Mourning for Ernst Fischer (erfi) - visionary, doer, family entrepreneur
It is with great sympathy that erfi Ernst Fischer GmbH + Co KG bids farewell to its founder and senior partner Ernst Fischer, who has passed away at the age of 99. With his passing, the company has lost not only its origins, but also an entrepreneurial personality whose creative power and vision have shaped the foundations of erfi to this day.

From craftsmanship to high-tech innovation
Born in Betzweiler in 1926 as the son of master carpenter Gottlieb Fischer, Ernst Fischer embodied precision craftsmanship, technical curiosity and entrepreneurial courage from the very beginning.
After training as a mechanic at Mauserwerke in Oberndorf from 1939 to 1943, he did his military service during the Second World War.
In the post-war years, he learned a second trade as a carpenter and worked in a managerial position in his brother Gottlieb Fischer's carpentry business until 1954, rebuilding the war-damaged town of Freudenstadt.
He was responsible for the reconstruction of the right-hand steeple of the town church.
In 1952, he successfully passed his master carpentry examination - a sign of his versatility and tireless creative drive.
He met his wife Irma Fischer (née Gaisser) in Freudenstadt in 1946.
The entrepreneurial milestone followed in 1955: the founding of the company “Ernst Fischer Betriebseinrichtungen”, now erfi. What began as workbench production in rented premises in Murgtalstraße developed into an international technology leader for electronic workstations, measuring and testing technology and intelligent test systems thanks to its innovative strength over the following decades.
In the early 1960s, Ernst Fischer acquired the first plots of land in what is now the Wittlensweiler industrial estate and invested in a first production hall and a residential and administration building.

 
Pioneering work for an entire industry
With a keen sense for technological trends, Ernst Fischer recognized the enormous potential of the emerging electronics industry as early as the 1960s. Instead of relying on established paths, he boldly founded a new market: electronics laboratory equipment with integrated device technology. The idea of integrating measuring and testing equipment directly into laboratory benches revolutionized everyday work in research, development and training. This principle is still at the heart of the erfi system world today.
In the years that followed, he also played a decisive role in shaping the market: for example, by introducing the first modular aluminum laboratory bench series highlab and setting up his own electronics development department with a high level of vertical integration. He was awarded prestigious design prizes for his pioneering ideas - including the “Good Industrial Form” award at the Hannover Messe.
In the early 1970s, the specialist department Test Systems for Electrical Safety and Function was founded.

Family entrepreneur with vision
In addition to all his entrepreneurial activities, Ernst Fischer always remained committed to the idea of the family business. Together with his wife Irma, he gradually developed erfi into an internationally active provider of intelligent workplace, laboratory and test systems.

 
A life full of passion
Ernst Fischer remained committed to his life's work into old age and accompanied the further development of the company with an alert mind. In his private life, he devoted himself enthusiastically to golf - a sport that he actively enjoyed until very old age. As the father of three children, he was both a loving family man and a reliable companion.
His daughter Karin was born in 1957 and his daughter Doris in 1965.
His son Andreas was born in 1968 and has successfully managed the company since 1995 together with his wife Christiane.

 
A legacy that lives on
Today, erfi supplies customers worldwide - from vocational schools, universities and industrial companies to the German Armed Forces. The basic values created by Ernst Fischer - innovative spirit, quality, responsibility - live on in the corporate culture. His entrepreneurial courage, his clarity and his creative power will have an impact far beyond his death.