WAGO celebrates 75 years of engineering excellence

As the business continues to invest in its UK and Ireland operation, broaden its automation offering through the next phase of industrial modernisation, this industry milestone reflects WAGO’s long-standing dedication to customers.

Founded in Minden, Germany, on 27th April 1951, WAGO has grown from a pioneer in spring-pressure connection technology into a global engineering business supporting partners across industry, infrastructure, energy, buildings and automation. Today, the family-owned company employs around 9,000 people worldwide, operates in over 33 countries and last year, generated EUR 1.34 billion in revenue.

The anniversary comes at an important time for WAGO, which has more than tripled in size over the last seven years. The business is building on its strong reputation in electrical connection technology while increasing its focus on practical, open and interoperable automation solutions that help improve efficiency, visibility, uptime and long-term site performance without unnecessary complexity or wholesale system replacement.

Over the years, the WAGO portfolio has drastically evolved, starting with its pioneering spring-pressure connection technology and first plastic connectors to junction box connectors, lever-operated splicing connectors and smart building automation. The automation profile alone includes innovative solutions such as PLC controllers, modular remote I/O systems, industrial control components, HMI solutions and secure IIoT connectivity - all built for seamless integration.

To echo the global expansion over the years, WAGO’s UK growth has been underpinned by continued investment, including the opening of its new £25 million headquarters in Rugby. The 63,000-square-foot office, warehouse and production facility brings together sales, marketing, product management, engineering, customer service and operations teams, while also providing a modern environment for training, customer demonstrations and collaborative problem-solving.

“WAGO’s success has always been built on connections and empowering our customers. As part of the industry milestone, we celebrate the people, products and partnerships that have shaped the business since 1951. For the past 75 years we’ve continued to evolve with our customers, propelling us forward into this new digital landscape. said Darren Hodson, managing director of WAGO UK & Ireland. ‘We have seen the market drastically shift, even over the past decade, and we at WAGO are focused on producing the solutions to keep building on the trust we have created.”

WAGO’s UK strategy is focused on helping businesses take practical, manageable steps towards smarter, more connected operations. This is particularly relevant for UK manufacturers and operators facing high energy costs, limited visibility of energy use, skills shortages, capex constraints and ageing infrastructure.

Rather than positioning automation as a large-scale transformation that requires businesses to start again, WAGO is focused on meeting businesses where they are today. Its open and scalable technologies are designed to work with existing systems, helping organisations install, connect, monitor and automate in stages.

This approach is central to WAGO’s growth plans across priority sectors including manufacturing, food and beverage, pharmaceuticals, automotive, OEMs and machine building, as well as data centres, energy and buildings. It also reflects the company’s wider purpose of “Empowering Connections” across products, people, partnerships and industries.

John Mackey, Head of Automation and Sales at WAGO UK & Ireland, added: “For manufacturers, the pace of technological change is accelerating. Businesses need to become more productive, more energy-efficient, more connected and more resilient. WAGO brings together strong German engineering with an open automation philosophy which puts us in an excellent position to help businesses modernise without creating unnecessary complexity.”

With more than one billion connectors sold in the UK over the last decade, WAGO is building on long-established trust while helping customers with support from the full breadth of its electrical, electronic, energy management and automation capabilities.

www.wago.com/gb/wago-turns-75