Tradition: a beautiful history.

The word tradition derives itself from Latin and, translated literally, means to transmit, to hand over or to entrust for safekeeping. But before you feel like you’re back in the classroom, nodding off with boredom, be assured that our fast-paced company history will perk you up. A lot has happened in the 135 years since Valentin Fraas founded our company. At the helm of this long-standing tradition are Robert Schmidt, as CEO, and Andreas and Alexander Schmidt, who have followed in their father’s footsteps and are the fifth generation of the family to manage the company. The secret to their success? It is partly due to the location and partly thanks to their history.

The textile tradition in Wüstenselbitz goes back 200 years. Weavers here were producing textiles even before the industrialization – using a hand loom. This knowledge has been refined and passed down over the centuries. When Valentin Fraas founded the company in 1880, he only had ten employees. With a lot of hard work, V. Fraas grew to employ around 100 staff by the turn of the century.
The company quickly outgrew its home in Franconia and developed further into an international manufacturer in 1982. Subsidiaries in New York, Toronto, London and Hong Kong were founded; Sales offices later followed in the Czech Republic, Russia, Poland, Japan and Korea.

This is because we discovered something critical: Tradition can only survive when combined with new knowledge and a focus on new developments. Our two Junior Executives Andreas and Alexander, with their thirst for knowledge and wanderlust, found a perfect place at FRAAS to grow our international company. As a logical consequence of progress, the first FRAAS shop in Germany was opened in 2005 in Berlin, coinciding with the company’s 125-year anniversary. The following year, another five FRAAS stores and our website and online shop were opened in Germany.

Today, FRAAS relies on the perfect mix of tried-and-tested quality standards, trends, sustainable production and fresh ideas for its products. Scarves are, quite simply, our world.