It all began in 1987 in a two-room apartment in Salzburg
In the late 1980s, a brilliant idea sparked the beginning of our company's history: a young engineer named Thomas Punzenberger dedicated himself to making people's work easier. In a two-room apartment in Salzburg, he began developing pioneering software that would fundamentally simplify plant control. Today, more than 35 years later, COPA-DATA, an independent, family-owned company, sells its core product, zenon, all over the world.
Did you know that "COPA" stands for "Computer Optimized Process Automation"? It describes the original focus on process automation using computers. "DATA" refers to the collection, processing, visualization, and analysis of data in industrial processes.
Alexander Punzenberger, Thomas's brother, joins the company.
Thomas Punzenberger writes the first lines of code for the zenon software.
We launch zenon as an HMI/SCADA system and install it for the first time at a customer site – AEG AG in Berlin.
VA TECH SAT GmbH acquires a 30% stake in COPA-DATA.
We introduce zenon as the first HMI solution on Microsoft Windows CE in the automation market.
We also establish our first foreign subsidiary in Ottobrunn, Germany.
Second subsidiary: We open an affiliated company in Eppan, Bolzano, Italy.
Group turnover: € 2.7 million
Employees across the group: 46
We expand and acquire a 55% stake in the new COPALP in France – development of the straton software begins.
We move into our office building at our current headquarters in Salzburg (COPA-DATA Headquarters, Karolingerstraße 7b).
COPA-DATA becomes a Microsoft partner.
The Punzenberger family has bought back all external shares in COPA-DATA. The company is once again under one roof.
The first issue of our magazine, Information Unlimited, is printed.
We also establish a subsidiary in Troy, Michigan, in the United States.
We are increasing our stake in COPALP from 55% to 84%.
Another company location is being established in Sandbach, England.
Group turnover: € 8.5 million
Employees across the group: 95
We are starting to train our first apprentice at our headquarters in Salzburg.
New subsidiaries are added: Central Eastern Europe and Middle East (headquarters in Salzburg), Iberia (Cascais, Portugal) and Scandinavia (Kista, Sweden). We are also establishing a new company in the United States (Princeton, New Jersey).
Our COPA-DATA Partner Community (CDPC) for system integrators sees the light of day.
We are starting in Korea (Seoul) and Poland (Krakow). We are also opening a branch office in Cologne, Germany.
Our third German subsidiary opens in Ludwigshafen on the Rhine.
Group turnover: € 25 million
Employees across the group: 176
We are establishing a subsidiary in Pune, India, a new company location in Newport, United Kingdom, and relocating COPA-DATA Iberia to Barcelona, Spain.
We are expanding our headquarters in Salzburg.
COPALP is renamed COPA-DATA France and becomes a subsidiary of the group. We are also establishing a branch office in Milan.
Microsoft presents us with two Partner of the Year Awards: in the global category Public Sector and the Austrian award Country Partner of the Year.
We open another branch in Italy – in Bologna.
Group turnover: € 31.4 million
Employees across the group: 221
Company owner Thomas Punzenberger (CEO) brings Stefan Reuther (CSO) and Phillip Werr (CMO and COO) into the group's management team.
We win the Microsoft Internet of Things (IoT) Award.
We relocate our UK company to Cardiff.
We have received the certificate of conformity for the ISA/IEC 62443-4-1:2018 security standard. This confirms that we comply with industrial IT security guidelines.
We are establishing a subsidiary in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Group turnover: €54 million
Employees across the group: 305
We are delighted to have been certified according to ISO 9001 for quality assurance processes.
Module Type Package (MTP) is gaining momentum: We deliver the new production solution to our first customer, German company Merck KGaA.
We launch our e-learning platform, zenon Academy.
We also move into our new office building in Salzburg. Our American subsidiary relocates to East Windsor, New Jersey.
We become an Associate Partner of World Economic Forum.
We establish a branch office in Vaasa, Finland, in Scandinavia.
The Punzenberger family, owners of the company, establish a family foundation – all shares are transferred to this foundation.
We open another branch in Tokyo, Japan.
Group turnover: € 99 million
Employees across the group: 450
Members in the CDPC: over 500
