Growth in a difficult environment
T
he Pilz group of companies
remains on course for growth,
despite the economic downturn:
in the last financial year, 2018, the
automation company had a turnover of
345 million Euro (+2.1 %). The number
of employees rose above 2,500 for the
first time.
“The economic slowdown and the
uncertain global economy were major
factors in our remaining below budget
for our 2018 turnover. Nevertheless,
overall we are still satisfied with how
our company is developing. We are
continuously investing in research and
development as well as expanding
our production capacities. That way
we are well equipped for the future
requirements of the market”, explains
Susanne Kunschert, Managing Partner
of Pilz GmbH & Co.KG.
MODERATE GROWTH IN TURNOVER
In the 2018 financial year, the Pilz Group
increased its turnover to 345 million
Euro. So turnover has grown by 2.1 per
cent in comparison with the previous
year. For the first time, the family
business employs more than 2,500
18
employees: on 31.12.2018 there were
2,515 employees in 42 subsidiaries
worldwide. That represents a 7 per cent
rise in the number of employees over
the previous year. At the end of last year,
1,122 people were employed at the
head office in Ostfildern. That’s 55 more
employees than at the same point in
the previous year.
INTERNATIONAL FOCUS
STRENGTHENED
Pilz continues to forge ahead with
its focus as an international solution
supplier for safe automation: in 2018 for
example, Pilz strengthened its support
for emerging markets in South East
Asia by founding its own subsidiaries in
Thailand and Malaysia. An expression
of internationality is the export share,
which rose in comparison with 2017 to
73 per cent (+ 1.1 percentage points).
GROWTH MARKET “RAIL 4.0”
Engineering and manufacturing
companies continue to be the most
important markets for the automation
company. In addition, Pilz solutions
are increasingly being used in other
areas, such as railway technology for
example. The current trend there is
towards digitisation and Pilz is helping
to shape this trend, tailoring industry-
proven automation technology to
the rail network. In order to meet the
special requirements of industries such
as railway technology, in future Pilz will
be pooling its worldwide expertise into
“Competence Centres”. Here experts
will develop industry-specific solution
packages, which are then implemented
locally by the Pilz subsidiaries.
AN EYE STILL ON INNOVATIONS
Innovation remains a key feature of
this medium-sized enterprise: for years
Pilz has invested 20 % of its turnover
into research & development; so too in
2018. “Innovation is in our company’s
DNA”, says Kunschert.
That’s why Pilz remains optimistic
for 2019: “Of course we can’t
isolate ourselves from the fall in
engineering orders and the difficult
international environment. But
with innovative products, first-
class services and intensive, local
customer care we intend to stay
on course in 2019”, says Susanne
Kunschert, looking forward.