Pilz Company Profile: History, Figures, Products and Leadership
Updated: 7 days ago
Pilz is a German company that specializes in machine safety and is best known for the PNOZ safety relay. Hermann Pilz founded it in 1948 as a glass-blowing business; it is based in Ostfildern and had 2,504 employees in 2024. This profile sets out its history, figures, products and leadership.
Pilz at a Glance
Fact | Detail |
Company | Pilz GmbH & Co. KG |
Founded | 1948, in Esslingen |
Founder | Hermann Pilz |
Headquarters | Ostfildern, Germany |
Employees | 2,504 in 2024 |
Revenue | EUR 341 million in 2024 |
Subsidiaries | 42 |
Key people | Susanne Kunschert and Thomas Pilz |
Company History
Hermann Pilz started the company in 1948 in Esslingen as a glass-blowing business that made glass apparatus and mercury relays. In the 1960s control passed to Peter Pilz, who took it into electronic control and monitoring devices and programmable logic controllers. In 1987 it launched the PNOZ, an emergency stop safety relay that became its best-known product, and in the 1990s it developed the PSS control systems.
Key milestones
1948: Founded as a glass-blowing business.
1960s: Moves into electronic control under Peter Pilz.
1987: PNOZ safety relay launched.
1990s: PSS control systems.
Products
Category | Role |
Safety relays | Emergency stop and safety monitoring, including PNOZ |
Programmable safety and control systems | Safety logic for machines and plants |
Sensor technology | Safety sensors |
Motion control | Safe drives |
Automation systems | Complete safe automation |
Safety devices of this kind are part of almost every robot cell: they stop the robot when a door opens or a person enters a protected area.
Financial Performance
Item | 2024 |
Revenue | EUR 341 million |
Employees | 2,504 |
Can You Invest in Pilz?
No public listing was found. It is a limited partnership, and members of the Pilz family are among its key people.
Strengths and Challenges
Strengths
A leading name in machine safety.
A product that became a generic term in its field.
A wide international network of subsidiaries.
Challenges
Larger automation groups that include safety in their control systems.
Dependence on machine-building demand.
Current Catalogue Coverage
Catalogue checked on 15 October 2026: 1 associated product records. The links below are representative entries, rather than a claim that every historical model is currently available.
Pilz FAQ
What does Pilz make?
Safety relays, safety controllers, sensors and automation systems for machine safety.
Where is Pilz based?
In Ostfildern, Germany.
When was Pilz founded?
In 1948, by Hermann Pilz.
What is PNOZ?
The safety relay Pilz launched in 1987 for emergency stop functions.
How big is Pilz?
Revenue of EUR 341 million and 2,504 employees in 2024.
Sources
Wikipedia: Pilz)
