Wilo-Foundation
In January 2011, Dortmund-based entrepreneur and founder Dr.-Ing. E. h. Jochen Opländer established what is now the Wilo Foundation together with his children (known as the Caspar Ludwig Opländer Foundation until 2016). The reasons included the desire to ensure WILO SE’s continued independence as a company aware of its social responsibility, as well as, naturally, the financial support of the founder family and its descendants
Family foundation
The company was transferred into a family foundation in its fourth generation. Since then, the foundation has been the principal shareholder of the multinational water technology group WILO SE, headquartered in Dortmund. In 2019, entrepreneurial succession and the chairmanship of the family foundation’s board of trustees were transferred to Oliver Hermes, President & Global CEO of the Wilo Group.
“Long-term business success requires us to think about economic objectives and social responsibility as one. The challenges of our time can only be tackled when business and society work hand in hand.”
Endowing out of responsibility
Social commitment has been an integral part of the Wilo Foundation’s self-conception since its establishment in 2011. Its purpose is to provide financial support in the fields of science and research, education, art and culture, sport, and other social causes. In doing so, it places a geographical focus on the international company locations of the Wilo Group.
As part of its funding activities, the family foundation places a particular focus on young people. Its funding priorities include projects in the areas of environmental and climate protection, the environmentally and resource-oriented development of cities and regions, as well as the management and protection of water resources. What all of these funding areas have in common is an orientation toward core values that are also reflected in the guiding principles of the Opländer founder family and in Wilo’s corporate culture.
