Initially, the company is headquartered in Huysenallee in Essen. Still in the 1920s, the company then moved into premises under the arcades of Essen’s main railway station.
The photograph shows an illuminated sign for the young company.
The history of Phoenix Contact
Immerse yourself in the 100-year history of our company.
We have experienced and achieved a great deal since the founding of our company. Here, you will find an overview of 100 years of Phoenix Contact here – defined by innovative technology and led by responsible people. Learn more about the key milestones on the journey from the beginnings in Essen to becoming a global player in electrical engineering.
1923: The Phönix Elektro- und Industrie-Bedarfsgesellschaft company commenced operations
After the First World War, Hugo Knümann wanted to set up his own business. Before the war, the merchant worked in southern Germany, but he returned to his hometown of Essen. He founded the Phönix Elektro- und Industrie-Bedarfsgesellschaft in 1923. The purpose of the company was “distribute electrical engineering and industrial products.”
But at this time, a regular economy is still unthinkable. Within the framework of the conflict over German reparations payments, French troops occupy the Ruhr in 1923; on the German side, the dispute culminates in hyperinflation. Only once this is brought to an end through the introduction of the Rentenmark is Knümann finally able to start operations.
Hugo Knümann, born in 1884, came from a dynasty of furniture dealers in Essen.
All his life, he saw himself as a merchant. He did not set up own production facilities. The company was strictly a sales operation, and Knümann was on the road every day to land orders and market his products.
The 1920s were the golden years of coal, iron, and steel in the Ruhr region. Industrialization also promoted the growth of trade and commerce in the city of Essen. Many of Knümann’s key customers were located near the main railway station.
1928: The invention of the terminal block
A fateful encounter takes place in 1928: Hugo Knümann meets Heinz Müller, an engineer at RWE. Müller tells him about 10-position ceramic blocks which, though, are very inflexible because of to their nature as blocks. Knümann has a light-bulb moment: He separates the blocks and arranges them individually as terminal blocks on a DIN rail. This heralds the birth of the terminal block. Its inventor, as noted in a later patent specification, is Hugo Knümann.
The original patent document is no longer available. However, later patent documents refer to an older version and name Hugo Knümann as the inventor.
RWE is one of the most important energy suppliers in Germany and was one of Knümann’s customers from early on.
Here: an illuminated RWE sign in Essen, around 1930.
The first terminal blocks also show how closely RWE was linked to the young company – they carry the “RWE-Phönix” stamp.
1943: War and relocation to Blomberg
In the 1930s, Knümann’s company, then called Phönix Elektrizitätsgesellschaft, already employed around a dozen people. But Phönix, like many companies, was not spared the turmoil of the Nazi era. According to the sparse records available, Knümann and his staff were not politically active. With the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, many customers register special “urgency” with the company – the production of arms was given special priority.
The war also reached Essen: The company’s headquarters were hit during bombing raids on March 13, 1943. Knümann decided to relocate the company: Through a relative, he came across the tranquil town of Blomberg in the Ostwestfalen-Lippe region. Makeshift production was started in the civic center of the small town.
Heavy bombing of the city forced the company headquarters in Essen to be evacuated. Hugo Knümann's nephew, a traveling salesman for the Trumpf chocolate factory, gets around quite a bit and apparently provides the fateful tip about taking up residence at an alternate location in a restaurant in Blomberg, Lippe.
The mines in Essen and the Krupp company are an important part of the war economy. The National Socialists promote the city as the “Weapons Factory of the Reich.” Here: The Zollverein mine, photograph taken in 1949.
In 1937, Ursula Lampmann joins Phönix Elektrizitätsgesellschaft as a commercial clerk at the age of 17.
She initially takes on office work, but is very quickly granted power of attorney in 1943 with the relocation to Blomberg. In the decades that follow, she plays a decisive role in shaping the company.
1953: The beginning of a new era
Hugo Knümann made the acquaintance of Josef Eisert, an electrical power engineer, through a patent attorney friend after the war. Upon the death of Hugo Knümann in 1953, Eisert and Ursula Lampmann took over the management of the company. Eisert previously held a senior position at Siemens, was a true developer, held many terminal block patents, and joined the company in 1949.
Under Josef Eisert, the company underwent a fundamental change. The pure sales company became a company with its own production: a tool shop, plastics production facilities, screw turning shop, assembly facilities, metalworking shop, warehouse, and logistics were soon established in Blomberg.
The small Phoenix workforce in front of the Blomberg Bürgerheim civic center, where the company was initially be housed.
During this time, events were shaped primarily by women. The keyword of the hour is pragmatism: The large hall was used as an assembly area and the long bowling alley in the basement converted into a small parts warehouse.
The Phönix Elektrizitätsgesellschaft company was represented at many trade fairs after the war. Here Josef Eisert became acquainted with the Sauerland entrepreneurs Ernst Noelle and Eugen Berg. There is said to have been a lively exchange between the gentlemen about the production of electrical items. A close cooperation developed from the trade fair contact.
Engineer Josef Eisert fashioned the idea of deeply integrated in-house added value at Phoenix Contact.
To this day, the company manufactures almost everything it needs for its products itself – from machines to tools, and even screws.
1957: Between Essen and Blomberg
From the 1950s onward, the Phönix Elektrizitätsgesellschaft company sourced stamped and bent parts for production from the nearby Sauerland region of Germany from Noelle and Berg – today’s subsidiary Phoenix Feinbau in Lüdenscheid. The start of the cooperation with Noelle and Berg marks the beginning of the Phoenix Contact Group and a milestone on the way to independence from suppliers.
The first production hall is built on the premises at Flachsmarkt in Blomberg in 1957. It initially houses the thermoset press shop, screw turning shop, assembly facilities, and logistics. This marked the decision to stay in Blomberg. In 1966, the administration team, which had previously remained in Essen, also moves to the Flachsmarkt site.
The Noelle and Berg product range initially included candlesticks, plaques, washers, and contact parts.
The company merged with Phönix Elektrizitätsgesellschaft in 1955.
In order to also ensure independence in terms of personnel, Phönix Elektrizitätsgesellschaft began training its own skilled workers in 1957: Erhard Hönig (3rd from left, back) and Helmut Conrad (2nd from right) were the first apprentices in the company. They learned the trade of toolmaking.
The decision was made in favor of the Blomberg location, with first production hall being built on the Flachsmarkt. New halls were added one after the next here.
1975: The next generation steps up
Klaus Eisert joins the company directly after completing his studies in 1961. He starts as a design engineer in development and, after finally moving to Blomberg, takes over sales and marketing in 1966. He is followed into the company by his brother Jörg Eisert (†) in 1962 and Gerd Eisert (†) in 1972. Jörg Eisert takes over the production area and later the management of Phoenix Feinbau. With the arrival of Gerd Eisert, the international business really flourished. He established a series of international agencies and subsidiaries.
By the time Josef Eisert dies in 1975, he has expanded the range of terminal blocks, set up the company’s own production with machine building, and made the company independent of suppliers. At that time, the factory site covered 11 buildings. From then on, the three Eisert brothers manage the company together with Ursula Lampmann (†).
Josef Eisert (center) and son Jörg (2nd from right), 1960s.
Jörg Eisert died in a car accident on his way from Blomberg to Lüdenscheid in 1979.
A breath of fresh air blows in advertising, too. Phönix Klemmen, as the company was called then, was confident about the positive development of the company.
The three Eisert brothers also played for their own company soccer team, FC Phönix.
1987: The INTERBUS field bus system is introduced at the Hannover Messe
The MKDS mini terminal block for printed circuits was presented at the elektronica trade fair in Munich, Germany, in 1974 and became the model for the standard screw connection on printed circuit boards. The success of the MKDS marked the beginning of the “green” electronics program. The product portfolio continued to expand in the direction of electronics. PCB terminal blocks, PCB connectors, relays, converters, and many other electronic products followed into the product catalog. Products for surge protection followed in 1983.
The INTERBUS fieldbus system was launched at the Hannover Messe in 1987. This created the foundation for industrial networking at Phoenix Contact. The network for serial data transmission provides cross-system openness from the sensor to the controller and is used to automate production systems.
Phönix Klemmen became Phoenix Contact in 1981. The new name ensured that the brand can be used consistently. The English-language name made the company’s international orientation clear.
With INTERBUS, Phoenix Contact captured the essence of the times: The company founded the “Alliance for Industrial Networking” with other medium-sized companies in order to develop the subject further together. Here: the shared stand at the Hannover Messe, 1994.
To protect sensitive device and system electronics against surge voltages, Phoenix Contact developed rail-mounted absorption technology devices that have been sold under the TRABTECH brand name since 1985.
1990: The Phoenix Contact Group grows
The company grew steadily throughout the 1990s. After reunification, the German sales network was expanded into the new federal states. Gerd Eisert traveled the world tirelessly in order to establish business relationships and find sales partnerships.
Since the first international subsidiary was opened in the USA in 1981, sales companies have been established on all continents. The independent testing institute, Phoenix Testlab, began its work in Blomberg in 1994. It qualified for numerous test accreditations in the following years. After the turn of the millennium, Phoenix Contact has developed the entire value chain in automation, with its own control technology and close cooperation with the later group company, KW Software.
In the 1990s alone, the Phoenix Contact Group expands to include 21 subsidiaries. In 1993, Phoenix Contact establishes a subsidiary in Nanjing, China, among other places.
Phoenix Contact established its own electronics site in Bad Pyrmont in 1994. The subsidiary based the spa town specializes in the development and production of electronic modules and automation technology.
Surface mounting technology (SMT) was introduced here in 1996 as a new manufacturing technology for assembling printed circuit boards with components in-house.
The Phoenix Contact Group’s test laboratory was initially opened under the name EMC Test (electromagnetic compatibility). The independent test laboratory has been operating under the name Testlab since 1998.
Now, the laboratory’s activities also include tests involving shock, safety, vibration and heat, as well as tests on the effects of various environmental factors.
2001: Phoenix Contact in the 21st century
In 2001, shareholders appointed four new members to the Executive Board, who were appointed as General Managers in 2005, granting them with significant responsibilities. This distributed the fate of the company on several pairs of shoulders. The extension of the Executive Board was a clear statement in the direction of growth – and to increased responsibility in the 21st century.
Phoenix Contact establishes the first Center of Competence in 2005. This marks an important step in the further internationalizing the company. Once the global sales network had been established, service were no longer provided centrally from Germany the respective services began to be provided locally (initially in Asia and the USA, later in India).
In 2007, Phoenix Contact achieves sales of more than one billion euros for the first time, establishing itself as a global player.
Automation software has been an integral part of Phoenix Contact's product portfolio since the turn of the millennium. The products are key to efficient automation and accompany the entire value-added process from project planning to plant operation. A view of PCWORX – the first automation software.
2015: Setting the course for the future
In 2015, Klaus Eisert stands down from his position as managing shareholder and dedicates himself to founding the Phoenix Contact Advisory Board. Frank Stührenberg takes over as Chief Executive Officer.
With the in-house New Business Fields organization unit, Phoenix Contact identifies and develops new business models, especially digital ones, and invests in internal and external start-ups that make a difference. This means that Phoenix Contact can now support companies from the electromobility, technical education, testing and certification services, sensor technology, additive manufacturing, and smart services sectors.
Phoenix Contact opens its new site in Paderborn in 2014. Phoenix Contact Power Supplies GmbH develops innovative and tailored power supply solutions for a range of applications and fields here.
Phoenix Contact is ushering in a new era of automation with PLCnext. The new, open ecosystem consists of hardware, modular engineering software, a global community, and a digital software marketplace.
In 2016, Phoenix Contact presents the new fast charging system with HPC (High Power Charging Technology) at the Hannover Messe.
2020s: Empowering the All Electric Society
Electrification has been the core expertise of Phoenix Contact since its foundation in 1923. In the 21st century, Phoenix Contact is committed to empowering the “All Electric Society”, a future in which energy from renewable resources is available in sufficient quantities and at affordable prices. In addition to the consistent generation and use of renewable energies, reducing the primary energy demand through efficiency measures and creating intelligent and networked systems are key to a sustainable future.
To be able to base renewable energy use on demand and to realize sector coupling, solutions and technologies for electrification, networking, and automation are needed. Phoenix Contact focuses on solutions for the “All Electric Society”.
More than 20,000 employees and strong growth through the broad portfolio and focus on the solutions business are helping to make this a reality.
The park illustrates which products and technologies can be used to realize the underlying idea of sector coupling. It is open to the public, is intended to impart knowledge, and to provide inspiration for sustainable ideas.
The Phoenix Contact Executive Board in the anniversary year of 2023.
In 2023, Phoenix Contact celebrated a major anniversary worldwide. 100 years of company history; 100 years of strong connections: both on a technological and human level. This is how we create the conditions for the sustainable and livable world of tomorrow.
Want more history? In the UPDATE anniversary edition, we will take you on a journey along the trail of some exciting times of industrial history. We also give those employees a face who are not featured in annual reports, but have been writing our history for 100 years.
