In the course of the realignment of the Group, the internationalization of the company was accelerated and the transformation from component manufacturer to provider of systems, solutions and services was completed. In this way, the group of companies has been able to develop into a billion-dollar group in recent years. Oliver Hermes has been a member of the Executive Board since 2006 and Chairman of the Executive Board and CEO since August 2012 and entrepreneurial successor to Dr.-Ing. E. h. Jochen Opländer since 2019. The graduate economist is Chairman of the Committee on Eastern European Economic Relations (Ost-Ausschuss der Deutschen Wirtschaft e.V.). Since summer 2018, Oliver Hermes has also been Vice Chairman of the Near and Middle East Association e.V. (NUMOV). In addition, he is a member of the board of the pro Ruhrgebiet e.V. association and a member of the advisory board of the Initiativkreis Ruhr. He is also a member of the Board of Trustees of Stiftung Familienunternehmen München and a member of the Lions Club Duisburg. In 2014, Oliver Hermes was awarded the honorary title of "Citizen of the Ruhr Area." In April 2019, he took over as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Wilo-Foundation.

He and his wife Wilhelmine Gertrud Caroline had seven children, the eldest of whom was also called Louis. With the rise of industrialisation and the growing prosperity of the late 19th century, the demand for new distilleries and breweries increased, which had a positive effect on the business of Louis Opländer’s copper and brass factory. Moreover, in the fast-growing towns of the Ruhr district, the number of homes with directly accessible, built-in water taps also grew, and with it the demand for domestic inlet and outlet pipes – “prompting him [Caspar Ludwig], to nurture and develop a flourishing business out of it”. (Opländer’s sketchbook, 1872-1972)

The ingenuity of Louis Opländer helped improve the lives and also the health of people working in the skilled trade and industrial sector in particular. His warm-water washing facilities, clothes hoists, ventilators and sprinkler systems for fighting fires are all worthy of special mention. Even more groundbreaking was his invention of steam heaters and hot-water heating systems, which eventually helped the ‘Louis Opländer’ firm become one of the leading central heating companies. In his spare time, after the opening of the Dortmund-Ems canal in 1898, Louis discovered his passion for rowing and became co-founder of the Hansa Rowing Club in Dortmund. This passion for rowing is something his descendants have all shared to this day.

The Dortmund mechanical engineer Wilhelm Opländer and his wife Änne had a son, Jochen, and a daughter named Monika. 

Spurred on by the rebuilding of post-war Germany, he secured major contracts for the installation of heating and air conditioning systems in government departments, police buildings, prisons, hospitals and schools. The Wilo pump business all started with the invention of circulating pumps and the world’s first circulation accelerator in 1928. The ‘WILO-Perfekta’ pump was developed in 1953 and from that point on the potential uses for pumps were increasingly expanded, collaboration with wholesalers intensified and customer service centres established.

Like his father Louis, and later his son Jochen, Wilhelm Opländer was also a keen rower and dedicated supporter of the Dortmund Hansa Rowing Club on the Dortmund-Ems Canal.

The founding family, through its membership on various governance boards, guides the foundation and the development of WILO SE. As Managing Director, CEO and later Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Dr.-Ing. h.c. Jochen Opländer has shaped the growth, international focus and technological achievements of the company that is now WILO SE for decades and also ensured its long-term effectiveness. Today he supports the company as Honorary Chairman of the Supervisory Board. 

The outstanding accomplishments and community services of entrepreneur Dr.-Ing. h.c. Jochen Opländer have been acknowledged over the years by numerous awards and honours, like for example the City Ring Dortmund of the Initiativkreis attraktive Innenstadt e. V., the Diesel Medal of the German Institute of Inventions e. V., the Badge of Honour of the Technical University of Dortmund, the Hermann-Rietschel Medal of Honour of the VDI Society for Building Services Engineering, an Honorary Doctorate from the Technical University of Dresden and the Officer’s Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany.

Dr.-Ing. h.c. Jochen Opländer feels a sense of responsibility towards his staff, the people of the Dortmund region and the common good of society. His involvement extends to the establishment of the Wilo Foundation and the Caspar Ludwig Opländer Foundation, as its founder and supporter, and to his membership on the Board of Trustees of the Dortmund Culture Foundation. Like his grandfather Louis and father Wilhelm before him, he has continued the family tradition of supporting the sport of rowing. The Hansa Rowing Club made him an Honorary Member in recognition of his long-standing services to the club.