PILLER company history

From Hamburg via Moringen to the world: a family-owned company as a global player

A lot has happened in more than 115 years of company history, both in the world and in our company. After moving to Osterode, a small family business from Hamburg developed into a large employer with several product divisions and ultimately two production sites. Over the course of time, the independent company Piller Blowers & Compressors GmbH emerges from one of these in Moringen.

Today, we at PILLER are the global market leader with our compressors, which we have developed specifically for Mechanical Vapor Recompression (MVR) and vapor recovery processes. Despite all the change and further development, one thing has remained the same: Even as a global market leader, we are still a family-owned company. We are continuing our history with a view to the future and long-term plans.

Some of the photos come from this extensive archive from a former colleague.

1909

Our story begins in 1909

Our story begins in 1909, when company founder and namesake Anton Piller registered a patent for the design of a fan in Hamburg. He had started out in the Hanseatic city with the production of organ and forge blowers.

1919

From Hamburg to Osterode

A good ten years later, the engineer moved the company headquarters to Osterode am Harz. Here, the production of ventilation turbines, blowers, generators and electric motors was further expanded.

1939

Branch office opened in Moringen

The site of today's Piller Blowers & Compressors GmbH in Moringen was opened 30 years later as a branch office. Fan production was outsourced to Moringen.

1949 - 1970

Plant development in Moringen

The years after the war until the 1970s were characterized by growth: In 1949, a company from Northeim was taken over, a specialist company for centrifugal and axial fans, ventilation systems and machine production. From 1970, investments were also made in plant development: The site in Moringen grew by several buildings, mainly storage and production areas.

1990 - 1993

One of the largest employer in the region

The years from 1990 to 1993 are eventful years: the main plant in Duderstadt is threatened with closure. The situation in Moringen, where mainly industrial fans are produced at this time, is different. The order situation is good, PILLER is one of the largest local employers with around 180 employees. Now the administration of the division is also relocated from Osterode to Moringen, and a further 65 employees join the team.

1993 - 1996

PILLER operates as an independent GmbH

A public limited company belonging to the Essen-based RWE Group acquires a 90 percent stake in the Osterode-based company. This does not put the company in calmer waters. When layoffs threaten again, the company is restructured in order to increase productivity. Among other things, the Piller plant in Moringen with 220 employees is spun off with retroactive effect from January 1, 1996 and now operates as an independent GmbH. The corner stone for independent further development is laid.

2001

Nils Englund and Bernd Klostermann take over the company

2001 is the year in which PILLER in Moringen becomes a family-owned company again and sets out to become the global market leader. Nils Englund and Bernd Klostermann take over 100 percent of the company from the RWE Group. Nils Englund becomes managing partner. Together they restructure PILLER organizationally and financially and set the course for growth.

2001 - 2012

Opening of the training center

A lot happened in the PILLER world in the following years: the company grew and found more and more customers worldwide. In 2011, we opened the training center with a total area of 700m² as a modern, central contact point for all trainees. 2012 saw the start of the construction of our new three-storey office building and a production hall with an area of 1,750m².

2013

Piller Industrieventilatoren GmbH becomes Piller Blowers & Compressors GmbH

The increase in global business and the shift in the focus of production is reflected externally: Piller Industrieventilatoren GmbH becomes Piller Blowers & Compressors GmbH.

2014 - 2019

Investing in the further development

In the years 2014 to 2019, we are investing in the further development of PILLER in Moringen and around the world. The crane capacity in Moringen is expanded to up to 30 tons and an external warehouse is built. In 2015, the production facility Piller Blowers Technology (Taicang) Co. Ltd. is founded in China. We are now a family-owned company with a global footprint: we are represented in China, India, Singapore, Brazil, and the USA. The new administration building at the PILLER headquarters in Moringen is finally opened in 2016.

2019

New dual leadership

An era comes to an end in 2019: Nils Englund leaves the company and a new dual leadership takes over. Christoph Böhnisch and Stephan Merkel are now managing the PILLER business together. PILLER remains a family-owned company. The Bernd Klostermann family is now the sole shareholder.

2020 - 2023

The PILLER team gets bigger and bigger

The early 2020s are characterized above all by growth and further development: Order intake and turnover increase year on year, the PILLER team gets bigger and bigger. PILLER Global India opens the Tech Center in Pune with offices, a workshop and space for training. And we continue to expand our global presence with the founding of our subsidiary Piller Blowers & Compressors Australia Pty Ltd. From the newly opened location in Brisbane, business with customers in Australia and Oceania is to be systematically expanded.

2023

Focus on the construction of steam compressors

As of June 1, 2023, we are selling the hot gas circulator division to Karl Klein Ventilatorenbau GmbH. With this step, we are shifting our focus and resources to the construction of steam compressors and strategically aligning ourselves for further growth.

2024

Excavator free!

It starts early in 2024: excavator free! We are planning a new production hall and a new warehouse. The preparatory work begins. The old administration building is demolished, the site is leveled and foundations are poured. The construction project is a clear commitment to the Moringen site. It will secure existing jobs in the long term and create new ones.

2024

PILLER takes over majority stake in Sunteco

Piller Blowers & Compressors GmbH has held 75.1 percent of the shares in the Korean joint venture Sunteco since April 1. The company, with which PILLER has been cooperating for many years, is a leading company in the development and provision of systems for waste heat recovery from steam processes based on PILLER MVR technology with a focus on the petrochemical industry.

2025