2022 is a special year for PI Ceramic, as it is thirty years since the company was founded in 1992. This is the perfect time for the Managing Director, Dr. Patrick Pertsch to review past years, take a look at the company today, and talk about future challenges and chances.
Piezo Supplier for the PI Group
In 1992, PI Ceramic was founded by the President of PI, Dr. Karl Spanner and Albrecht Otto, the subsequent Managing Director of PI Ceramic, with the vision of establishing a qualified manufacturer of piezoceramic components for the PI Group. With initially just five employees in rented facilities in Gera, a great deal of pioneering spirit and flexibility was necessary to reach this goal. In 2002, ten years after founding the company, the milestone was reached. Since then, all of the piezo components required by the PI Group are manufactured exclusively by PI Ceramic.
Own Company Location in Lederhose
A lot has happened in these ten years: In 1993, construction of PI Ceramic's own site with production facilities began in Lederhose, Thuringia. Already one year later, PI Ceramic were able to move into the facilities. The building was extended in 2001. This not only meant more space for new employees but also more capacity for manufacturing new products such as >> PICMA® piezo actuators. At the start of the 21st century, the company experienced a huge leap in growth due to the serial manufacturing of the NEXLINE® modules. In the years that followed, PI Ceramic were restructured several times, contributing to today's success. For example, in 2014, the product division structure was introduced, which today is made up of the four areas of Piezo Components, >> Piezo Devices, >> Multilayer and >> Tech Center.
Growth on All Levels
Today, PI Ceramic is not only manufacturer and supplier for the parent company PI, delivering to production sites in Germany, USA and China, but also has their own >> Piezo Technology competence area within the PI Group. Amongst the national and international customers, there are small and medium-sized enterprises as well as global players from the markets medical technology, semiconductor industry, industrial ultrasonics sensor technology, and printing and dispensing technologies. Today, PI Ceramic is one of the largest and most important employers in the region, with a 30 % increase in sales in 2021 and more than 430 employees. In the summer of 2020, the company expanded their site with more than 7,500 square meters of office and manufacturing space. This means lots more space for further growth in the years to come, and greater capacity for reaching the goal of becoming European market leader for piezo technology, and conquering new modern markets. PI Ceramic's location in Thuringia, at the heart of Germany and Europe, is also very central for German and European customers, and therefore the ideal production site for "Made in Germany". However, thoughts of globalization and the internationalization of PI Ceramic should also continue to become more important.
Into the Future with Great Ideas
In years to come, PI Ceramic's competency in acoustic designs and the product portfolio for ultrasound traducers will continue to expand in order to be able to support customers' developments even better, and in a more targeted way. Additionally, in order to also have chances in previously undiscovered markets, PI Ceramic are also planning the development of lead-free piezoceramic and composite traducers.
