Back in 1948 Hermann Pilz founded the company as a glass-blowing business in Esslingen. He laid the foundation for the success of an independent, medium-sized family business. Starting with the manufacture of glass apparatus for medical technology and mercury relays for industrial applications, Hermann Pilz moulded his own style of management. Even then, staff were given overall responsibility for a project, independently processing each stage of the job, from soldering and testing through to dispatch. Thus, Pilz has a tradition as a family-run company stretching back over 60 years. Their