History

Paul FontaineFontaine Engineering und Maschinen GmbH (FOEN®) was founded in 1969 by Paul Fontaine († 1998), a French engineer who had a wide range of experience in the galvanizing industry. Today, one of Paul’s sons, Pascal Fontaine, is the president of the company. Other family members also hold management positions within the company.

From the beginning, the headquarters of the company was located in Langenfeld, Germany. In 1991, a subsidiary was founded in Bridgeport, West Virginia, to serve customers in North America. In order to reach the Chinese market, a branch office was opened in Wuhan in 1996.

The first FOEN® air knives were delivered in 1973. Over the next several decades, more than 145 units were supplied worldwide to leaders in the steel industry. More than 75 of them have been designed for the production of exposed automotive parts. The oldest FOEN® air knife that is still in operation was built in 1981.