History
Fresenius
1462
Opening of the Hirsch Pharmacy
The Hirsch Pharmacy opens in Frankfurt am Main. The Fresenius family assumes ownership in the 19th century.
Fresenius
1912
Founding of the company
The pharmacist Dr. Eduard Fresenius, proprietor of the Hirsch Pharmacy, establishes the pharmaceutical company Dr. E. Fresenius. He expands the pharmacy laboratory into a small manufacturing operation. Its main products are pharmaceutical specialties such as injection solutions, serologic reagents and Bormelin nasal ointment.
Fresenius
1933
Production in Bad Homburg
The manufacturing company is separated from the Hirsch Pharmacy and moves to Bad Homburg, just outside of Frankfurt. Dr. Fresenius devotes more and more time to the company, which grows to around 400 employees.
Fresenius
1946
Founder Eduard Fresenius dies
The unexpected death of Eduard Fresenius endangers the further existence of the pharmacy and manufacturing company, which now has only 40 employees.
Fresenius
1952
Else Kröner takes over
Else Fernau (later Else Kröner), the foster daughter of Eduard Fresenius, assumes responsibility for the pharmacy and company after obtaining her degree in pharmacy studies.
Fresenius
1955
Expansion of infusion solutions
The infusion solutions product range is expanded.
Fresenius
1966
Dialysis machines
Fresenius starts to sell dialysis machines and dialyzers manufactured by various foreign companies and gains substantial market shares.
Fresenius
1974
St. Wendel plant
Fresenius begins manufacturing infusion solutions and medical disposables in St. Wendel, in Germany's Saarland region. Today, Fresenius Medical Care produces highly innovative polysulfone dialyzers in the St. Wendel plant.
Fresenius
1979
Schweinfurt plant
Production of the A2008 dialysis machine begins in a newly acquired factory in Schweinfurt. The machine is awarded a gold medal at the Leipzig Trade Fair that year.
Fresenius
1982
Joint stock company
The company is converted into a joint stock company. The Supervisory Board is headed by Else Kröner.
Fresenius
1983
Polysulfone fiber membrane
Fresenius begins producing synthetic polysulfone fiber membranes for blood purification. These membranes still set the quality standards for dialyzers today.
Fresenius
1986
Stock market flotation
Fresenius launches preference shares on the Frankfurt stock exchange.
Fresenius
1990
Sales surpass one billion marks
Fresenius employs 5,200 people; total sales exceed 1 billion deutsche marks.
Fresenius Vamed
1994
Entry into project business
With the acquisition of Hospitalia International, Fresenius enters the project business for developing hospitals and other healthcare facilities.Two years later, Fresenius acquires a majority stake in the hospital services provider VAMED AG.
Fresenius Medical Care
1996
Founding of Fresenius Medical Care
In 1996, the merger of Fresenius' dialysis business with the U.S. dialysis provider National Medical Care resulted in the creation of Fresenius Medical Care, the world's leading dialysis provider. Its shares are traded on the Frankfurt and New York stock exchanges.
Fresenius
1997
Friedberg plant
Fresenius opens a highly modern production plant for infusion solutions in Friedberg, just north of Frankfurt.
Consolidated sales amount to approximately 7.5 billion deutsche marks.
Fresenius
1998
New headquarters in Bad Homburg
Fresenius moves into new headquarters in Bad Homburg. The company has nearly 39,000 employees worldwide.
Fresenius Kabi
1999
Founding of Fresenius Kabi
After acquiring the international nutrition business of Pharmacia & Upjohn the year before, Fresenius merges it with Fresenius Pharma to form a new company: Fresenius Kabi. Fresenius Kabi becomes the European leader in nutrition and infusion therapy, with subsidiaries and distributors worldwide.
At Fresenius Medical Care, the 100,000th dialysis machine comes off the production line.
Fresenius
2001
Acquisition of Wittgensteiner Kliniken
Fresenius acquires Wittgensteiner Kliniken AG, one of the major nationwide operators of private hospitals in Germany.
Fresenius, a health care group with worldwide operations and over 60,000 employees, achieves sales of around 7.3 billion euros.
Fresenius Medical Care
2003
50 million dialyzers a year
With an output of more than 50 million dialyzers per year, Fresenius Medical Care sets a new record.
Fresenius Helios
2005
Acquisition of Helios
Fresenius acquires Helios, one of the top three private hospital operators in Germany.
Fresenius Medical Care
2006
Acquisition of Renal Care Group
Fresenius Medical Care takes over U.S. dialysis care provider Renal Care Group. Through its network of approximately 2,000 dialysis clinics in North America, Europe, Latin America, Asia-Pacific and Africa, Fresenius Medical Care provides dialysis treatment to approximately 157,000 patients around the globe.
Fresenius
2007
Fresenius becomes a European company
Fresenius is converted into a European company (Societas Europaea, or SE). This allows Fresenius to act as a legal entity anywhere inside the European Union.
Fresenius Kabi
2008
Expansion of I.V. generics
Fresenius Kabi strengthens its business with intravenously administered generic drugs (I.V. generics) and expands into oncology drugs with the acquisition of the Indian company Dabur Pharma.
Fresenius Kabi enters the North American pharmaceuticals market, and becomes a globally leading company in the field of I.V. generics through the acquisition of the U.S.-based APP Pharmaceuticals.
Fresenius
2009
Fresenius joins the DAX
Fresenius SE's preferred shares are admitted into the DAX, which already includes Fresenius Medical Care shares.
Fresenius
2011
Share conversion and change of legal form
Conversion of all preference shares into ordinary shares in combination with a change of the company's legal form into a partnership limited by shares – Kommanditgesellschaft auf Aktien (KGaA). Fresenius SE becomes Fresenius SE & Co. KGaA.
Fresenius
2012
Fresenius turns 100
As Fresenius turns 100, the company is active in some 100 countries and has more than 160,000 employees.
Fresenius Medical Care produces the 500,000th dialysis machine.
Fresenius Medical Care
2013
One billion dialyzers produced
Fresenius Medical Care produces its 1,000,000,000th dialyzer.
Fresenius Helios
2014
Acquisition of 41 Rhön hospitals
Fresenius Helios completes the acquisition of 41 hospitals and 13 outpatient facilities from Rhön-Klinikum AG. Fresenius Helios now owns 111 hospitals in Germany and is Europe's largest private hospital operator.
Fresenius also passes the milestone of 200,000 employees.
Fresenius Helios
2017
Acquisition of Quirónsalud
Fresenius Helios acquires Quirónsalud, Spain’s largest private hospital operator.
Fresenius Kabi
2019
First Biosimilar
Fresenius Kabi launches its first biosimilar Idacio®. Biosimilars are drugs that are highly similar to other approved biologic drugs.
Fresenius Medical Care acquires NxStage Medical, Inc. NxStage develops, produces and markets an innovative product portfolio of medical devices for use in home dialysis and critical care.
Fresenius Helios
2021
Entry into reproductive medicine
Fresenius Helios takes over the Eugin Group, a leading international group in the field of fertility treatments.
Fresenius
2023
Fresenius with new strategy and clear focus
The Operating Companies Fresenius Kabi and Fresenius Helios are at the center of the Group’s ambitions under #FutureFresenius. They are both geared for significant value creation and catering to system-critical areas of healthcare.
The company deconsolidates Fresenius Medical Care by changing Fresenius Medical Care’s legal form to a German Stock Corporation (“Aktiengesellschaft”).
Video
100 years of Fresenius
Fresenius has been working for over 100 years to improve the lives of seriously ill people around the world. This film, made on the occasion of the company's Centennial in 2012, tells the company's history through the stories of people who have been helped and are still being helped by Fresenius.
