The UK subsidiary of a German family-owned electrical connection and automation company, based in Telford, Shropshire, since 1985.
Phoenix Contact Limited supplies electrical connection and automation products in the UK. Its navigation lists automation, connectivity, marking and installation, power supply and protection, and switching, measuring and monitoring. At the heart of the business are devices such as terminal blocks, which are the neat clips that join wires inside control cabinets, plus power supplies, controllers and industrial networking. Its UK page says the business started as sales and marketing support and now offers engineering services and support, an assembly workshop, after-sales service and a network of authorised distributors.
The group was founded in 1923 in Essen, Germany, by businessman Hugo Knumann as a sales company. In 1928 a connection with the power company RWE led to the first terminal block mounted on a DIN rail, the standard rail in control cabinets. Josef Eisert took over in 1953 and began in-house production. The company's own stated mission is to drive progress with innovative connection and automation solutions, build trusting partnerships, and support what it calls the "All Electric Society", a future powered by renewable energy. Its stated values include staying true to the culture of a family business, a passion for technology and innovation, and commitment to sustainable development.
Phoenix Contact Ltd was established in June 1985 as a subsidiary to serve the UK market. The head office is at Halesfield 13, Telford, Shropshire, close to the M6 and M54 motorways. The UK page says the company has 64 employees in the UK; the UK page is undated, so that figure may have changed. The page also says the company operates an accredited quality system to BS EN 9000 and that quality is essential. The company is on the Companies House register with the number 01919983.
The group says it is family-owned and family-run, with a production network across 11 countries and more than 50 subsidiaries. A 2023 press release put the global team at around 22,000 people, although the boilerplate of the same release says 14,000, so we have not relied on either. A small UK team of about 64 means that people are likely to take on varied work. A UK press release in the news archive also mentions an employee raising more than £2,000 for Macmillan Cancer Support, a small sign of workplace community spirit.
In a sales and engineering subsidiary like this, roles include technical sales engineers who help machine builders choose parts, applications and support engineers, staff running the assembly workshop, logistics and customer service teams, and digital marketing and finance people. Electrical and electronic engineering, automation, mechatronics, computing and business can all lead here. For students interested in how factories and energy systems work, this is a way to join an industry from the supply side.
Website: www.phoenixcontact.com/en-gb
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