The History of F&S Engraving
F&S Engraving is proud to be a leader of state-of-the art machining and engraving among American manufacturers.
The F&S Engraving works was founded in 1922 by August C Fromm and his brother in law Otto Seig. Otto Seig left the company within the first year of operation. The early plant specialized in steel stamp engraving. The plant was originally located on Armitage Ave in Chicago.
Edwin H Fromm, August’s younger brother joined the company and was made a partner in 1923.
August C. Fromm 
Edwin H. Fromm
F&S 1923 
F&S 1923 
F&S 1923
In the late 1930’s the company relocated to 2409 N Pulaski Rd in Chicago.
In 1948 Edwin H. Fromm bought the stock held by his late brother August C. fromm.
F&S Engraving in the early 1950’s was one of the first companies in the U.S.A. to use electric discharge machines (edm) to engrave steel stamps. We also developed a method for creating patterns using photography vastly improving upon the standard methods of hand drawing blueprints.
These developments forever changed the engraving of steel stamps far ahead of the rest of the industry.
In 1954 the company was moved to Skokie, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. The original plant was 2,400 square ft, which was expanded to 4,800 square ft, and finally to 6,300 square ft. as the business grew.
In 1963 Edwin H. Fromm retired and transferred the management of the company to his sons Clifford and Edwin Fromm Jr.
IN 1965 F&S Engraving was incorporated.
The company focused on steel stamp engraving until the early 1970’s when the company engraved its first cookie roll. The first roll led to many others and the bakery division was born. The engraving of the first cookie molders led to the development of numerically controlled engraving machines. F&S Engraving became the first company to use such computer controlled engravers to engrave rotary cookie molders. From that point on F&S Engraving led the industry in computerizing the engraving process from the original systems which relied on punch tape driven controls to the modern CAD/CAM systems fully integrating the speed and precision of computers from the design phase through to production.
F&S Engraving was also the first in the industry to offer in house release coating service and non stick coatings for the bakery industry.
In April of 1975 F&S exhibited the first plastic dough cutter for inline and reversable dough sheeters at the Biscuit and Cracker Manufacturers Association (BCMA) convention in Dallas, Texas.
The company continued to expand thru 1979 when the plant was relocated to a 21,000 square ft plant at 1620 West Central Rd in Mt. Prospect , IL where it is currently located.
In 1994 Clifford’s son James Fromm and Edwin’s son Scott Fromm took over the management and ownership of the company.
1994 also saw the formation of the international sales division of F&S Engraving headed by Alvaro N. Garcia (Al). A former international banker and businessman, Al has travelled extensively and speaks several languages. The international sales division was founded to expand our business into the global marketplace. The international division is located in Rockford, Michigan.
In the late 1990’s F&S developed stainless steel pastry cutters designed to be used in any dough sheeter as well as hand roller applications.
From company’s very beginning, F&S Engraving has been a cornerstone of the tool and die industry as well as the leading pioneer in the bakery industry forging a path into the future through innovation, inspiration, and reputation.