Pepperl+Fuchs SE (sometimes referenced by the initialism P+F) is a German multinational

company A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of legal people, whether Natural person, natural, Juridical person, juridical or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members ...

headquartered in

Mannheim Mannheim (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (), is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, second-largest city in Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, the States of Ger ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. The company manufactures electronic products for fabrication and process automation. It specializes in

sensor A sensor is often defined as a device that receives and responds to a signal or stimulus. The stimulus is the quantity, property, or condition that is sensed and converted into electrical signal. In the broadest definition, a sensor is a devi ...

manufacturing, such as sensors used in automatic doors in elevators, encoders, AS interfaces,

RFID Radio-frequency identification (RFID) uses electromagnetic fields to automatically identify and track tags attached to objects. An RFID system consists of a tiny radio transponder called a tag, a radio receiver, and a transmitter. When tri ...

systems,

barcode A barcode or bar code is a method of representing data in a visual, Machine-readable data, machine-readable form. Initially, barcodes represented data by varying the widths, spacings and sizes of parallel lines. These barcodes, now commonly ref ...

solutions, and explosion protection, as well as components for the

automotive industry The automotive industry comprises a wide range of company, companies and organizations involved in the design, Business development, development, manufacturing, marketing, selling, Maintenance, repairing, and Custom car, modification of motor ve ...

, and plant engineering. In 2022, the company's revenue exceeded €1 billion for the first time. As of April 2024, the company had approximately 6,850 employees worldwide, with more than 40 foreign subsidiaries on six continents, and manufacturing facilities in

, USA,

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

, and

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

. A new US headquarters is scheduled to open in late 2025.

History

Pepperl+Fuchs was founded in 1945 by Walter Pepperl and Ludwig Fuchs in Mannheim. The company initially operated as a workshop for repairing radio equipment while simultaneously manufacturing transformers. By 1948, Pepperl+Fuchs had expanded to produce other electronics, leading to the development of the first inductive proximity switch, an electronic device capable of measuring the position of objects and commonly used in packaging and filling systems, in 1958. Alongside this, Pepperl+Fuchs also created the first transistor amplifier with an intrinsically safe control circuit. Increasing demand for the proximity switch prompted Pepperl+Fuchs to expand its focus into areas such as sensing technology, intrinsic safety, and explosion protection technology, Starting in the 1970s, the company established subsidiaries for production and sales in countries including China, India, Indonesia, Italy, Singapore, Hungary, and the United States. During this period, Pepperl+Fuchs transitioned from a general partnership into a GmbH & Co. KG. In 1987, the two founders retired from the management team and the legal form of the company was changed to a limited liability entity. Initially based in Mannheim- Sandhofen, the headquarters of Pepperl+Fuchs moved to Schönau in 1971. In Germany, the company also operates in Neuhausen ob Eck, where all of its

rotary encoder A rotary encoder, also called a shaft encoder, is an electro-mechanical device that converts the angle, angular position or motion of a shaft or axle to Analog signal, analog or Digital signal, digital output signals. There are two main types of ...

s are designed and manufactured. In Asia, production occurs in various locations, including Vietnam. Since 2000, Pepperl+Fuchs has expanded through several acquisitions, increasing its turnover to over 500 million DM. Acquisitions included Visolux from Berlic, Elcon from Milan, and the proximity switches and photoelectric sensors division from Honeywell International. In 2010, Pepperl+Fuchs further expanded by acquiring Siemens' proximity switch business, enhancing its capabilities in ultrasonic sensor technology. In 2019, Pepperl+Fuchs Comtrol partnered with Callisto Integration, in the manufacturing industry. In 2019, Pepperl+Fuchs changed its legal structure from ''

Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung (; ) is a type of Juridical person, legal entity in German-speaking countries. It is equivalent to a (Sàrl) in the Romandy, French-speaking region of Switzerland and to a (Sagl) in the Ticino, Italian-speaking region of Switzerland. It is a ...

'' (GmbH) to ''

Aktiengesellschaft (; abbreviated AG ) is a German language, German word for a corporation limited by Share (finance), share ownership (i.e., one which is owned by its shareholders) whose shares may be traded on a stock market. The term is used in Germany, Austria ...

'' (AG) and again in 2020 to '' Societas Europea'' (SE). In 2023, the company attained IEC 62443-4-1 cybersecurity certification. As of April 2024, the company had approximately 6,850 employees worldwide, with more than 40 foreign subsidiaries on six continents, and manufacturing facilities in

, USA,

, and

Products

Pepperl+Fuchs manufactures, among other things, contactless

s, counters, switching units, converters,

fieldbus A fieldbus is a member of a family of industrial digital communication networks used for real-time distributed control. Fieldbus profiles are standardized by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) as IEC 61784/61158. A complex autom ...

components and systems, data light barriers, identification systems, safety barriers, and image processing products. The company categorizes its portfolio into industrial sensors and process interfaces for factory and process automation. Additionally, Pepperl+Fuchs provides systems for process automation in potentially explosive atmospheres, developed in engineering centers located in Bühl and other locations. The acquisition of ecom instruments GmbH expanded its portfolio to include explosion-protected products in mobile computing, communication, measurement and calibration technology, and hand lamps. Pepperl+Fuchs operates a European warehouse in Mannheim and logistics centers in America and Asia, with a Global Distribution Center established in Singapore.

Divisions

The Factory Automation division is a manufacturer of industrial sensors. It makes a range of inductive, capacitive,

photoelectric The photoelectric effect is the emission of electrons from a material caused by electromagnetic radiation such as ultraviolet light. Electrons emitted in this manner are called photoelectrons. The phenomenon is studied in condensed matter physic ...

, and

ultrasonic Ultrasound is sound with frequencies greater than 20 kilohertz. This frequency is the approximate upper audible limit of human hearing in healthy young adults. The physical principles of acoustic waves apply to any frequency range, includi ...

sensors as well as identification systems, barcode and camera systems,

s, position measurement systems, cordsets, and other accessories. The Process Automation division is a manufacturer of explosion protection products. It makes a range of intrinsic safety barriers, signal conditioners, remote I/O systems, HART interface solutions, surge protection, HMI systems, electrical explosion protection equipment, purge and pressurization systems, power supplies, and

level measurement Level sensors detect the liquid level, level of liquids and other fluids and fluidized solids, including slurry, slurries, granular materials, and wikt:powders, powders that exhibit an upper free surface. Substances that flow become essentially h ...

Mergers & Acquisitions

In 2003, Pepperl+Fuchs acquired Bebco EPS, a manufacturer of purge and pressurization systems. In 2010, the company acquired the proximity sensor business of Siemens. In 2019, Pepperl+Fuchs acquired Comtrol Corporation, a US company specializing in Ethernet-based industrial communication and

IO-Link IO-Link is a short distance, bi-directional, digital, point-to-point, wired (or wireless), industrial communications networking standard (IEC 61131-9) used for connecting digital sensors and actuators to either a type of industrial fieldbus or a i ...

master gateways. The Pepperl+Fuchs Comtrol Hospitality division offers a library of interfaces for property management systems and guest service systems. In 2021, Pepperl+Fuchs acquired the Finnish company, Aava Mobile Oy, expanding its reach in the industrial tablet computer and smartphone industry.

Cooperation & Sponsorships

Pepperl+Fuchs is actively involved in the Smart Factory initiative, collaborating with the

Technical University of Kaiserslautern Technical University of Kaiserslautern (German: ''Technische Universität Kaiserslautern'', also known as TU Kaiserslautern or TUK) was a public university, public research university in Kaiserslautern, Germany. On January 1, 2023, the univers ...

and other partners to advance automation and manufacturing technologies. In May 2024 Pepperl+Fuchs signed a contract agreeing to partner with the Mannheim TECHNOSEUM to set up a student laboratory, centred on

STEM Stem or STEM most commonly refers to: * Plant stem, a structural axis of a vascular plant * Stem group * Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics Stem or STEM can also refer to: Language and writing * Word stem, part of a word respon ...

programs and sensor technology.

References

{{Authority control Electrical engineering companies of Germany Companies based in Mannheim Multinational companies headquartered in Germany German brands Industrial Ethernet Industrial automation Explosion protection