Founded in 1949, Fraunhofer undertakes applied research that drives economic development and serves the wider benefit of society. At present, the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft maintains 67 institutes and research units. The majority of the more than 23,000 staff are qualified scientists and engineers, who work with an annual research budget of 2billion euros. Of this sum, more than 1.7 billion euros is generated through contract research. More than 70 percent of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft’s contract research revenue is derived from contracts with industry and from publicly financed research projects.
Fraunhofer participates in the ALLIANCE project with the Fraunhofer Institute for Factory Operation and Automation (IFF), an independent research institute geared toward production engineering in the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft. It is a research provider and systems and technology partner to major industry and small and medium-sized enterprises in manufacturing and service sectors as well as the public sector. The institute is a member of national and international industry and research networks and cooperates closely with Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg. It has a strong position in the Asian market through its office in the Thai metropolis of Bangkok.