About FOBA 50 years of FOBA: expertise in laser marking

Our core business is the development of technologies for marking industrial products and components. Originally based on mechanical engraving, today our systems using laser technology mark virtually all materials, from metals and plastics to ceramics or glass.

We are proud to be one of the world's leading providers of direct part marking laser systems today, with approximately 240 employees. Our international orientation and our growth are additionally supported by our affiliation to the US-American Danaher Group.

Our common motto "Bring products to life by harnessing laser technology" will remain to be our practical guide in the future: We will continue to develop our innovative solutions for direct marking with lasers in order to make products and individual parts identifiable and optimally usable in all areas of life.

Beside all the tradition our history has always been marked by innovation and change. The anniversary year 2019 offers ample opportunity to look back as well as into the future. We invite you to do this with us:

1969 to today: Milestones in our company history

01. September 1969 Foundation of FOBA as moldmaking (“Formenbau”) and engraving company“

1969: A year that was fundamental - not just as far as our company was concerned: just a few weeks before the company was founded, the famous Apollo 11 Mission to the Moon took place. Not only did the first humans leave a footprint behind, but also a reflector to perform laser measurements. It has been used by astronomers around the world to measure the distance between earth and moon.

Which technical developments followed, was not foreseeable at the time. But like laser technology as a whole, ALLTEC FOBA has been moving steadily towards the future ever since.

The most important big and small steps in the history of ALLTEC FOBA can be found in the following timeline.
Pictures source: Wikipedia

1985 Founding of the ALLTEC GmbH

Founding of ALLTEC GmbH in Lübeck with initially 5 employees with the purpose of development and production of laser technology for parts marking.

1991 Founding of the FOBA laser technology division

Start of the laser division at FOBA with initially seven technical employees. Construction of the first FOBA own laser LP100.

1992 First laser system for laser deep engraving

Delivery of the first laser system for laser deep engraving at FOBA.

1993 First laser system for day and night design

Delivery of the first machine for paint removal as well as day and night design. First cooperation projects between FOBA and ALLTEC already in the nineties.

2000 First laser system with 5 axes

First laser engraving machine with 5 axes for the processing of three-dimensional parts marking Spin-off of the departments Mechanical Production and Electronics.

2001 Focus on laser technology

Concentration and sole focus on laser technology at FOBA.
FOBA meanwhile has 128 employees.

2004 ALLTEC becomes part of Danaher

ALLTEC becomes part of the Product Identification Platform (PID) of Danaher Corp. .

2005 Introduction of the first laser with integrated imaging

A special feature of FOBA is the camera integrated directly into the laser head. A largely distortion-free camera view, created by 'Through-The-Lens Imaging', is one of the reasons that FOBA's marking lasers are among the most powerful systems for camera-based marking alignment.

01.09.2009 FOBA merges with ALLTEC

Takeover of FOBA by ALLTEC (Angewandte Laserlicht Technologie GmbH, Lübeck). The previously separate companies FOBA Technologies + Services GmbH and ALLTEC GmbH are consolidated into one company, the ALLTEC GmbH.

The ALLTEC and FOBA sales brands are merged to form a reoriented FOBA brand for distribution and service in the worldwide markets of laser direct part marking.

03.01.2010 Full integration of FOBA production

Complete integration of FOBA production at Selmsdorf after several months of merging the Lüdenscheid FOBA and Selmsdorf ALLTEC teams and the respective equipment. Increasing shift of production focus from lamp- and diode-pumped laser systems to beam-guided fiber laser systems.

2012 New laser marking machines

Start of production of the M-Series and launch of the current generation of high-performance laser marking workstations.
In this context, also the introduction of the mobile, open structure in the production hall, which still allows a high flexibility in the continuous optimization of work processes.

2014 Relocation of all departments to Selmsdorf

Final relocation of the company headquarters from Lüdenscheid to Selmsdorf.

2015 Introduction of Y-series and HELP process

With HELP (Holistic Enhanced Laser Process), FOBA offers a holistic, image marking process that includes part inspection steps before and immediately after laser marking. Introduction of the Y-Series, a new generation of high-precision fiber lasers for integration in production lines or individual workplaces.

2018 Marking without fixtures

FOBA MOSAIC enables precise marking alignment with parts placed randomly in the marking field.

2019 50 years of FOBA – and for the anniversary a "revolution" in laser marking

Under the motto 'Bring products to life by harnessing laser technology', FOBA is further expanding its position among the market leaders in camera-based laser marking. The foundation for this is FOBA's constant further development and product innovations. 

In late 2019 FOBA launches FOBA Titus^TM, the world's smallest laser marking head. Its design and functionality makes the integration of laser marking into a production line decisively more flexible.