Dr.-Ing. E.h. Jochen Opländer
The Cosmopolitan
Founder Dr.-Ing. E. h. Jochen Opländer with the President of the Korea Water Forum at the opening of the new Wilo plant in Busan, South Korea (2013). Since then, the foundation has been a long-standing supporter of the Asia-Pacific Youth Parliament for Water.
As Managing Director and member of the Executive Board, and later as Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Dr.-Ing. E. h. Jochen Opländer helped shape the growth, internationalization, and technological development of today’s Wilo Group, and in particular contributed to the development of solutions with energy-efficiency features. With regard to globalization, he particularly advanced the expansion of the business from West to East. Among other things, he opened up new markets through the establishment of plants in Türkiye and Korea.
Since 2012, the foundation has awarded two annual sponsorship prizes to scholarship holders of the Mozart Gesellschaft Dortmund, recognizing particularly talented young musicians.
With the acquisition of the LG pump division in South Korea and the successful establishment of the subsidiary Wilo-LG Pumps Ltd. in 2000, he laid the foundation for the development of the Asian market. This was preceded in 1984 by a successful merger with the long-established French engineering company Salmson, which had specialized in pumps since the 1960s. Both M&A activities are considered important milestones in Wilo’s corporate history. By entering global markets, he helped usher in a new phase in the internationalization of the Wilo Group. To this day, he continues to accompany the company as Honorary Chairman of the Supervisory Board.
On 30 November 2012, Dr.-Ing. E. h. Jochen Opländer was awarded the Diesel Medal by the German Institute for Inventions in the Hall of Honour of the Deutsches Museum in Munich.
By establishing the foundation, the family entrepreneur created a shareholder structure for the Wilo Group designed for the long term. The foundation concept, which had been developed over several years, was implemented in 2011. Since then, today’s Wilo Foundation has held a majority stake in WILO SE. This structure is intended to support the long-term continuity of the Wilo Group. With the foundation, Dr.-Ing. E. h. Jochen Opländer also pursued the goal of carrying family and cultural values forward into the future and of supporting social engagement, particularly at the company’s locations.
26 August 2021: The Executive Board of WILO SE and Dr.-Ing. E. h. Jochen Opländer, shareholder and Honorary Chairman of the Supervisory Board of WILO SE and founder of the Wilo Foundation, together with Evi Hoch, Member of the Executive Board of the Wilo Foundation, welcomed the Germany eight rowing team, including coach Uwe Bender and Managing Director Carsten Oberhagemann, to the Wilopark.
Like his father and grandfather, he has a strong interest in culture and remains personally committed to cultural life in Dortmund. He is a member of the board of trustees and a supporter of the Kulturstiftung Dortmund, as well as an ambassador and patron of the Konzerthaus Dortmund. Continuing the family tradition, Dr.-Ing. E. h. Jochen Opländer also supports competitive rowing. His contributions are reflected in his role as honorary captain of the Germany eight rowing team (gold medal winners at the 2012 Olympic Games in London), in the plaque awarded for special merits by the German Rowing Association (World Championships, Linz 2019), and in his honorary membership of Ruderclub Hansa e.V.
