A journey of success through 135 years of company history.
Welcome to our anniversary! Since 1889, our company group experiences an impressive journey through family tradition, innovation and a passion for energy. In this blog, we take a detailed look at the key milestones that have shaped this journey, from its beginnings as a milling company to global expansion and the 135th anniversary in 2024. F-Energies not only stands for continuity as a family business, but also for pioneering innovations in the fields of renewable energies and electrical engineering.


Innovation
Foundation by Franz Heresch.
In 1889, Franz Heresch, a businessman, laid the cornerstone for our today‘s company group. He acquires an agricultural operation and a „mill company“ which operates a milland a sawmill.


Energy
Electricity
Electricity Generation & Hydropower.
We are setting standards in the generation and distribution of electricity. The construction of the first hydroelectric power plant marks a milestone, as it operates an electricity plant and supplies the Wildon market with electricity. The passion for hydropower takes its course. Thanks to our visionary thinking, the company is part of the distribution of electricity in Austria. Imagine, we even had to pay for the supply of electricity to the first customer. Those were different times.


Innovation
Connection to the Interconnected Grid.
With the acquisition of an electricity plant in 1947, the company ensures that we can meet the constantly increasing demand for electricity. We join the interconnected grid.


Electricity
Foundation of an Electrical Installation Company.
In order to make the generated electricity available to the society, an electrical installation company, today‘s Hereschwerke, was founded.


Innovation
Energy for all.
Over time, electricity becomes more and more accessible to households and our power station already supplies more than 11,000 people with electricity
Familybusiness
Employee Loyalty.
40% of the workforce celebrate their 10th anniversary at the company at the same time. Even back then, it was clear that our employees were our most valuable asset.


Familybusiness
Stability
Family business in fourth generation.
Dr. Gilbert Frizberg, great-grandson of the founder, joins the company and continues the family tradition. He further expands the market and extends the range of electrical engineering in the direction of control technology.


Energy
Growth
Expansion of renewable energy.
We expand successfully in the field of renewable energy. Particularly with the expansion of biomass heating plants for local and district heating supply and the construction of further hydropower plants.


Familybusiness
Stability
100-year company anniversary.
Three generations of the Frizberg family celebrate the company‘s 100th anniversary together with the entire workforce. The company continues to specialise in energy and electrical engineering with a focus on electrical installation, switchgear construction, control technology, automation and network expansion. The mill is closed.


Electricity
Growth
Foundation of Hereschwerke Vienna.
Hereschwerke opens a subsidiary in Vienna and, in addition to Styria (a federal state of Austria), also concentrates on the expansion of electrical installation in Vienna.
In 1997, the Company Goup generated sales of 250 million schillings – that would be 18 million euros today – and employed more than 160 people.

Growth
Global orientation.
Our Company Group has been active beyond Austria‘s borders since 1998 by promoting the automation of environmental measurement technology in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Belgium.


Energy
Foundation of enso.
Together with partners, enso GmbH was founded and our hydropower expertise was expanded. Today, enso is responsible for the development and operation of hydropower plants and photovoltaic systems in Europe.


Energy
Growth
Participation in Global Hydro Energy.
Our Group is the majority shareholder in the technology company Global Hydro Energy GmbH, which today offers all electromechanical equipment and forward-looking software solutions for hydropower plants. For this purpose FE Future Holding GmbH, a community of investors committed to sustainability and innovation, is founded.
The very next year, a big investment is made in the expansion of the company building and the Global Hydro site in Upper Austria. This is a commitment to Austria as our business location.


Electricity
Growth
Implementation of Water Quality Monitoring Systems in China.
Our company group realizes a pioneering project in China: the Water Quality Monitoring System was implemented as part of the Urumqi project with a budget of 2.2 million euros. The aim was to counteract massive water pollution and establish innovative solutions in the field of automating environmental monitoring.


Innovation
Innovation at Global Hydro.
Global Hydro Energy reaches a milestone with the production of the first Francis runner from a monoblock, a pioneering technology that is taken for granted today.


Electricity
Innovation
The largest single project of Hereschwerke.
The Project Wien Mitte „The Mall“ is Hereschwerke‘s largest single project. With a volume of 40 million euros, the project was successfully implemented from 2008 to 2013.


Growth
Global orientation.
Together with Global Hydro Energy GmbH, the Group‘s share of export increases constantly and the first subsidiaries in Turkey, Indonesia, Colombia and Canada are founded.


Energy
Electricity
The company group is united under F-Energies.
The management of the F-Energies GmbH is executed by Dr. Gilbert Frizberg (CEO) and DI (FH) Heinz Peter Knass (CFO). Mag. Richard Frizberg joins the Company Group. In FE Future Holding GmbH, in addition to F-Energies, Invest Unternehmensbeteiligungs AG and Oberösterreichische Beteiligungsgesellschaft m.b.H & Co KG as long-term financial shareholders are guarantors of success.


Innovation
Energy
Innovationbooster & HydroLab at Global Hydro.
As an innovation leader, Global Hydro Energy is driving the continuous further development of small hydropower technology. Particularly, in the years from 2019 to 2023, patents for the EVO lines, jet circle adjustment for Pelton turbines and pioneering developments for the bucket connection of the Pelton runner, vibration-based sediment detection, laser cladding, Pelton nozzle alignment, additive manufacturing (3D printing) and much more were successfully implemented.


Innovation
Energy
Unique engineering for a hydropower plant with Verbund.
Another milestone in our success story is the unique engineering project for Stegenwald. A hydro-power plant together with VERBUND, which is currently under construction, but will go into operation in 2024.


Energy
Electricity
Fresh air in the 5th generation.
Mag. Richard Frizberg, the great-great-grandson of the founder, takes over the management of the Company Group and manages together with DI (FH) Heinz Peter Knass the F-Energies GmbH and all its companies.
Growth
More than 100 millions euro operating performance.
On the company‘s anniversary, F-Energies achieves an impressive operating performance of over 100 million euro and employees more than 500 people in the group.
This underlines our success and the continued growth of a company, that has been shaping the world of renewable energies and electrical engineering since 1889.


Kontakt

F-Energies GmbH
Franz-Heresch-Straße 1
A-8410 Wildon
Tel: 03182/2216 – 100
Fax: 03182/2216 – 110
office@f-energies.com
© 2018 F-Energies GmbH. All rights reserved.