Mushroom (company)

Pilz GmbH & Co. KG
legal form	GmbH & Co. KG
founding	1948
Seat	Ostfildern , Germany
management	Susanne Kunschert, Thomas Pilz
Number of employees	2,500 (end of 2018)
sales	EUR 345 million (2018)
Branch	Automation technology
Website	pilz.com

Pilz GmbH & Co. KG is a company in the field of automation technology with complete solutions for safety and control technology with headquarters in Ostfildern , Germany .

history

The entrepreneur Hermann Pilz founded a glass blowing factory in Esslingen in 1948 . In the first post-war years, the focus was on the manufacture of glass apparatus for medical technology and mercury switching devices . In the electronics industry, the focus shifted to advancing miniaturization; In addition to switching devices and control systems, Pilz also specialized in timing relays. In 1968 the first subsidiaries were founded in Austria , France and Switzerland . The product range has been expanded to include programmable control systems.

Headquarters Ostfildern

In 1987 Pilz developed the “PNOZ” emergency stop safety relay. In 1994 the first subsidiary outside Europe was founded in the USA . In 1997 Asia followed with Japan , in 1998 South America with Brazil . Pilz is now represented worldwide with 42 branches and 25 trading partners.

The freely configurable, modular safety relay PNOZmulti came onto the market in 2002. In 2006, the safe camera system for 3-D room surveillance SafetyEYE was developed. The configurable control system PNOZmultiMini and the automation system PSS 4000 followed in 2009.

Pilz has also been offering complete solutions for safe robotics since 2017 (including human-robot collaboration (HRC)). In 2018, Pilz expanded its product portfolio in the robotics sector to include modules for service robotics in the industrial sector. These are used in pick & place applications as well as modular, partially automated "small robot cells". The offer includes a mobile operating module, a control module and a manipulator module (robot arm) developed in-house.

On October 13, 2019, "Pilz web server monitoring systems have registered suspicious activity and identified it as a hacker attack." With Trojans ( ransomware ) from the attackers, part of the data in the company's IT systems for office communication was encrypted worldwide. After the discovery, Pilz reacted with a quick shutdown of the networks and servers and a report to the authorities. In the days that followed, people exchanged ideas with whiteboards and encrypted messenger services. The consequences of the attack were investigated, data was cleaned and systems were gradually brought back into operation. On November 21, 2019, the Pilz company declared that it had mastered the cyber attack. With the intensification of production, customer requirements are taken into account. The experience gained from the attack is shared with business partners and is used to further develop security systems.

Group structure

Pilz GmbH & Co. KG is a family company that is 100 percent family-owned. At the end of 2017, the chairman of the board, Renate Pilz, withdrew from the management of the company. The managing partner Susanne Kunschert and her brother, the managing partner Thomas Pilz, have been part of the management since 2018.

Products

The products include sensors , electronic monitoring devices, automation solutions with motion control , safety switching devices , programmable control systems , the area of operation and monitoring, and service robotics modules . Safe bus systems , Ethernet systems and industrial radio systems for industrial networking complete the range.

Services

Pilz offers services for the entire life cycle or for individual phases of the machine. A specific security concept is usually developed based on the risk assessment. This includes suggestions for the implementation of the functional safety in control systems and constructive measures with which the required risk reduction is achieved. Services according to BetrSichV are also offered, such as B. a risk assessment or a safety analysis of the machinery.

Industry sectors

Pilz solutions are used in all areas of mechanical and plant engineering, including in the packaging and automotive industries as well as in the wind energy , transport and press sectors .

Certifications

Pilz has been certified according to DIN EN ISO 9001 since 1994 . In addition, Pilz is accredited by the German Accreditation Body (DAkkS) as an inspection body type "C" for inspections of protective devices.

In January 2019, Pilz Austria was certified by the Leitbetriebe Austria network of excellence .