E.E. Corporation: Japanese manufacturer of electrical measuring instruments (power meters, multimeters, function generators) sold globally into industrial and educational labs; comparable to erfi's elneos six device family.
• Fluke Corporation (Fortive): Dominant global manufacturer of electrical test and measurement instruments (multimeters, insulation testers, installation testers); competes with erfi's CANclass and elneos six testing equipment at the broader measurement-device layer.

Direct peers

• Waldner Laboreinrichtungen: German manufacturer of laboratory furniture, fume hoods and lab workstations; closest like-for-like peer to erfi's lab workstation and casework business serving the same European industrial and education customers.
• Kewaunee Scientific Corporation: US-based manufacturer of laboratory furniture, casework and fume hoods with global institutional/scientific customer base; comparable niche category but with stronger US footprint than erfi.
• Köttermann Systemlaborbau: Specialist laboratory furniture and workstation provider serving European R&D, education and industrial customers; directly comparable product categories to erfi's elneos connect and ABZ workstation systems.

Others

• Bosch Rexroth: Global supplier of factory automation, workstation technology and assembly systems; an adjacent infrastructure provider whose manual assembly workstations and ergonomic product lines overlap thematically with erfi's elneos connect and AWM assembly workflow offerings.
• ITEM (item Industrietechnik): Modular aluminum-profile industrial workstation and lean production systems; an adjacent enabler rather than direct competitor, since erfi's elneos connect workstation architecture uses similar profile-based modularity for lab/industrial use cases.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/results?search_query=erfi
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/erfi

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Erfi Ernst Fischer