Generations of entrepreneurs
The company that is now the Wilo Group was transferred to a family foundation in 2011 by its fourth-generation leader Dr.-Ing. E.h. Jochen Opländer, together with his children Claudia Nüsslein, Jan Opländer and the late Felix Opländer.
For over 150 years, Wilo has been developing technical solutions for applications in building services and water technology. It is this aspiration that defines the values and traditions of the Opländer family and drives their work as engineers and entrepreneurs – striving each and every day to find technical solutions to the challenges of the future.
An inventive spirit in its fifth generation
In 2019, the Opländer family handed over entrepreneurial responsibility to Oliver Hermes. Since then, he has led the Wilo Group in its fifth generation of entrepreneurship, representing the next generation at the helm of the company as President & Global CEO.
Caspar Ludwig Opländer - The Founder
Caspar Ludwig Opländer was 27 years old when he founded the copper- and brassware factory ‘Kupfer- und Messingwaren-Fabrik Louis Opländer’ in Dortmund in 1872, laying the foundations of today’s Wilo Group. He led the company to its first successes before he passed away in 1891 at the age of only 46.
Louis Opländer - The Producer
Louis Opländer was born in 1873 as the eldest son of Caspar Ludwig and Wilhelmine Opländer. Following his father’s untimely death, he had to run the business alongside his mother at the tender age of 18. He led the company until 1928 but remained in the company thereafter. Louis Opländer died in 1962.
Wilhelm Opländer - The Humanist
Wilhelm Opländer was born in 1901. At the age of 25, he joined his father’s company and soon took over as managing director, until he handed it over to his son Jochen. Wilhelm Opländer died in 1984.
Dr.-Ing. E.h. Jochen Opländer - The Cosmopolitan
Dr.-Ing. E.h. Jochen Opländer was born in 1931 and joined Wilo management in 1963. From 1969 onwards, he was the sole owner of the company. As Managing Director and a member of the Executive Board, and later as Chairman of the Supervisory Board (now Honorary Chairman of the Supervisory Board), he shaped and made his mark on the internationalisation and technological achievements of today’s Wilo Group over the decades.
Oliver Hermes - Shaping the future
Oliver Hermes, born in 1970, was a partner at the auditing and consultancy firm KPMG before joining Wilo as a member of the Executive Board in 2006. He is President & Global CEO of the Wilo Group. In 2018, Dr.-Ing. E.h. Jochen Opländer named him his entrepreneurial successor. In 2019, he also assumed the role of Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Wilo-Foundation.
