Partnership agreement and business registration
The company is founded by Heinz Monnartz and Michael Fritz and moves into its first premises in the Dienstleistungszentrum (service centre, DLZ) in Stolberg.
Managing Director Michael Fritz remembers the founding years of Quality Automation GmbH
“In the year 2000 I received a very interesting enquiry from the company M.Braun Intertgas-Systeme GmbH in Garching near Munich. The contact came about because I had already worked with M.Braun in several projects in the position at my then employer and had got to know the company as a reliable partner. M.Braun now wanted to equip all systems supplied to Asia with a control system from Mitsubishi Electric. According to the request I was to develop, build and commission the control system on site! This sounded like a very attractive and exciting project to me. My colleague Heinz Monnartz was also enthusiastic and so we decided to found Quality Automation GmbH. Self-employment was something I had been thinking about for a long time, especially for me, and the fact that Heinz was so involved at the time was really great!
The first automation projects were all intended for the M.Braun company. However, further projects with new customers quickly followed.
The first company headquarters was in an office building called Dienstleistungszentrum (service centre) in Stolberg. It consisted of only 2 offices — but with only 3 employees in the initial phase, this was sufficient. But then things accelerated quite quickly: as we already had seven employees at the end of 2001, we moved to our current company headquarters at the beginning of 2002.
With the new customers came new requirements and tasks, which we also wanted to accomplish. This was only possible through continuous growth and development of our know-how. At present, Quality Automation has more than 50 employees and is thus one of the largest companies for automation technology in the Cologne-Aachen area”.
QA from foundation until now
A short journey through 20 years of Quality Automation
25 August 2000
1 January 2001
Start of work of the 1st employee
The beginning of steady growth: Wolfgang Felser becomes the first employee at QA.
1 January 2002
Relocation to Konrad-Adenauer-Straße
The two offices of the DLZ become too cramped with the additional new employees. The company gets relocated to its current headquarters in Konrad-Adenauer-Straße 156, Stolberg follows.
23 September 2004
Rental of additional office space
The further expansion of the premises is progressing rapidly. Just two years after the relocation, additional office space is rented in the Philips Rothe Erde industrial park near one of our main customers in Aachen.
22 March 2007
Partnership with Mitsubishi Electric Europe B.V.
Due to the long-standing project business with components from Mitsubishi Electric, we become part of the System Partner Automation Network with improved conditions and support possibilities.
28 July 2009
Rental of additional commercial space
In order to be able to further expand our own switch cabinet production and storage facilities, we rent commercial space very close to our headquarters: our “Factory 2” is established.
17 November 2011
System integrator from Bosch Rexroth
We are increasingly using Bosch Rexroth components in the field of drive technology and some employees have become real specialists in this field through training courses and in the course of numerous projects. Thus we get listed as a system integrator for electrical drives and controls in 2009.
4 September 2010
10-year company anniversary
10 years have already passed since the company was founded. We look back on many exciting projects with great customers and valuable experiences and celebrate the anniversary festively at the Eyneburg in Hergenrath, Belgium.
14 July 2011
Certified Quality
Quality is not only part of our name, but is also the highest priority in internal project management as well as in execution. Therefore we decided to introduce a quality management system and have ourselves regularly certified according to DIN EN ISO 9001:2008.
25 November 2011
Cooperation with Keyence
Machine vision and intelligent sensor technology are increasingly being used in automation technology. With Keyence Germany as our partner, we have access to a wide range of products and expert advice, enabling us to offer our customers high-quality machine vision solutions and sensor technology.
1 August 2012
First apprentice and scholarship holder support
Our first apprentice starts his apprenticeship as an electronic technician for automation technology. At the same time, we support our first scholarship holder in the programme of the University of Applied Sciences Aachen.
8 March 2016
Expansion of the management
The management gets support: Christian Franssen, Andreas Fritz and Friedhelm Steffens are granted power of attorney and from now on they will increasingly take care of acquisition and offer preparation.
1 Dezember 2017
System partner of Kollmorgen Steuerungstechnik GmbH
A new partnership with the company Kollmorgen Steuerungstechnik GmbH from Cologne extends our range of products in the field of drive technology.
25 August 2018
QA in new design
The company comes of age and receives a new logo as a gift from the marketing department. The abbreviation and colour scheme remain, but in a modernised and minimalist style with a high recognition value.
25 February 2019
Partnership with Balluff and Matrix Vision
The area of image processing is further expanded and the portfolio is extended by many different products. After successful participation in the partner training programme, we are qualified as a Solution Partner by Matrix Vision GmbH, a member of the Balluff Group, and can thus offer our customers cost-effective GigE and Smart Cameras.
25 August 2020
20 year company anniversary
In the troubled times of 2020, our company anniversary unfortunately passes without the possibility of a larger celebration. We hope to be able to make up for this next year. Until then, we would like to thank all our customers for their trust and long-standing partnerships!
