Festool UK, based at Suffolk Business Park, in Bury St Edmunds, celebrates company’s 100th anniversary
Staff and customers at a leading power tools company have been helping to celebrate its centenary.
Festool UK, based in Anglo Saxon Way, Rougham, held a special event on Saturday for industry professionals and enthusiasts.
More than 270 people attended for Festool Connect, which was an opportunity for the Festool community to network, try out the latest tools at the headquarters on Suffolk Business Park.
Woodworking enthusiasts and tradespeople from the industry met with Festool experts to learn about tools and techniques.
There was also a live band and food for the celebration, held between between noon and 7pm.
People attended from across the UK as well as Ireland and Denmark.
Festool was founded by Gottlieb Stoll and Albert Fezer in 1925, under the name Fezer and Stoll.
The company manufactured the world's first portable chainsaw in 1927, amongst many other firsts and innovations.
Its name was shortened to Festo in 1933, which then founded Festo Tooltechnic in 1992.
The power tool division became an independent company, Festool, in 2000.
Today, with nearly 900 patents and more than 60 prestigious iF Design awards, Festool is market leader in the professional carpentry, timber construction and paint work industry.
The company remains family owned. Barbara Austel, granddaughter of company founder Gottlieb Stoll and chairwoman of the Festool supervisory board is still involved in its operations.
The company’s main headquarters is in Wendlingen, Germany; however Festool has a worldwide presence, from Lebanon to New Zealand.
It founded its UK headquarters in Bury St Edmunds in 2003 where about 55 employees work in sales, service, customer service, marketing, finance, accounts and logistics.
Globally, it is present in 68 countries and has more than 2,700 employees. It operates subsidiaries in 25 countries.
Barbara Austel said: "Our history is the history of a family, the history of a company, and also a little piece of the history of craftsmanship as a whole.
“Welcome to the next 100 years."
