"The economic slowdown and the uncertain global economy were key factors in the fact that we fell short of our sales targets in 2018. Nevertheless, we are satisfied overall with the development of our company," explained Susanne Kunschert, Managing Partner of Pilz, at her company's annual press conference. The Pilz Group increased its turnover to 345 million euros in the 2018 financial year, achieving a year-on-year increase of 2.1 %. For the first time, the family-owned company employs more than 2,500 people: as at December 31, 2018, there were 2,515 employees in 42 subsidiaries worldwide. This corresponds to a 7% increase in the number of employees compared to the previous year. At the end of last year, 1122 people were employed at the headquarters in Ostfildern.

Pilz continues to drive forward its orientation as an international solution provider for safe automation: Pilz strengthened its support for the emerging markets in South-East Asia in 2018, for example, by founding its own subsidiaries in Thailand and Malaysia. This internationality is reflected in the further increase in the export share to 73% compared to 2017.

Pilz remains optimistic for 2019: "Of course, we cannot decouple ourselves from the decline in orders in the mechanical engineering sector and the difficult international conditions. However, we want to stay on course in 2019 with innovative products, excellent services and intensive customer support on site," says Susanne Kunschert, looking ahead.

Growth market "Rail 4.0"

The most important sales markets for the automation company Pilz are still mechanical engineering and manufacturing companies. However, Pilz solutions are also increasingly being used in other sectors such as railroad technology. Pilz is a member of the German Railway Industry Association (VDB) and tailors industry-proven automation technology to rail transport. Two current projects illustrate the potential for digitalization:

• Project 1 is the automated brake test: SBB Cargo (Swiss Federal Railways), the Rail Cargo Group (Austria), Mercitalia Rail (Italy) and PJ Messtechnik (Austria) are working together to develop an intelligent freight train. One sub-project is automated brake testing. Together with PJ Messtechnik, Pilz has developed a solution based on the automation system 'PSS 4000-R' that safely controls the brakes of the freight wagons.
• Project 2 concerns the automated monitoring of level crossings: The company ProRail operates the Dutch rail network for the Dutch state. Pilz was commissioned to install the 'DOSS' system (Dynamic Overweg Signaling System) for the necessary modernization of the monitoring of around 600 level crossings.

For the special requirements of sectors such as rail technology, Pilz will in future be pooling its expertise worldwide in so-called Competence Centers. Experts there develop industry-specific solution packages, which are then implemented locally by the Pilz subsidiaries.