Framo: More Capital for Development and Expanded Management

With a capital increase of three million euros and an expanded management team, Framo GmbH from Löbichau aims to further participate in the electrification of heavy-duty transport and sees this as an "extreme growth market of the future". The German Engineering Federation assumes that by 2025, only 40 percent of all commercial vehicles will still be powered by a classic combustion engine, the provider points out. And in this market, as a medium-sized company, they currently have a technical advantage over the industry giants, according to their self-assessment.

"Tesla, for example, has been trying to introduce its electric semi-truck for years, but hasn't succeeded to this day. We, on the other hand, have long been capable of small-series production," confidently states the new management member Serhat Yilmaz, responsible for Marketing & Sales, Business Development, and Investor Relations.

Yilmaz moved to the Saxon traditional company on March 1 from the Augsburg-based electric retrofit specialist Quantron. He also points out that transporters have been manufactured under the Framo brand since 1927. They have remained true to cargo transport as a business area but have changed the type of drive. Today, Framo is an innovative technology developer and user in the field of electromobility in heavy-duty transport. The portfolio extends from trucks ranging from 7.5 to 44 tons, which are retrofitted with a battery-electric drivetrain to be emission-free. The in-house research and development department plays a central role in this.

"We see ourselves as ahead of the market," emphasizes Serhat Yilmaz regarding their ambition.

The medium-sized company's goal is not the mass market where the large corporations are jostling, but rather the niches. The maxim is about mature, individually adapted small-series in the electric truck sector. The ambitious goal is to become the number one in Europe in this field. So far, customers include the supermarket chain Aldi, the railway logistics company DB Schenker, as well as many municipalities. Inquiries for the electric refuse collection trucks are now coming in from Asia and South America.

Great potential in retrofitting existing vehicles

The manufacturer sees this as a contribution to the traffic turnaround and wants to increasingly bring its strength in development and construction to the forefront with the personnel decision, as it is said. Yilmaz comes from the start-up scene and is well-networked in the industry. He sees great potential in converting existing trucks to electric or hydrogen drives.

"The fact that this possibility exists is still too little known. Just as much as that we at Framo can also quickly put it into practice," says Yilmaz.

With the capital increase of three million euros, the company has also gained new resources. These should help bring further promising innovations to market maturity. "The future of transportation is e-mobility, whether fully electric or powered by a fuel cell," predicts Yilmaz.