Our CEO Klaus Hirzel reports in his blog entry about the successful year 2014 and the future challenges in the environmental measurement technology.

2014 was perhaps the most significant year in our long company history to date. This fall, after a development period of several years, we introduced the mobile weather sensor MARWIS worldwide. With key customers on all continents, from Canada to Japan. The most precise industrial thermometer in the world with an accuracy of 5 millikelvins was released for sale. We incorporated special laser environmental measuring instruments into our range of sensors.

Why do we work on such technological challenges?

First, because it is our passion. And always has been. Previously, we perfected mechanical measuring instruments. From time to time, a partner company from the Ore Mountains reproduces our classic Lufft models, closely based on the original, in small quantities for enthusiasts under the fitting slogan: “The good things in life still exist”.

Second, because we have a dream. Admittedly, to measure ourselves against the legendary saying of Martin Luther King, Jr., is ambitious. But we also want to be ambitious. Because our technology can contribute to a better world. A world in which…

• Airplanes land safely 365 days a year in all weather conditions, both in the cold and in the tropics, and airports are ready for take-off and landing at all times.
• Schoolchildren no longer fall asleep due to a lack of oxygen, but can concentrate fully on how Columbus discovered America.
• Urban slums on Sugar Loaf Mountain can be evacuated in time, so that residents survive if their houses slip during heavy rain.
• Artificial snow can be produced with 20% less energy, and with better snow quality.
• Wind turbines are perfectly positioned in the wind and the installed wind sensors never fail.
• Soil contamination due to salt (winter services) and groundwater pollution due to nitrates (agricultural industry) fall sharply.
• Particulate matter and the hole in the ozone layer disappear and we see blue sky again.
• Residents in flood areas are not surprised by floods and no longer have to flee on house roofs.
• Motorists are not stuck on the highway for hours at the onset of winter.
• The self-driving car not only travels safely, but also at optimal speed.
• There are no more victims of typhoons because people get to safety in good time.
• Campsites are deserted when trees are uprooted during a storm.
• The “smart home” functions with a Lufft weather sensor on the roof, which operates maintenance-free for a lifetime and minimizes private energy consumption.

And why should we not also realize the dreams of meteorologists? They would be only too pleased if they could automatically recognize all types of clouds between cirrus and cumulus and thus better understand the approaching weather. Our sensors make this possible.

“The true adventures are in the mind”, the Austrian artist André Heller once sang. We can make them a reality. We just have to do it. By combining tradition with innovation, just as we have always done.

We wish you a happy and prosperous New Year 2015.