Festo Company Profile: History, Ownership, Financials, Products and Leadership
Updated: Oct 15
Festo is a German family-owned maker of pneumatic and electric automation components, with revenue of about EUR 3.33 billion in 2025 and about 20,600 employees. Founded in 1925, it is one of the world's best-known names in pneumatics, and is now working through a third year of falling sales. This profile sets out its history, ownership, results, products and leadership.
Festo at a Glance
Fact | Detail |
Company | Festo SE & Co. KG |
Founded | 1925, by Albert Fezer and Gottlieb Stoll |
Headquarters | Esslingen am Neckar, Germany |
Revenue | About EUR 3.33 billion in 2025 |
Employees | About 20,600, of whom about 8,200 in Germany |
Presence | Companies in more than 60 countries |
Research and development | More than 8% of revenue |
Ownership | Stoll family |
Stock listing | None; privately held |
Chairman of the Management Board | Thomas Boeck |
Company History
Albert Fezer and Gottlieb Stoll founded the company in Esslingen in 1925 to make woodworking machinery; the name combines the first letters of their surnames. Fezer left in 1929 and the Stoll family became sole owner. In the 1950s, under Kurt Stoll, the company turned to industrial pneumatics, which became its core. The woodworking tools business was split off in 1992 and has traded as Festool since 2000; the two are separate groups under the same family ownership.
Key milestones
1925: Founded in Esslingen.
1929: Stoll family takes full ownership.
1950s: Move into pneumatics.
1992: Woodworking division separated, later Festool.
2015: Swiss Eichenberger Group acquired to strengthen electromechanical drives.
2018: Resolto Informatik acquired for artificial intelligence in automation.
2025: Large new plant opened in India.
2026: New research and development board member appointed.
Financial Performance
Year | Revenue |
2022 | EUR 3.81 billion |
2023 | EUR 3.65 billion |
2025 | About EUR 3.33 billion, down 3.7% |
Revenue has fallen for three consecutive years. Festo does not publish its profit. In 2025 the Americas and Europe outside the German-speaking countries grew slightly and India was the strongest market, while China, Southeast Asia, Korea and Japan declined slightly and the home region stagnated. Headcount was stable at about 20,600. The company gave no forecast for 2026.
Products and Strategy
Pneumatic automation: cylinders, valves, valve terminals and air preparation, the historic core.
Electric automation: electromechanical drives, motors and controllers.
Handling: grippers and handling systems, including tools for collaborative robots.
Festo Didactic: technical education and training systems.
Bionics: research robots modelled on animals, such as the SmartBird, the BionicKangaroo and the Bionic Flying Fox.
Festo's stated direction for 2026 is what it calls Seamless Automation, combining electric automation, pneumatics, digital functions, artificial intelligence and training. Growth fields it names are semiconductors, food, packaging, intralogistics, life sciences, batteries and hydrogen.
Festo product reviews on All Things Cobots
Leadership
Name | Role |
Thomas Boeck | Chairman of the Management Board |
Tomas Smetana | Management board member for Research and Development, from May 2026 |
Can You Invest in Festo?
No. Festo is owned by the Stoll family and has no listed shares.
Strengths and Challenges
Strengths
A leading brand in pneumatics with a worldwide sales network.
High spending on research and development.
Family ownership that allows long-term planning.
Challenges
Three years of declining revenue.
Weak demand in China and in its home market.
The shift from pneumatic to electric automation.
Current Catalogue Coverage
Catalogue checked on 15 October 2026: 10 associated product records. The links below are representative entries, rather than a claim that every historical model is currently available.
Festo FAQ
Is Festo publicly traded?
No. It is owned by the Stoll family.
Where is Festo based?
In Esslingen am Neckar, Germany.
When was Festo founded?
In 1925, by Albert Fezer and Gottlieb Stoll.
How big is Festo?
Revenue was about EUR 3.33 billion in 2025, with about 20,600 employees.
Are Festo and Festool the same company?
No. Festool was split off from Festo's woodworking division; the two are separate groups under the same family ownership.
Sources
Produktion: Festo in a difficult market
Festo: facts and figures
Wikipedia: Festo
