Company

Front Panel Express' roots span all the way back to 1961, when German physicist, Bernhard Schaeffer founded Schaeffer Apparatebau KG. The company primarily produced the Dynamometer, an amusement machine designed and developed by Bernhard.

Over the years, the Schaeffer products evolved from amusement machines to measuring instruments. In 1992, Bernhard brought his two sons on board, computer engineer Jörg, and physicist Kai. It was shortly after that the current business model began to develop. While manufacturing measuring systems in small production runs, the Schaeffers repeatedly faced the same problem: Custom front panels had to be made over and over again by hand using files and drills. This was very time consuming and inefficient..

In 1997/98, the Schaeffers developed Front Panel Designer, a CAD/CAM system adapted to to the production of front panels, allowing individual customer designs to be quickly and efficiently transferred to a CNC machine. Knowing the many other engineers were facing the same problem, the decision was made to offer Front Panel Designer as a free download available on the internet.

The demand for custom front panels was so great that the Schaeffers withdrew completely from the measuring equipment business and have since focused solely on the production of customized front panels. When the demand began to grow internationally, Jörg and Kai, who had since taken over management of the company, decided to open a separate company in the United States.

In 2002, Front Panel Express LLC was founded by brothers Jorg and Kai Schaeffer, and their partner, Christian Blöss. Located in Seattle, Washington, Front Panel Express has mimicked the rapid growth of their German counterpart.

Front Panel Express LLC first opened in a small workshop in South Seattle, with just a couple employees and a single CNC milling machine. The idea behind Front Panel Designer, was a huge success in the American market. By 2004, Front Panel Express relocated in order to increase the production area and meet the rapidly increasing demand for customized front panels.

Again, in 2007, Front Panel Express relocated to their current location, an 8300 square foot facility in Seattle's Georgetown neighborhood. The company now consists of 16 full-time employees and 6 CNC machines.

The company continues to grow, as does the demand for Front Panel Designer and customized front panels. Front Panel Express has consistently experienced an increase in both sales and customers since it opened its doors, despite a down economy. Since opening in 2002, Front Panel Express has captured a large share of the American market, and is rapidly expanding its market share in Canada, Central and South America, and Australia.