Pepperl+Fuchs - a success story
| 1945 | The radio technician Walter Pepperl and the banker Ludwig Fuchs found a radio repair shop in Mannheim Sandhofen in November. Very early the founders start the production of transformers. In subsequent years Pepperl+Fuchs becomes a major supplier for industries based in Mannheim. |
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| 1955 | The radio shop is given up and the company with 40 employees moves into a new building |
| 1959 | The first proximity switch is developed. This is the start in electronics. |
| 1964 | First participation in an important industrial fair (Achema in Frankfurt) with a Pepperl + Fuchs stand. |
| 1968 | The first exhibition at the HMI Hannover Messe. |
| 1971 | The building in Sandhofen bursts at all seams - time to move again for Pepperl + Fuchs. A new company building is erected in Mannheim-Schönau, a modern factory with 10,000 sq. The manufacturing of transformers is shut down. |
| 1973 | In England the first foreign sales organization is founded. From 1980 special units for the English market are produced there. |
| 1976 | The legal form of the company changes from OHG (general partnership) to GmbH (private limited company) + Co. KG (limited partnership). |
| 1977 | The floor space is doubled by an extension taking into account the special requirements for physically handicapped people. |
| 1979 | In Singapore the first non-European affiliated company with production facilities is founded in order to gain access to the Asian market and also to remain competitive in Europe. The first step in globalization is taken. |
| 1983 | Across the pond: A new distribution site in North America opened in Twinsburg/Ohio. Today more than 200 employees work here. |
| 1988 | The company is taken over by Michael Fuchs, the son of Ludwig Fuchs, and Claus Michael, the son-in-law of Walter Pepperl. The legal form changes to a GmbH (private limited company). |
| 1990 | The company building in Mannheim-Schönau is extended again. |
| 1991 | The Divisions FACTORY AUTOMATION and PROCESS AUTOMATION are set up. |
| 1991 | Pepperl+Fuchs acquires the company RUF in Mannheim and thus adds level control to their product range. |
| 1993 | Certification in accordance with DIN EN ISO 9001 for the first time. |
| 1994 | The Pepperl+Fuchs Systems GmbH is sold to Honeywell and the field of fail-safe controls is thus given up in order to concentrate on the core business. |
| 1996 | Pepperl+Fuchs acquires the company Hohner in Tuttlingen and round off the product range with rotary encoders. |
| 1997 | PLAMET Kft. is founded in Hungary to supply plastic and metal parts. |
| 2000 | The product range is extended and the market position is strengthened by the acquisition of Visolux GmbH in Berlin (optoelectronic components for automation), the Honeywell/USA divisions of Microswitch proximity sensors and Photoswitch to better serve the American market and finally Elcon Instruments in Italy for a new strategic orientation of the Process Automation Division. |
| 2000 | Start of manufacture in Bintan/Indonesia. |
| 2003 | Purchase of the purge and pressurization systems from Bebco industries EPS in the USA. |
| 2004 | New Data Matrix Code product range obtained through the acquisition of Omnitron AG and Position Encoding System, also due to an acquisition |
| 2005 | Expansion of the Systems & Solutions business area within the Process Automation division with display and operating systems of Extec Oesterle GmbH. |
| 2006 | Enlargement of the PA range by purchase of the intrinsic safety business from Cooper Crouse-Hinds GmbH and of the SAS (separator alarm systems) business from OJ Electronics.Takeover of VMT Vision Machine Technic Bildverarbeitungssysteme GmbH and integration into the Factory Automation division. |
| 2007 | In April the construction of the new administration building is started. |
| 2008 | Pepperl+Fuchs celebrates "50 years proximity switch". In May 2008 175 employees are moving in the new and modern building which offers space for approx. 240 employees on 4 floors with a surface of more than 7.000 sq. |
| 2010 | Pepperl+Fuchs acquires proximity sensor business of Siemens. Herewith, Pepperl+Fuchs increase its product portfolio in the field of inductive proximity sensors and photoelectric sensors, and at the same time strengthen its position in the market for ultrasonic sensor technology for factory automation. |
| 2012 | Inauguration of our European Distribution Center in Mannheim |
| 2012 | Acquisition of GOVAN Industries in Melbourne/Australia |
| 2013 | Pepperl+Fuchs acquires distribution partner Sensonor Oy in Finland. |
| 2014 | Launch of our Solution Engineering Center worldwide |
| 2015 | The company is taken over by the next generation, Monika Müller-Michael and Michael Fuchs Jr. |
| 2015 | Acquisition of Petroleum Safety Products Ind. in Chennai/India and MACtek Corporation in Twinsburg/Ohio |
| 2015 | A new distribution site opened in South Africa. |
| 2016 | Official inauguration of our Global Distribution Center in Singapore. All goods produced at sites in Asia are stored here and distributed to destinations around the world. |
| 2017 | Today Pepperl+Fuchs employs approximately 5,600 people in various locations in Germany, USA, Singapore, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Vietnam and the Czech Republic. With more than 80 subsidiaries, the company is a market leader in the development and manufacture of electronic sensors and components for the global automation market. |
Where we come from
From a radio repair workshop to a high-tech company with activities worldwide: read how Pepperl+Fuchs has grown from its early days in 1945 to today.
PEPPERL+FUCHS BY THE NUMBERS
Sales volume, employees, research – the most important numbers at a glance.
Productvideos
The products of Pepperl+Fuchs are used in a wide variety of disparate areas, for example on the field, in the high seas or in manufacturing.
