FACTS AND FIGURES Trade fairs and events Logistics ~ 2,000 m2 Floor space, the largest Phoenix Contact booth to date (SPS in Nuremberg 2022) ~ 150 Trade fairs at which Phoenix Contact is represented worldwide every year 123 Truckloads are needed nationally for trade fairs (of which 33 trucks are for the Hannover Messe, and 28 trucks for SPS Nuremberg) 200 t Products are moved per day in logistics in Blomberg and Schieder 75,000 Pallets are owned by Phoenix Contact, of which 35 pallets fit in one truck 10.5 km Is the average daily travel distance of each forklift in Blomberg 600 Loading devices are cleaned by the washing system in Schieder in 60 minutes 1.5 million Loading devices are on the move worldwide for Phoenix Contact in total 6,000 Product shipments leave the outgoing goods department at the headquarters in Blomberg every day Internationality 75 % International share of sales More than 50 Sales subsidiaries worldwide 11 Production sites worldwide Global Centers of Competence Subsidiaries Sales subsidiaries

SIGNPOST 100 years of Phoenix Contact 1920 – 1929 1930 – 1939 What is it about Blomberg that the Ruhr metropolis is unable to offer? Turbulent founding years | 08 Essen is the birthplace of a small company dedicated to the distribution of commercial electrification products during a troubled time Coal, crises, and the war economy | 20 As with many other great inventions, coincidence helps in the development of the terminal block Interview | 34 How does it feel to be a Mayor today with a global player in the neighborhood? Portrait The visionary: Josef Eisert | 48 1960 – 1969 Setting the course | 52 A company reinvents itself – from a trading company to manufacturer 1940 – 1949 Escape to the province | 28 During the war and post- war turmoil, company founders and their staff seek refuge in a small town in eastern Westphalia Portrait The great lady: Ursula Lampmann | 36 1950 – 1959 Blomberg versus Essen | 40 Portrait The founder: Hugo Knümann | 16 4 UPDATE 1/23 The Phoenix Contact innovation magazine

OPENING WORDS Sustainable and livable Dear customers, Making optimum use of energy has been Phoenix Contact’s mission since 1923. It is 100 years since the businessman, Hugo Knümann, founded the Phönix Elektro- und Industrie-Bedarfsgesellschaft company in Essen, Germany. 25 years later, my father Josef joined the still very small company, and in the 1960s I also joined the company along with my brothers Jörg and Gerd. From a small terminal block manufacturer, we gradually developed to become a global market leader, and we now have more than 22,000 employees. Our strong corporate culture, the culture of a family business, has always been our secure anchor. Values such as friendliness, sincerity, and mutual trust continue to shape our worldwide actions within the Phoenix Contact family to this day. This makes our company unique and has been the reason for our continued success. From the very start, we have been driven by our passion for technology and the everlasting desire to make things even better. From the first terminal block right through to our latest innovations, we have been developing products and solutions that make the difference. For me as an engineer, I consider this engineering art as being the true heart of a technology company. Through electrification, networking, and automation, we are helping to open up new technical and economic opportunities that make people’s lives easier and better. We will continue to pursue this aim in the future. Our products and solutions can and will contribute to making our world sustainable and, at the same time, one worth living in. This is a major challenge that we would like to continue to meet over the next 100 years. Klaus Eisert, Shareholder of Phoenix Contact “Our strong corporate culture has always been our anchor. Our values shape our activities.” 6 UPDATE 1/23 The Phoenix Contact innovation magazine

1920 – 1929 8

TIMELINE Arcades under the tracks of the central train station Hugo Knümann started as a distributor of contact wire clamps 1923 Startup with humble beginnings Three of the arcade arches in Hollestrasse in Essen were home to warehouses, offices, and assembly stations of Phönix Elektro- und Industrie-Bedarfsgesellschaft mbH. With 12 employees, RWE terminal blocks were assembled and shipped from here starting in 1928. Hugo Knümann 1923 Ruhr occupation As a consequence of World War I, Germany was condemned to pay drastic reparations. The young Weimar Republic was unable to fully comply with this. In consequence, French and Belgian troops occupied the Ruhr region in January 1923. They did not move back out until mid 1925. 1924 Hyperinflation The government in Berlin responded to the Ruhr occupation by cranking up the money printing presses to settle claims. The result was an enormous devaluation of money, causing the economy to collapse. Hyperinflation ended with the introduction of the Reichsmark at the end of 1924. 1926 Deutsche Lufthansa AG In the mid-1920s, there were more than 30 airlines in Germany, and some of them were heavily subsidized. Deutsche Luft Hansa AG (as it was called until 1933) is founded on January 6, 1926, with headquarters in Cologne. It carries 55,000 passengers in the first year, and just two years later that number has doubled. 10 UPDATE 1/23 The Phoenix Contact innovation magazine

1920 – 1929 Meeting in front of a historic backdrop – at the Mülheim streetcar depot, modern streetcars run alongside the historic railcars The first customer In 1923, a small startup in Essen officially began operations. The business revolved around products designed to ensure the electromobility of workers. After visiting the number one customer ... 12 UPDATE 1/23 The Phoenix Contact innovation magazine

1920 – 1929 “It was the Essen streetcar that made RWE’s rise possible.” Dipl.-Ing. Andreas Knebel of Ruhrbahn AG money. Especially in the 1970s and 80s, cities were being transformed to “car-friendly cities.” It was considered state-of-the-art to abolish the railway lines or shift them to tunnel traffic, making room for “Germany’s favorite child.” A vast number of secondary lines were discontinued, while the network of electrified transportation was drastically cut back. “Because of damage caused by mining, however, tunnel construction for underground subways here in the Ruhr area was only possible to a limited extent, so a residual above-ground network Andreas Knebel works on the information technology at Ruhrbahn AG; he also represents his current employer in the historical environment Berlin started earlier. But we did implement cross-town traffic here right from the start.” The rail transport company Süddeutsche Eisenbahn- Gesellschaft AG (SEWG) was founded in 1895. In the early 1930s, the SEG network of streetcars covered well over 1,000 kilometers from the Ruhr area to the Bergisches Land region. “Passenger transport by car was initially very slow to catch on, unlike in America, for example,” Martin Ruhnau explains the importance of streetcars. “At that time, there was for the most part no other means of transportation. There were hardly any trucks either. The streetcar was the main load-bearing vehicle of the times.” Peak and decline After World War II, when a good 90 percent of vehicles and overhead lines had been fully destroyed, the streetcar quickly experienced a new peak. By the mid-1950s, the majority of the lines were back in service. In 1956, the Essen streetcars transported a total of 155 million passengers. However, as Ursula Lampmann’s historical cash log reveals, sales of contact wire fittings no longer played a role for Phönix in the 1950s. The patented RWE terminal block had long since outranked the electromobility line component. At the same time, the streetcar itself also came under pressure. The bus gave the rail vehicle a run for its The drive switch is the lever of locomotion – it is fitted 14 UPDATE 1/23 The Phoenix Contact innovation magazine

PORTRAIT Hugo Knümann The founder Hugo Knümann was a colorful personality who lived during dramatic times. He experienced two world wars, the change from an empire to a republic, the seizure of power by the National Socialists, followed by the founding of the Federal Republic. And he laid the foundation for what was initially a small enterprise, which went on to defy all storms and can now look back on a hundred very successful years. 1928 A visit to a power station sparked the idea for the terminal block 16

T here is a furniture store in Essen that still bears the name Knümann to this day. Born in 1884, Hugo Knümann came from this family. If you take a look at the founder of Phoenix Contact today, you’re bound to come across a few question marks. Given the turbulent times during which he was active, this should come as no surprise. A place in the sun What is undisputed is Hugo Knümann’s date of birth. As a descendent of a furniture dynasty, he was born in Essen on January 28, 1884. Right in the middle of a time featuring epochal change. The nation-state of Germany was still young, Otto von Bismarck was Chancellor of the Reich, Wilhelm I was German Emperor. The monarchy sought colonial possessions, was increasing its power, and demanded a “place in the sun” for the young nation-state. Hugo Knümann’s schooling begins in 1890 at the elementary school in Essen. We can assume that he also followed his brother Otto, who was four years older than him, to the secondary school Oberrealschule Essen. His apprenticeship as a merchant, which young Knümann probably completed in Pforzheim at a jeweler’s, is undisputed. The city was considered the center of the goldsmith’s trade. It is no longer possible to reconstruct just how long and in what way Hugo Knümann worked in this region in southern Germany. PORTRAIT | HUGO KNÜMANN An almost limitless belief in technological development marks this time. Several inventions and patents challenged the traditional value chains. Germany especially was considered a leading location for brilliant minds during this phase and was open to new technologies. In turn, this had an impact on the balance of power in the constitutional monarchy as well. The middle class gained strength, while the aristocratic upper class increasingly isolated itself from reality. World War calamity Overheated nationalism and unstable domestic political conditions led to the calamity of World War I on the powder keg of unresolved conflicts spanning across the European continent. Hugo Knümann was 30 years old and thus of military age in 1914 when the war broke out. It is unknown whether he was drafted or whether instead his asthma, which was documented later, saved him from the battlefields of Europe. More than two million German soldiers died during World War I, while close to 800,000 civilians starved to death. Germany capitulated in 1918, ending the monarchy. For a short period after the war, Germany initially experienced a very turbulent political phase, with soldiers’ and workers’ councils, before the Weimar Republic was formed. French troops occupy the Ruhr area in 1923, here in Essen 18 UPDATE 1/23 The Phoenix Contact innovation magazine Essen’s Bahnhofsplatz becomes home to the young startup 300 pounds of butter The first traces of a trading company that the merchant Hugo Knümann envisioned can be found as early as in 1921 and 1922, before the Phönix Elektro- und Industrie-Bedarfsgesellschaft was founded in 1923 during the French occupation of the Ruhr region. The starting capital of 30,000 Reichsmark, an amount that at first glance seems impressive, had an equivalent value of about 300 pounds of butter or two cows at the time of the onset of hyperinflation. Hugo Knümann initially began his business activities with the sale of contact wire fittings for streetcars. Despite all the political turmoil, the Ruhr area continued its dynamic growth as Germany’s economic engine. The electrification of the streetcars was also an expression of prosperity in Essen. His contacts with the power company Rheinisch-Westfälisches Elektrizitätswerk RWE and his product portfolio brought him to a decisive customer visit a few years later. One of the senior engineers, Heinz Müller, expressed his frustration to the technology-oriented businessman at the handling of 10-pole ceramic current terminals. Common at the time, they were costly to manufacture, delicate to handle, and difficult to repair. Knümann sensed an opportunity and sat down with the freelance engineer Stuhldreher. The idea of the alignable current terminals

1930 – 1939 The Ruhr region was hit hard by the economic collapses in the 1920s. It nonetheless remained the engine of industrial Germany 20

TIMELINE 1936 Phönix is not the only terminal block in town Josef Eisert was a recognized expert in terminal blocks long before he joined Phönix Elektrizitätsgesellschaft, as we can see in this Siemens-Schuckert patent document. 1933 – 1941 Unique find The Phönix Elektrizitätsgesellschaft “logbook” has only recently been rediscovered. It provides a unique insight into the company’s day-to-day operations. The most important events of each day were recorded and documented. 1931 The end of Al Capone’s career Alphonse Gabriel Capone was finally put out of business on October 24, 1931. Tax evasion and money laundering put him behind bars in maximum security custody for 11 years. Although he was released early in 1939, his power as the iconic Mafioso was broken. Al Capone died in 1947. 1936 The Olympics under the swastika The Summer and Winter Olympic Games were held in Germany in 1936. Nazi propaganda made use of the competitions for self-promotion. 22 UPDATE 1/23 The Phoenix Contact innovation magazine Patent for series test terminal block for auxiliary lines in electrical switching devices 1936 “Strength through Joy” automobile Enough space for four people, a top speed of 100 km/h, inexpensive to buy, and fuel- efficient – these were the specifications Adolf Hitler defined for the ambitious goal of motorizing Germany. Ferdinand Porsche came up with the design of what would later be known as the VW Beetle.

1930 – 1939 In the beginning, there was clay In comparison, we see the slightly rounded edges of the glossy white terminal block made by 3D printing 24 24

Marco Schmidt examines the tangible result of his scan The “green body” from the printer is post-processed grainy components cling closely together, This could also be done with a sample of the molecule by molecule, without forming a RWE-Phoenix terminal block. After all, the chemical bond. The workpiece becomes denser additive manufacturing specialist Protiq is a and shrinks to varying degrees, depending spin-off from Phoenix Contact’s own tool shop, on the mixture of the slurry. This molecular practically right next door ... structure creates an extremely high strength. As a result, the smooth surface resists the wear of external influences and the ceramic material is an excellent insulator against electrical charges. It’s no wonder terminal blocks have been manufactured from this hard material for The first step is to scan the object to be made. This is done with Phoenix Contact’s own 3D scanner in the tool shop. Technician Marco Schmidt carefully picks up the original terminal block from 1942. Normally, his field of work involves material testing and troubleshooting decades and last just as long. in case of complaints. A high-performance Ceramics are still being used today. This is scanner, similar to a medical computer tomo- demonstrated by the high-temperature SSK graph, helps him by rotating the objects and terminal blocks, whose ceramic base body is manufactured by Ceram Tec in Plochingen, Germany. The Swabians specialize in high- tech ceramics and are constantly developing new technologies and areas of application. The ceramic terminal blocks from Phoenix Contact are used wherever extreme conditions would X-raying them in the process. While this happens, a camera continuously takes pictures, which are then combined on the computer to create a 3D image of the museum exhibit. After 50 minutes, 2,160 images have been merged into one dataset, and the digital twin is born. Now we go to the marketplace. After all, quickly bring an end to the plastics commonly Protiq GmbH has created a virtual space used today. Terminal blocks and dentures Today, additive manufacturing has become an option for producing ceramic workpieces. where suppliers and customers of additive manufacturing can connect. First, we upload the 3D dataset here. Next, we quickly enter the preferred material – ceramics. Not only do we get a list of companies that can manufacture 26 UPDATE 1/23 The Phoenix Contact innovation magazine

The contrast between Blomberg and the Ruhr metropolitan area could not be more stark 1940 – 1949 28

TIMELINE 1943 Essen bombardment The British Air Force began its attack on the Ruhr on March 5, 1943. As an armaments center, Essen is the first major city to be hit by the Battle of the Ruhr. The level of destruction is immense. Difficult times 1940 – 1949 The Blomberg Bürgerheim with a planning application for conversion (left, above) 1945 World War II comes to an end A war fought by more than 60 countries and costing 80 million lives through military conflict, mass murders, and persecution comes to an end after six years. 1944 Swing legend Miller dies in an accident Swing is a style of jazz that made the big band famous. Glenn Miller, with his orchestra of the same name, was one of its most famous representatives. He died in a plane crash on his way from London to Paris in December 1944. 30 UPDATE 1/23 The Phoenix Contact innovation magazine

1940 – 1949 Just as idyllic as two centuries ago – Blomberg was a sleepy provincial town in the 1940s Arriving to stay Phoenix Contact relocated to the City of Carnations not once, but twice. A makeshift solution the first time around has developed into a true love affair over the past nearly 80 years. Even the current mayor, Christoph Dolle, can hardly escape this fact, as he reveals with a wink in conversation. 32 32 UPDATE 1/23 The Phoenix Contact innovation magazine

farmland. Josef Eisert hired the young architect Eckhard Schulze-Fielitz from Essen, whose design of a production hall on the basis of the Bauhaus style still shapes the architectural face of Phoenix Contact today. The first hall was erected in 1957. The company’s own crawler tractor Klaus Eisert still remembers the beginnings of Blomberg’s construction activities well: “We even had our own construction crew with five masons and building tradesmen. With our own concrete mixer, crane, and even a Hanomag caterpillar. We poured the floor slab of the rear half of Hall 1 ourselves.” Immediately after Hall 1 was erected, the go- ahead was given for the construction of Hall 2. And in 1966, with the erection of Building 21, which today is still known as the “high-rise building,” the administrative staff returned to Blomberg. The office of Schulze-Fielitz erected numerous factory buildings worldwide until the 1980s, making the Phoenix Contact buildings 1966 The high-rise building is erected – an architectural sensation in Blomberg unmistakable. His successor, architect Werner Brandstetter, remained and still remains true to the structural principles. Now, a staff of 5,500 employees work at the Blomberg location alone every day. The company premises have become an internationally known landmark in Blomberg. The location’s expansion has not reached its completion yet: In the anniversary year 2023, the innovative Building 60 will be opened. (lo) 34 UPDATE 1/23 The Phoenix Contact innovation magazine Christoph Dolle, Mayor of Blomberg Interview Blomberg’s mayor Christoph Dolle in an interview on his city’s relationship with Phoenix Contact, plus the opportunities and challenges in the interaction with the largest company in the City of Carnations.

PORTRAIT Ursula Lampmann The great lady Some called her Aunty Ulla and snatched a chocolate egg or two during a weekend visit. Others stood to attention when hearing her voice on the other end of the telephone line. For more than six decades, Ursula Lampmann was one of Phoenix Contact’s most influential personalities. Ursula Lampmann’s logbook offers exciting insights into the early years of Phönix Elektrizitätsgesellschaft 36

PORTRAIT | URSULA LAMPMANN permission from her husband before she was allowed to work at all. Hard times Ursula Lampmann starts working at the “small company” at the age of 17 During World War II, Essen, one of the centers of the German heavy machinery and weapons industry, was heavily bombed. Phönix Elektrizitätsgesellschaft was not spared, and subsequently relocated to East Westphalia. While the company was housed in what was once a restaurant, Ursula Lampmann took up residence in a bedroom with the family of the later mayor Heinrich Fritzemeier. “Even during this difficult period, Ursula Lampmann made sure that the company remained solvent,” says long-time company spokeswoman Angela Josephs, paying tribute to Ursula Lampmann’s achievements. “This was no trivial feat, because the events of the war also significantly affected deliveries and payments. That’s when the young managing director really had to assert herself.” The war was over in 1945. Major customers such as RWE, Siemens, and Braun Boveri resumed business in the Ruhr area. So, the exiles from Essen returned home in 1948. Assembly and shipping remained in Blomberg. In 1949, the company’s CEO Knümann met engineer Josef Eisert. Knümann and Ursula Lampmann met with the holder of many patents at his home in the Black Forest. The contact turned into a firm collaboration. Once Hugo Knümann passed away in 1953, everything changed at the commercial distributor. Ursula Lampmann inherited 20 percent of the company shares, becoming the second largest shareholder after Josef Eisert. Radical changes The engineer Josef Eisert became the CEO of the company and started to realign the company’s direction. In-house manufacturing moved to the forefront. After several attempts to set up a production site in Essen, one thing was certain: The Blomberg location was expanding. Ursula Lampmann kept a firm hold on finances, making sure that the technology-loving Eisert did not take any excessive financial risks. However, she was unable put the brakes on the visionary entirely. So she was by his side when Josef Eisert set off for Switzerland to purchase the very first production machines. Instead of just one, though, Eisert acquired four machines. “Mr. Eisert, how are we going to pay for this?” Ursula Lampmann would remain the corrective element over the next few decades, consolidating the principle of financing new growth from equity capital alone. In Blomberg a second time The company was undergoing rapid growth, and the Blomberg location quickly expanded. Having the administrative offices in Essen, separated from production in East Westphalia, was becoming an obstacle. One can imagine just how difficult the move to rural Blomberg was for the staunch urbanite. In 1967, though, Lampmann headed to East Westphalia for the second time. The company ultimately became the life’s work of At the time Phönix Elektrizitäts- gesellschaft came into existence in 1923, Ursula Lampmann was only three years old. The daughter of the managing director of a machine factory was raised in a sheltered environment in the north of Essen. After earning her degree at the Higher Commercial School, a school friend introduced her to the small company next door to the Essen Central Station, the Phönix Elektro- und Industrie-Bedarfsgesellschaft. Rapid career growth In 1937, Ursula Lampmann began working at the “little company,” as she called it with a smile in an interview later. By this time, Hugo Knümann’s terminal block had become a household name among experts. It was called the RWE Phoenix terminal block. The components were sourced from specialists. For example, the ceramics came from Hermsdorf Schomburg Isolatoren-Gesellschaft ( HASCHO) in Thuringia, the brass parts from Weisser, a company in the Black Forest. The product was then assembled in the arcades under the Essen Central Station. “From the very beginning,” Ursula Lampmann later recalled, “Hugo Knümann’s trusted me completely. I was soon put in charge of cash receipts.” Six years later, the young woman was given power of attorney. An unusual sign of trust, given that the “normal” German wife even had to obtain written After the passing of Hugo Knümann, Ursula Lampmann became a shareholder, here with August Scherrbacher, Otto Sillib, and Josef Eisert (from left) at a shareholder meeting 38 UPDATE 1/23 The Phoenix Contact innovation magazine

1950 – 1959 Blomberg versus Essen 40

TIMELINE New terminal blocks from the late 1950s Hugo Knümann dies in 1953 In 1954, Unidyn terminal blocks are used in the Goldenberg coal- fired power plant 1953 The inventor turns entrepreneur After the passing of Hugo Knümann, Josef Eisert breathes new life into Phönix Elektrizitätsgesellschaft: the company’s own machines, its own production, and a technological leap with new terminal blocks that are no longer designed solely for power providers but that open up entirely new markets. Josef Eisert 1953 The epochal Coronation Queen Elizabeth II is officially crowned on June 2, 1953. During her 70-year reign, she will appoint 15 prime ministers, review 1062 laws, and designate more than 387,000 subjects with the title of “knight” (sir) or “lady.” The 1950s Upswing instead of rigid edges Tulip lamps, cocktail chairs, and kidney- shaped tables become indispensable parts of the interior of German homes. Their curved forms set a deliberate contrast to the rigid, angular shapes of the style elements of the National Socialism period. 42 UPDATE 1/23 The Phoenix Contact innovation magazine

1950 – 1959 In-house 44

1950 – 1959 then pulls the material into the machine. There, a blade cuts pieces off the stand with always the same length. This blank is then moved in front of the die. A so-called prediver moves forward, Wiehager doesn’t mind working rotating shifts – whether the early, late, or night shift. On the contrary: “This gives me time for my hobbies, and for the kids as well.” The pushing the blank into the die, and then the finish-diver arrives, giving the screw its final shape.” The finished product comes in very different shapes, depending on the order. Right now, we produce 207 different types of screws at Contact. Whichever machine is available always has to be set up and adjusted Phoenix accordingly. The machine setter is responsible interpersonal aspect is the most important thing for the specialist from East Westphalia: “We’re a great team here. The work can sometimes be very stressful, yet we are a really close-knit community here. If the team is right, then any job is fun.” The 47-year-old the performance: “Depending on the order volume, we produce up to seven million screws a day takes pride in for setting the machine up, and the machine operator for running the machine. The specific technical knowledge cannot be learned at here. And do so with the highest precision. In a year, we reach a volume of around 1.6 billion screws.” Wiehager and his colleagues receive a school desk. “I’m actually a trained IT technician and starting here was more or less a coincidence. The task is versatile, though, and really technically demanding. After all, the recognition for their efforts by regular visits from Klaus Eisert and others: “He must have come in here 15 times during his evening rounds over the last ten years. The number of machines have to be set precisely to a hundredth his visits has of course become less. The senior of a millimeter and then have to run.” executive is not getting any younger. But we here are close to his heart. After all, he helped set up the screw manufacturing.” How does he view himself and his team? “We are really important workers in our production.” He says, grins, and turns his attention back to inspecting the screws. There are still a few of the small fasteners to be made before reaching the daily seven million mark. (lo) “We produce around seven million screws here every day.” Falk Wiehager Falk Wiehager and his colleagues know their machines exactly 46 UPDATE 1/23 The Phoenix Contact innovation magazine

PORTRAIT Josef Eisert The visionary He was an inventor, designer, entrepreneur, and visionary – upon the arrival of Josef Eisert, a new era dawned at Phoenix Contact. The engineer from southern Germany transformed the former commercial distributor into a manufacturer of innovative products that later became a world market leader. 1953 Even before his time at Phoenix Contact, Josef Eisert was already an expert in terminal blocks – here a freehand sketch of the small terminal block “Pikko-Dyn” 48

PORTRAIT | JOSEF EISERT Firewood and toilet paper Shortly before the Russian army conquered Berlin in May 1945, a group of Siemens employees left to become part of “West Group Management” in Mülheim an der Ruhr. After he arrived here, he returned to the family in the Black Forest. Germany after the war was characterized by chaotic conditions, destroyed cities, food shortages, and great efforts to start over. The Eiserts made a modest living, for the most part on the income from their small boarding house. Josef Eisert earned additional income by working in forestry as a woodcutter, among other jobs. Yet, none of this put a halt on his inventive spirit as an engineer. Not only did he learn beekeeping, he also designed a double-walled apiary with a sliding honey chamber. He developed an ingenious dispenser for the single- ply toilet paper that was common at the time, but it did not take off. He also continued to work for Siemens, where one of his developments involved a special scissor disconnector designed to disconnect electrical connections in outdoor switchgear. Attorneys, patents, and all things great and small Josef Eisert was still finding improvements in the field of terminal blocks. This brought him into contact with the patent attorney Dr. Idel from Essen, who also represented a man named Hugo Knümann. The attorney first brought the men together in 1949. In the early days, Knümann expressed greater interest in buying up Eisert’s patents. However, Knümann and Eisert, who was 14 years younger, understood each other well, so a free collaboration came about. A phenomenon known as “season cracking” took place during this time. Knümann’s terminal blocks suffered from hairline cracks in the brass of the clamping parts. This was a problem that especially occurred in the fall. Josef Eisert was assigned to solving this existential problem in the RWE-Phoenix terminal blocks, which were thought to be so robust. He discovered that brass began to deteriorate when mechanical tensile stress, moisture, and ammonia interacted. This constellation would A true multi-talent: Josef Eisert was an ingenious designer, engineer, and visionary entrepreneur Present-day Phoenix Contact would be unimaginable without him. Josef Eisert was an ingenious inventor and a tireless tinkerer. There were 281 patents registered in his name by the time his creative period came to an end. Yet in 1898, no one would have known. The oldest of three sons was born in Dielheim near Heidelberg that year. Innkeepers and legendary Sepp Herberger Professionally, Josef Eisert came from an entirely different background. His parents ran the “Zur Sonne” inn. The inn was later passed on to his brother Anton. Even the youngest brother, Otto Eisert, followed in his parents’ footsteps and opened the “Zum Hirschen” inn. Josef’s path, though, led him to the drawing board, not the beer tap. He discovered a passion for electrical engineering. During his time as a student in Mannheim, he would play alongside the young soccer legend Sepp Herberger in the Waldhof Mannheim soccer team. Not even his love for soccer could distract the emerging engineer from his destiny, however. After earning his degree at the Mannheim Engineering Technical College, Josef Eisert began his professional career at Brown Boveri Cie (BBC) in Mannheim. The first of his patents date back to these early days, and they reach far beyond his expertise in electrical engineering. Among other things, he developed a locking mechanism for sliding doors on rollingstock. Selling the patent provided him with the proceeds to buy a home in the Black Forest. He had it converted to the “Blümlishof” boarding house that was kept by his mother-in-law. Change of scenery to Berlin In the early 1930s, Josef Eisert accepted a new position in Berlin at the Siemens Electric Group. At 34, Eisert worked at Siemens-Schuckert headquarters. Josef Eisert was assigned to topics relating to the power supply of power stations, outdoor transformer stations, and railroad installations. It did not take to become the chief engineer, responsible for a department of around 150 employees. During this period alone, Eisert developed 60 patents, including a “series test terminal for auxiliary lines” as early as 1932. His son Klaus was born in May 1934, followed by Jörg in November 1935. In 1943, the Eiserts decided that the Emilie and their two sons move to the “Blümlishof” in the Black Forest, given the growing threats of the war in Berlin. Josef Eisert was considered “indispensable to the war effort” and, later in the war, he belonged to the Organisation Todt, an engineering troop that was assigned to the maintenance of buildings and infrastructure. 50 UPDATE 1/23 The Phoenix Contact innovation magazine

1960 – 1969 52

TIMELINE 1961 The next generation begins Josef Eisert’s eldest son, Klaus Eisert, starts his career at the company in 1961. He is followed one year later by Jörg Eisert. Like his father, Klaus is a high-voltage engineer. Jörg focuses on low voltage. Klaus Eisert manages sales and product development, while Jörg Eisert heads up production in Blomberg and Lüdenscheid. First catalog, in DIN A5 format Jörg Eisert Klaus Eisert Age of legends 1960 – 1969 1961 A star comes to visit John F. Kennedy is one of the most popular of U.S. presidents. In the early 1960s, his visit to the divided city of Berlin caused a sensation. The city’s Mayor at the time was Willy Brandt. 1968 A net is woven The origins of the Internet stem from the developments of a small group of researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) who developed ARPAnet on behalf of the Department of Defense. Four computers in different cities were connected to form a network. 54

1960 – 1969 Erika Maho has been working in manufacturing at Phoenix Contact for 34 years Without her strong hands and tireless dedication, today’s Phoenix Contact would not exist. Women have been the strong force behind the scenes in assembly, manufacturing, warehousing, and logistics ever since the early years of the company. The strong women of Phoenix Contact 56 UPDATE 1/23 The Phoenix Contact innovation magazine

1960 – 1969 Clock instead of piecework The working environment at Phoenix Contact has seen dramatic change over the recent decades, of course. Where once this kind of work was purely manual and rather monotonous, involving the assembly of terminal blocks with simple auxiliary equipment, the workstations are now located on computer-supported production lines. Components are moved past the workstations on conveyors and await further processing. In the background, a sophisticated control system monitors to ensure the smooth flow of production. At some stations, the robotic colleague is a constant helper and sidekick. “We rotate stations throughout the work week, depending on the incoming orders. Sometimes there are four of us at a station, assembling circuit boards, for example, and at other times we work alone on a packing unit. The work is quite diverse,” says Regina Kolmsee, describing the daily routine. After receiving training in bakery sales, she started at Phoenix Contact 36 years ago. “When I started, the percentage of manual labor we had was much higher. I started in Hall 7, where a lot of soldering tasks were still done by hand. One of my jobs that I liked to do was assembling printed circuit boards with relays, by soldering iron with feed. It was tricky, but I really enjoyed it. I like doing detail work, it’s always been my thing.” Erika Maho has been working in manufacturing for 34 years. She adds, “Work today has become much more stressful. We used to work in piecework, too, but you could take a break here and there if you were faster. With today’s automation, that is no longer possible. The machines want to be fed continuously.” Solid as a rock: The two strong women have accompanied “their” production for decades Women in manufacturing: Facts and figures 16.3 65.5 29.2 Percent is the share of women working in German industry in 2021 Percent of employed mothers work part-time, as compared to just 7.1% of fathers (D, 2020) Percent of executives in Germany are female in 2021, 34.7% across Europe 58 UPDATE 1/23 The Phoenix Contact innovation magazine

1970 – 1979 Green comes up trumps 60

TIMELINE Connections down to the printed circuit board 1972 Long since a classic The introduction of the Combicon product family, a range of PCB terminal blocks, is the answer to the triumphant advance of electronics. Here, too, components must be interchangeable, which is why the portfolio grows rapidly. So much for restraint: advertising motifs around 1970 The Blomberg company premises in 1975 – at this time still (almost) a bit idyllic 1970 Royal heavy metal band The British rock band Queen forms in England in 1970. For 20 years, the group surrounding singer Farrokh Bulsara, better known as Freddie Mercury, remains unchanged in its lineup while it continues to shape the pop culture of its time. The band has sold 200 million albums so far. 1970 Committing to responsibility 14 seconds of world history – Willy Brandt’s spontaneous kneeling in Warsaw changes the relationship with Poland. “Then he kneels, who does not need it, for all those who need it but do not kneel – because they do not dare or cannot dare,” Hermann Schreiber, Spiegel. 1972 Black September in Munich A peaceful sports festival among nations becomes a tragedy. The Palestinian terrorist group Black September raids the Israeli residential quarter in the Olympic Village, killing two athletes and taking nine hostage. The rescue attempt fails, all athletes, five of the eight assassins, and one policeman die. 62 UPDATE 1/23 The Phoenix Contact innovation magazine

1970 – 1979 A melting pot of innovations There is no other gathering that reveals more about the spirit of Phoenix Contact than the engineering round that has long since become legendary. Once a week, dedicated developers and experienced product managers meet with expert and knowledgeable top managers – discussing critical questions and enjoying an inspiring dialog at eye level. The decisions made here influence Phoenix Contact quite significantly 64

1970 – 1979 “Good developers are those people who might sometimes only have a brilliant flash of inspiration once a year, but it can have an enormous impact.” Dirk Görlitzer The exception to the (terminal block) rule: The PTFix terminal block is still a success with a PowerPoint presentation showing snappy slides, there are still gaps along the entire value chain, they are but who have no detailed knowledge fail mercilessly in discovered in this round. “Anyone taking part in these these group discussions.” Culturally beneficial The engineering round, meetings over a period of years has gained so much knowledge about our product portfolio across all business initiated by Klaus Eisert areas.” himself, has gained such a special reputation over the Throwing a terminal block out the window decades because the interaction among the members is characterized by mutual respect and communication at eye level. There is no room for hierarchy in this round; competence is all that counts. Klaus Eisert has successfully introduced a special blend of understanding to this round. “Thursday morning is really culturally beneficial to Phoenix Contact. After all, innovation doesn’t just stem from the R&D departments, it originates along the entire value chain within our company. This round is the melting pot of Phoenix Contact. It is where competencies and passions meet, where people wrestle, argue, laugh, but also challenge each other, where improvements are explored, and where far-reaching decisions are ultimately made.” “The expectations that I have experienced in this round over the last few years is that a general manager or business area manager is also expected to understand their products and production down to the last detail.” Not only technical details of the products play a key role, but also raw material costs, the production of tools and manufacturing equipment, profitability considerations, sales expectations, and customer expectations as well. If The current COO started as a product manager at Phoenix Contact 28 years ago, and has attended the design review many times. He can easily put himself in Timo Balzereit’s shoes. He tells a small anecdote: “Mr. Eisert once took newly developed terminal blocks with metal parts that I assumed would not fall out. He simply took them and threw them out the office window. And the parts did in fact fall out. Well, ok, we saved on the cost of extensive vibration tests.” The samples passed along in the round on this Thursday morning are spared this fate. Just the opposite! The hour flies by. On his way out, Timo Balzereit briefly reveals the thoughts that were going through his head: “We had already presented this topic once before and had to go back and research some of the points again. Still, I was nervous, because after all, this is where Phoenix Contact’s best minds are found. Yet it went well, and they asked the right questions. And the greatest compliment was that Mr. Görlitzer already wants to take the technology with him to present it on his next trip abroad. And of course, because Klaus Eisert attended, well that’s truly special when you can share ideas with him in dialog.” (lo) 66 UPDATE 1/23 The Phoenix Contact innovation magazine

1980 – 1989 Phoenix Contact USA sets up home in Harrisburg, the capital of Pennsylvania 68

TIMELINE Anyone who still remembers this technology was at the cutting edge in the 1980s 1980 YouTube analog The company’s global growth with increasingly sophisticated technology requires an explanation. A professional video studio is established in-house and produces product training videos on VHS tapes. Rail-mountable surge protection devices are introduced in 1983 Triumph of electronics 1980 – 1989 AT O M KRA F T ? E 1981 A nation lifts off The space shuttle program begins, ushering in a new era of space travel. Reusable space rockets are put into service for the first time. They can be used to transport both people and cargo. Satellites can be launched and retrieved, and astronauts taken to space stations. 1983 99 Red Balloons conquer the world Since the end of the 1970s, German New Wave has been sweeping the charts. One of the flagships is the band Nena with its singer of the same name. Her hit about the 99 red balloons not only portrays the zeitgeist, but even reaches number 1 in the USA. 70 UPDATE 1/23 The Phoenix Contact innovation magazine N EIN DA N K 1986 Waterloo of nuclear energy On April 26, what was assumed to be safe nuclear energy shows itself from its uncontrollable side. The nuclear disaster in Chernobyl is the first of its kind to go down in history as a catastrophic accident. Several trillion becquerels are released into the atmosphere. Several people die directly or indirectly as a result.

1980 – 1989 The other Germany 72 With his permanent visa, Norbert Schultz was able to commute relatively freely between East and West Germany The Wall – a completely unnatural division was here for decades

1980 – 1989 A separate warehouse was set up for East Germany in case West Berlin were to ever be cut off from the West again own local warehouse so that customers could continue to be supplied for some time even if there were political difficulties. Yet, at the time, delivery to East Germany was anything but a done deal. The so-called CoCom list regulated exactly which Western technologies could be sold to the East. The pricing structure with East Germany had its pitfalls: “We knew that the radio link from Berlin to West Germany was being monitored by the East, Norbert Schultz reveals. “When I was on the phone with my colleague Ulli Scholz in Blomberg and we discussed sales prices, we always determined what percentage discount I was allowed to give.” Laughing, he adds, “and we defined a maximum discount that still kept our pricing structure stable.” Unleaded at the border Norbert Schultz never really had any problems with the higher-level border authorities. “They always knew that I provide them with the technology they wanted, so they wouldn’t get into trouble.” With his permanent visa, Norbert Schultz was allowed to enter and leave East Germany as he pleased. However, it was not always easy to get past the strict border controls. “Once I arrived at the border crossing in “We factored in that our conversations would be intercepted, of course.” 74 UPDATE 1/23 The Phoenix Contact innovation magazine

PORTRAIT The Eisert trio Jörg Eisert The middle Eisert brother was responsible for production and plant management 76

PORTRAIT | THE EISERT TRIO Klaus Eisert during a representative’s conference in 1977 To this day, we still see Klaus Eisert out and about on the company premises almost every day. And the senior executive only slips in attendance at “his” weekly design review every Thursday morning if there is an even more important appointment to attend. Jörg Eisert The technical organizer Jörg Eisert followed his older brother along his technically focused career path. Born and raised in Berlin in 1935, and relocating later to idyllic Freiburg, Jörg Eisert also completed a degree at the Technikum in Karlsruhe, two semesters after his brother Klaus. Unlike the latter, Jörg Eisert specialized in “low voltage technology,” the precursor to the world of electronics and telecommunications. During the semester breaks, the brothers got a taste of practical experience at the drafting tables in their father’s design department. Because the older brother “allowed himself” two semesters off, the two Eiserts earned their degree at the same time and started working for Phönix Elektrizitätsgesellschaft, with headquarters in Essen, in the early 1960s. Jörg Eisert assumed the position as plant manager of the Blomberg location, market leader with sales in the billions and subsidiaries in more than 50 countries. Klaus Eisert not only shaped generations of engineers and technicians, but also the very special corporate culture of Phoenix Contact. This culture is characterized by human interaction, appreciative dealings with one another, and a reserved public appearance. In 2015, he succeeded in changing the top team of the Executive Board that, for the first time, is not made up of family members, but continues along the lines of the technical and business expertise as was exemplified by Klaus Eisert for decades. Klaus and Jörg Eisert joined the company in 1961 and 1962, almost at the same time Klaus Eisert Engineer with a passion If one wanted to find the perfect blueprint for a visionary, technology- minded, modest, and successful company patriarch, Klaus Eisert would be the very first choice. Born in 1934 in Berlin Siemensstadt and later raised in the Black Forest, he followed in his father’s footsteps, studying electrical engineering in Freiburg and specializing in high voltage engineering in Karlsruhe. In 1949, the 15-year-old met a man who would have a decisive impact on his life: Hugo Knümann. In fact, the meeting during which the Knümanns visited the Eisert family in the Black Forest lasted only a few short hours. However, in the will, Klaus Eisert was later given 15 percent of the company’s shares. During the semester breaks, Klaus Eisert was at his father’s company in Essen’s Schinkelstrasse, working at the drafting tables of the design engineers. A passion that he remains faithful to. The tireless designer refines whatever is at hand in sketches and drawings whenever there is an idea that needs capturing. There are many more of those than “just” the more than 80 patents Klaus Eisert holds. After Josef Eisert died in 1975, Klaus Eisert takes over both the com- pany management and his father’s shares in the company. This makes him the managing shareholder. A position he has held for the last 40 years. Under his leadership, Phönix Elektrizitäts- gesellschaft became Phoenix Contact, expanding from a small, yet mighty medium-sized company, to a global 78 UPDATE 1/23 The Phoenix Contact innovation magazine

1990 – 1999 80

TIMELINE 1992 A club for the bus The founding of the Interbus Club Deutschland e. V. marks the formation of an interface between users and manufacturers in the field of innovative fieldbus technology. Back then, the trade fair booths of the Interbus Club were larger than those of Phoenix Contact itself. Hannover Messe 1994 booth Triumph of electronics The rapidly growing automation technology needs its own space. The new Bad Pyrmont location is established in 1994 1990 – 1999 1990 A network for the world The very first website that was based on the Hyper Text Markup Language HTTP went online in December 1990. This was followed in the 1990s by the development of several browsers, making it possible to integrate graphics and other multimedia content. 1993 Nobel Peace Prize for Mandela He is the symbolic figure for overcoming racial segregation and apartheid: Nelson Rolihlala Mandela became the moral role model for an entire generation and was South Africa’s first black president from 1994 to 1999. He received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993. 1996 www. for your pocket Anyone whose jacket was worn out by this will definitely remember this quarter-pounder: The Nokia Communicator brought the Internet into the world of cellphones. Nokia was an absolute trendsetter in the cellphone market during this time. 82 UPDATE 1/23 The Phoenix Contact innovation magazine

1990 – 1999 Today’s plant no longer resembles any of the simple buildings of the 1990s The location in India is located in Delhi In the meantime, a new, second facility is set up in Nanjing Asia’s giants are waking up China and India have emerged as global players over the recent decades. Phoenix Contact had been doing business in these countries since the mid-1990s. True to the motto “think global – act local,” we have been successful in setting up our own production facilities. Yet, this comes with its own pitfalls... 84 UPDATE 1/23 The Phoenix Contact innovation magazine

1990 – 1999 In 1996, what doesn’t fit is made to fit. Somehow, we had to get the machines into the production buildings ... 2,500 Employees now work at the Phoenix Contact location in Nanjing. do so in a way that even a Chinese person can Without an interpreter, personal excursions were almost impossible in the 1990s four other colleagues at Frankfurt Airport, from where the journey continued, first to Beijing and then to Nanjing. The local task: to set up an initially modest in- house production facility in Fanshan, a suburb of Nanjing, for plastic housings and metal parts. understand. I still got through customs, though, The machinery had been prepared in advance somehow.” by Ewald Rose and colleagues. Sensitive parts were removed and put in personal luggage, while the rest were preserved with spray Language was a real problem at first. “At first, we hired Chinese staff that couldn’t speak any English at all. I had an interpreter for that. wax. Six automatic lathes each went into the containers first, and were then shipped to China and India. I explained my concerns to him in English, he then tried to translate into Chinese. And we went back and forth this way again and again. But International Broken English The first major hurdle came sooner than expected: “We had all been given a pilot’s case. After we landed, we went to customs in Beijing. I was carrying sequence processors in my little suitcase. We didn’t want those shipped like the this ultimately failed. So they started looking for people who could speak English. That’s when it worked out ...” But the language barrier was not always encountered on the Chinese side, says Rose with a broad grin: “For example, one day we were unloading a heavy injection molding machine. rest because they were very sensitive to rust. I gave the command 'ab, ab, ab', German for That’s why I removed them beforehand and 'down, down, down' to lower the part. And they carried them with me in my hand luggage. They kept pulling that thing higher, 'up, up, up.'” stood out, of course, while being x-rayed. Lots of metal, screws, plenty of wires – could it be a bomb? Now try to translate “Schrittschaltwerk Improvising and short circuiting China’s rise to a major economic power was für ein Stangenlademagazin” into English. And only just beginning. Many things in the Middle 86 UPDATE 1/23 The Phoenix Contact innovation magazine

2000 – 2009 The Global Centers of Competence are Blomberg, Harrisburg (USA), Bad Pyrmont, and Nanjing (China) New balance 88

TIMELINE Frank Stührenberg, Prof. Gunter Olesch, Roland Bent, Klaus Eisert, Dr. Heinz Wesch, Dr. Martin Heubeck Phoenix Contact revolutionizes the control cabinet with Clipline complete 2005 Evolution in corporate management Phoenix Contact ventures the step from a purely family-managed Executive Board to a team of expert external top managers under the leadership of the managing shareholder Klaus Eisert. Here, though, “external” only refers to the family affiliation, because the new company leaders have been active at Phoenix Contact for many years. Yellow is safe: Safety equipment with Inline safety, 2005 2000 The record racer German racing driver Michael Schuh- macher, having already being Formula 1 world champion twice in the Benetton racing team, laid the foundation in the Ferrari team for his legendary status with his world championship titles from 2000 to 2004. He won the world champion- ship seven times. A record that Lewis Hamilton then matched in 2020. 2001 Attack on the free world September 11: The terrorist attack on the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York and two other targets not only claimed the lives of 2996 people but completely transformed the relationship between the Western and Arab worlds. 2004 The earth is shaking, the sea is boiling On December 26 at 0:58 a.m., the earth under the Indian Ocean shook with a magnitude of 9.1, making it the third strongest earthquake ever recorded. The quake caused catastrophic tsunamis, claiming the lives of 230,000 people along the coastlines. 90 UPDATE 1/23 The Phoenix Contact innovation magazine

Harrisburg, PA, USA More than 1,000 employees serve the U.S. and global markets. 2000 - 2009 A network of movers and shakers With the foundation of the Centers of Competence in the major subsidiaries USA and China, Phoenix Contact began to address the growing globalization and specialization of markets. Increased individual accountability for increased mutual success. 92 UPDATE 1/23 The Phoenix Contact innovation magazine

W e are an American company,” is Dave Skelton’s confident response to the question of whether he feels that Phoenix Contact is still a German company simply operating a branch location in the USA. This kind of pride in one’s own performance does not come by chance. Though it is in fact true that Phoenix Contact USA was founded in 1981 as the first of three international subsidiaries. Yet, it was not until the Global Production Network was introduced in 2003 that in-house developments, adapted to the special requirements of America, were given the organizational framework, explains the former vice president and director of development and production at Phoenix Contact USA. Obsolete technology? Phoenix its debut on the American market relatively late. Josef Eisert Contact made had once decided that “America, is not a market for us.” That did not change until his sons took over company management. The systematic development of an international Phoenix Contact brand began with Gerd Eisert. After establishing the first three international subsidiaries in Sweden, Switzerland, and the USA, at least one new subsidiary was added each year. In the meantime, is represented in over 50 countries. Think global, Phoenix Contact 2000 – 2009 “We are an American company.” Dave Skelton, Vice President Phoenix Contact USA and General Manager Phoenix Contact Development and Manufacturing Phoenix in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, on leased space. A year later, the Contact, Inc. team moved to its own premises. act local – in accordance with this motto, In 2001, Don Springer handed over the the subsidiaries were given a great deal of company as President and CEO to his successor, independence from the very start. Jack Nehlig. For the next three years, Springer Don Springer was the first General Manager of Phoenix Contact USA. With him as a partner, Gerd Eisert built up the American subsidiary. Their first meeting did not go quite as smoothly as the following, extremely successful, 23 years would suggest. Springer met with officers of the family-owned company in East Westphalia for the first time ever at the Pittsburgh airport. When he was shown a terminal block as an example of Phoenix Contact’s core products, he thought to himself, “Oh dear, what outdated technology is this?” That changed when Klaus and Gerd Eisert explained the market and products to him. “I grasped the technology and was thrilled.” In 1981, together with Gerd Eisert and a team of five employees, Springer founded 94 UPDATE 1/23 The Phoenix Contact innovation magazine dedicated his time as President and CEO to the founding and development of the newly formed manufacturing company, Contact Manufacturing, Inc. Until then, Phoenix Contact did not have its own production facilities in the U.S. Phoenix reason Closer to the customer that The Phoenix Contact wanted to pursue a new strategy, adapted to the barn-storming growth this change was for of the business and the ongoing expansion into new markets. Not only in the USA - Phoenix Contact was also expanding into the major countries of Asia; India, and China. These large subsidiaries were expanded to become production sites.

Frank Stührenberg, Barack Obama, Angela Merkel, and Jack Nehlig at the Hannover Messe 2016 – Phoenix Contact exhibits an innovative fast charging system 2010 – 2019 At home around the world 96

TIMELINE The lightning current arrester wins the Hermes Award in 2010 Klaus Eisert Frank Stührenberg 2015 Friendly handover 2015 marks the end of an era. After 40 years at the helm of Phoenix Contact, Klaus Eisert hands over operational management to the new CEO Frank Stührenberg. On the expansion track 2010 – 2019 2010 Towering high Burj Khalifa is a building of superlatives. 163 stories, 828 meters high, 330,000 cubic meters of concrete, 200 large and 650 small concrete pillars for the foundation – and at the very top, a lightning current arrester system manufactured in East Westphalia, the Lightning Monitoring System LM-S. 2010 Hannover wins Lena Meyer-Landrut is only the second German performer to win the Eurovision Song Contest ever. Since her accomplishment, the then 19-year-old from Hannover has been a force to be reckoned with in international show business. The singer has more than five million followers on the Instagram social media platform alone. 98

2010 - 2019 The clothes of Phoenix RAL 9016 Traffic White and RAL 7005 Mouse Gray meet glass and rectangles. The result is a distinctive look 100

Always recognizable: Phoenix Contact in China, France, Spain, Germany (Training Center and E-Mobility Headquarters in Schieder, Building 60, Blomberg) for production, and therefore also for the factory would have been given a beige or grayish hue. buildings. The architect, who was still worked That particular building is located on “La for a company at the time, was approached Francilienne,” a major ring road around the to assist Eckardt Schulze-Fielitz with the construction of Building 10. Young Brandstetter seized the opportunity and started a business of French capital. “Those colors will blind road users,” recalls Florian Brandstetter of the office’s arguments locally and the long discussions that his own. He caught exactly the right moment, followed. “It came to a point where we actually because Phoenix Contact was making plans to questioned whether it was the right location,” grow. And internationally at that. With buildings in the style of Phoenix Contact, ensuring high recognition value. they agreed. Today, the building in the east of the French metropolis shimmers in traffic white. From this, the two architects have learned From then on, not only was it necessary something. “We used to think that around the to have hardhats and blueprints ready at all world, bureaucracy in Germany was unique and times, but also updated vaccination and travel an inhibitor of creativity. But this was topped by documents. Because he often wen on long trips some bureaucrats in neighboring countries.” with Gerd, and frequently also with Klaus Eisert. “Over the years, we have constructed buildings in 27 countries,” Werner Brandstetter recounts. No matter what, though, it never gets boring, despite the strict design and color specifications. Florian Brandstetter says, “No matter what “ Phoenix Contact has experienced incredible country we arrive in, it is a tailor-made project growth, particularly in recent years. And we each time.” The technology in the production were always a part of it. Sometimes even in two halls, on the other hand, is uniform. “The countries at the same time,” says son Florian machine connections are the same throughout Brandstetter, who is following in his father’s the world,” explains Werner Brandstetter. “We footsteps. Even though the building style was can dismantle a machine in China, ship it to set, the challenges were always quite different. America, and plug it right back in.” While social rooms are very important in Sweden, fire protection is what matters most in the USA, father and son tell us. Juggling a park and ice storage Currently, the Brandstetters are busy with the And if the French authorities had had their All Electric Society theme park, the redesign way, the Phoenix Contact facades in Paris of a sensational entrance area to the Phoenix 102 UPDATE 1/23 The Phoenix Contact innovation magazine 27 The Brandstetter architects have built Phoenix Contact buildings around the world 2 Color scheme: Mouse gray and traffic white 60 The designation of the new flagship building in Blomberg

2020 – 2023 Renewable energies replace their fossil predecessors 104

TIMELINE 2023 Executive Board with vision With the strategic direction of “Empowering the All Electric Society,” Phoenix Contact is clearly at the cutting edge. In a polarized time, committing to a world in which energy from renewable sources is given priority is also a clear social statement. Technology is the key to the future 2020 A virus takes hold of the world Once severe cases of pneumonia began clustering in the Chinese city of Wuhan in late 2019, a pandemic began spreading rapidly around the globe. 2020 The new work environment At first, isolation was the only way to stop the spread of the virus. Millions of people moved their workplace to their living rooms. This led and continues to lead to a sustainable change in the work environment. 2021 Looking back at prehistoric times With the James Webb Space Telescope, scientists hope to visualize the first luminous objects and galaxies that formed after the Big Bang some 13.5 billion years ago. The telescope moves in orbit around Earth at an altitude of about 1.5 million kilometers. 106 UPDATE 1/23 The Phoenix Contact innovation magazine

2020 – 2023 Generation Future 108 UPDATE 1/23 The Phoenix Contact innovation magazine

2020 – 2023 T hey represent the next generation at Phoenix Contact: Thomas Eisert, Robert Braunbehrens, and Tim Hohage have prominent ancestors and know and appreciate their company in many ways – they also bring new perspectives and unbiased thinking to the group of shareholders. “Our lives are in the future, not in the past. We need to build a new global economy. That means making changes.” left Germany did I realize the importance of my last name. During my time at the university, I found it fascinating that for me, many of the theoretical topics covered in lectures could be immediately observed in practice. Robert Braunbehrens: Everyone in my class knew who I was, of course. Otherwise, though, my family was and has been a very normal one. And Phoenix Contact simply always was a part of it, was always present. Tim Hohage: (laughs) I’m not even from the East Westphalia area. My family roots stem from the Berg family. My great-grandfather Eugen Berg was one of the founders of Noelle & Berg, now Phoenix Feinbau in Lüdenscheid. For many years, my grandfather was the general manager of Phoenix Feinbau, so I grew up around punch presses, cutting oil, and the smell of hot metal. → What personal experiences have you had with and at Phoenix Contact or Phoenix Feinbau? Thomas Eisert: I did a three-year apprenticeship here as an industrial management assistant before I took up my course of studies. So, outside of family ties and being a member of the shareholder group, I have a lot of hands-on experience in the company. Robert Braunbehrens: We were never pushed to start here. But I’ve also completed several internships here, so I know my way around campus pretty well. Tim Hohage: After I graduated from high school, I did a three-month engineering internship at Schieder, so I’m familiar with the basics of our production, and I was also at Protiq for a while. I even know where the speed cameras are in the area. Last summer, I spent a month at our subsidiary in the USA. Added to that are another few weeks in Lüdenscheid. Thanks to Phoenix Contact, I have a few great ideas and inspirations for my Business Thomas Eisert Administration studies. → Mr. Eisert, Mr. Braunbehrens, Mr. Hohage, all three of you grew up with the Phoenix Contact company. What role did Phoenix Contact play in your childhood and younger years? → All three of you are still very young and already shareholders in a billion-dollar company. There are not very many people in the world who are in your situation. Is that something burdensome or stressful? Robert Braunbehrens: What we have is a responsibility. That will never go away, that has always been clear. If I were to say that it doesn’t affect me, that wouldn’t be true. Yet all three of us are lucky enough to have grown up in relatively normal, down-to-earth families. In a really small, beautiful Thomas Eisert: Of course, the company was always present. town where people all stayed grounded. That has left its But my upbringing was based on traditional values here in mark on us. Blomberg, and we didn’t make much fuss about names and origins. That was important to my parents. Our visits to the Hannover Messe, for example, were always a highlight for me, even as a child. They still are, by the way. Not until I Sometimes when we are here, at a lecture, for example, I often think: Man, how is it that people are so good here? That in itself already makes you a little humble. Tim Hohage: It’s definitely not a burden, but we do feel the 110 UPDATE 1/23 The Phoenix Contact innovation magazine

2020 – 2023 → What does the topic of All Electric Society mean to you? Robert Braunbehrens: China is producing solar cells in the range of 300 gigawatts this year. That’s more than all other sources of power generation combined. By the end of the decade, that could be even as high as a terawatt. Every year, global demand for power increases by the size of consumption in France. And we’re prepared. We’re in the right industry, where incredibly exciting things are taking place. The entire human race is reorienting itself, deciding all over again how we want to live. And we help to shape that; we’re playing an active part in it. That’s what the All Electric Society is all about for me. Thomas Eisert: We are simply in the right place at the right time. We need to build a new global economy. That means making changes. We are fortunate to have the right products and to have recognized the need for change early ... Robert Braunbehrens: It’s not luck! It is the result of hard work, making the right preparations, and choosing a strategic direction. Tim Hohage: We are really well positioned with our product portfolio, so I think our future will really be good in the next decade ... Thomas Eisert:... and far beyond, over the next 30 or 40 years. After all, this transformation will not be implemented and completed quite as quickly if you look at the dimensions. We have an opportunity here that many simply do not have. After all, our lives are in the future, not in the past. All of us here at Phoenix Contact can help shape this future. → Do you believe that at some point family members will once again be responsible for the operational management of the corporation? Thomas Eisert: (grins) Biologically, sure, it’s possible. It is also legally possible. So, theoretically it is possible. Tim Hohage: The option is available, of course … Robert Braunbehrens:… but we all agree that if there is anyone that comes forward to say that he or she wants to do this, it definitely has to be the best person for the job. It’s a commitment we have put on ourselves. And achieving that is really hard. Our responsibility is towards the company, it’s not about the self-fulfillment of the members in our family group. Just looking at our current management team, we see a lot of great people at work there. You’d have to outperform them first. So, right now, that’s not realistic. (lo) 112 UPDATE 1/23 The Phoenix Contact innovation magazine Tim Hohage, Robert Braunbehrens, and Thomas Eisert

VISION FOR THE FUTURE Ulrich Leidecker, Torsten Janwlecke, Frank Stührenberg, Dirk Görlitzer, Axel Wachholz, and Frank Possel-Dölken (from left) Frank Stührenberg has been the Chief Executive Officer and thus Chairman of the current Executive Board since 2015. A graduate in business informatics, he has been with Phoenix Contact since 1992. Just two years later, Dirk Görlitzer began working as a product manager in Blomberg. Today, he is responsible for the Business Area Industrial Components and Electronics and, as Chief Operating Officer, is a member of the Executive Board. Ulrich Leidecker has also been with the company since 1994. Today, the graduate control and automation engineer is responsible for the Business Area Industrial Management and Automation and is also a COO. Torsten Janwlecke is responsible for the third Business Area. The electrical engineer has been working in Blomberg since 2016. At Phoenix Contact, he is responsible for Device Connectors and, as COO, is a member of the Executive Board. Dr. Frank Possel- Dölken came to Blomberg in eastern Westphalia back in 2008, and he has been a member of the Executive Board as Chief Digital Officer since 2020. In this role, he is responsible for the Digital Processes & Solutions and Digital Business Experience Management (digital customer interface and sales channels) divisions, and the central Innovation and IP Management. Axel Wachholz has been working for Phoenix Contact since 2018. The graduate machine builder is responsible for the Finance, Controlling, Corporate Governance & Compliance, Taxes, and Law divisions, as well as risk management and internal auditing. 114 UPDATE 1/23 The Phoenix Contact innovation magazine

VISION FOR THE FUTURE members of the Executive Board introduced above took it From day one, the vision of an All Electric Society upon themselves to plan for the long term again. At exactly the same time that they were working on this project, the world changed dramatically. An unknown virus developed a very special fascination. This was particularly evident at the first major meetings in the post-COVID-19 era. “A milestone at that time was our annual management called COVID-19 emerged and took control of the world. meeting in Bonn in the old Bundestag building.” But despite shutdowns, despite the burdens of supply chains breaking away, and despite numerous discussions After the first public presentation, the approval from the ranks of global managers was unanimous. “I have with customers because of delivery delays, the Executive seldom felt such a spirit of optimism as I did during Board continued to discuss the 10-year goal. “Roland Bent brought the concept of the All Electric Society into the fold at that time,” recalled Frank Stührenberg. “We then developed and defined concrete plans and action guidelines for all areas from the vision through a variety of discussions within the Executive Board.” those days.” The entire Executive Board of Phoenix Contact is certain: “With positive forward thinking and a realistic solution based on technology, we are opening up perspectives for the future – this inspires our employees and opens up future potential for our customers and society.” Empowering the All Electric Society The All Electric Society describes a world in which electricity is generated from renewable energy sources without carbon emissions and is the primary form of energy. In order for this energy to be stored and transported, it is becoming increasingly important to convert it into energy-storing systems, called Power-to-X. This method allows fluctuations in renewable energy to be balanced. As a value-driven family business with a hundred-year tradition, Phoenix Contact is committed to this guiding principle and steadfastly pursues the path of making the All Electric Society possible. Much of the technology and solutions to implement it are already in place. We specialize in this technology, and we make it possible to use it. Moreover, our focus is on the challenges that still need to be overcome. The comprehensive networking and automation of power generation, storage, transport, and consumption – called sector coupling – will significantly increase the effectiveness of energy systems. 116

“No one will really ever know just how important a piece of news will be until after 100 years have passed.” Friedrich Nietzsche “Technology is not what makes history, but the people who invented it.” Ferdinand Porsche 0 0 / 1 0 - 4 0 - 3 2 0 2 / 9 0 1 4 3 5 1 R N M 2 4 6 3 6 4 0 1 0 3