Minster for Enterprise Trade & Employment Simon Coveney TD, said “Congratulations to the Pilz Group who are now 75 years in operation and have been a strong presence in Cork since 1998. For 25 years, Pilz have been providing highly skilled positions in Software Development, Automation, Robotics, and Safety Systems, providing essential automation and automated solutions across a range of sectors of strategic importance to Ireland. It is a great success story for Cork and indeed the Southwest region. I wish all the team the very best and continued success both in Ireland and beyond.”
"This double anniversary fills us with great joy and gratitude! The successful development of our entire company over the last 25 years would not have been possible without our Irish subsidiary. Whether in software, services or automation solutions - the team here performs important key tasks for the entire Pilz Group. The anniversary is not only an opportunity for us to look back with gratitude, but also to look forward with confidence. After 75 years, we are a courageous company and a powerful, strong organisation. Here in Cork, I can feel the curiosity that drives us, the joy of innovation, combined with our constant endeavours. A team like this here in Ireland is the greatest gift a company could wish for on its 75th birthday”, explains Thomas Pilz, Managing Partner of Pilz GmbH & Co. KG.
The ability to change as key to success
In his keynote speech, Thomas Pilz outlined the changes that the digital transformation means for the industry worldwide: “The rate of change in industrial automation will increase significantly driven by connected automation systems, self evolving machinery incorporating machine learning and AI and massively flexible systems.”
Pilz has repeatedly mastered such transformations in its 75 years. "We have always been changing. Pilz success always depends on the ability to harness the capability and passion of talent to work in the spirit of Pilz wherever such talent is located and wherever our customers need is. Pilz Cork will build on its culture of dynamism, flexibility and innovation and more so on the knowledge of its teams to enable Pilz strengthen it’s core business and shape a future as a supplier of safe and secure industrial automation solutions”, Thomas Pilz stated.
Executive Director of IDA Ireland Mary Buckley said: Since its establishment in Ireland in 1998, Pilz has grown from strength to strength through transformation. Indeed, in 2002 Pilz chose Cork as the location of its Software Development and Professional Engineering Services. 16 years later, Pilz expanded the facility further with the construction of the Renate Pilz Software Development Centre in 2002. I would like to thank the Pilz family for the confidence and commitment they’ve shown to Ireland and wish them continued success.
John McAuliffe, Managing Director of Pilz Ireland and Vice President International Services Group at Pilz emphasized the deep connection to the Cork region: ”We in Pilz Ireland are proud to draw from the talent and high technology ECO system of the Cork region to not only serve Pilz customers in Ireland but to support the development and growth of Pilz offering for our customers world-wide!”
In the 75th year of its existence, the German automation company set out to plant 75 trees worldwide as a symbol of growth and sustainability. The idea was enthusiastically taken up worldwide, at the headquarters in Osfildern in southern Germany as well as in the subsidiaries, and many hundreds of trees have been planted to date. Probably the last tree was planted by the Pilz family together with the guests at the ceremony. Pilz Ireland is also donating 25 trees to the city of Cork for planting in public green spaces.
Pilz Ireland: A valuable member of the Pilz family
Pilz reacted with foresight to the trend towards digitalisation in industry by founding its own software development department in Cork in 1998, along with a sales and service company for Irish customers. Since then, an international team of developers has been designing and developing software for the planning, programming and visualisation of control systems for the safety of man, machine and the environment.
Over the years Pilz Ireland established a number of other important functions for the Pilz Group worldwide. These include the Global Distillery Automation business unit, Pilz Global Account Management and the International Service Group (ISG) for the management of international service projects.
