In Ostfildern, Pilz GmbH & Co. KG is a German business for automation technologies, Hermann Pilz started the firm in Esslingen in 1948 as a glass blowing enterprise. Initial items comprised medical technology glass equipment and industrial mercury relays. In the 1960s the firm was turned into a provider of electronic control and monitoring devices and programmatic logic controllers by son of Hermann, Peter. Other goods and services of Pilz include sensor technology, bus and wireless industries, risk assessments and machinery safety training courses.