Phoenix Contact

The story of Phoenix Contact began in 1923 in Essen, Germany, where businessman Hugo Knümann founded a commercial agency for electrical products. A pivotal moment in the company's history occurred just five years later, in 1928, when Knümann collaborated with Rhine-Westphalia Electricity Works (RWE) to invent the modular terminal block. This innovation revolutionized control cabinet construction and laid the technological foundation for the company's future success. During World War II, the company's headquarters in Essen were destroyed, prompting a relocation to Blomberg in 1943, which remains the corporate headquarters to this day.

Following Knümann's passing in 1953, Josef Eisert and Ursula Lampmann took over the management, marking the beginning of the Eisert family's long-standing leadership. Under their guidance, the company evolved from a purely commercial agency into a manufacturing powerhouse with its own production facilities. The ensuing decades saw rapid expansion and technological breakthroughs, including the launch of the INTERBUS fieldbus system in 1987, which set new standards in industrial automation. In the 1980s, Phoenix Contact began its international expansion, establishing subsidiaries in Switzerland, Sweden, and the United States, transforming into a truly global player.

Today, Phoenix Contact is a global market leader in electrical engineering, electronics, and automation, employing over 21,000 people worldwide. The company continues to drive innovation with its 'All Electric Society' vision, developing solutions for electrification, networking, and automation that empower a sustainable future. From its humble beginnings in a commercial agency to its current status as a technological pioneer, Phoenix Contact has maintained its character as a family-owned business while shaping the industrial landscape with forward-thinking technologies like the PLCnext ecosystem.