Werner Kilb (center) was honored by President & CEO Dr. Gunther Wobser (right) for 40 years of service at LAUDA. Offering their congratulations were (from left to right) Dr. Mario Englert (Managing Director/CFO), Mayor Dr. Lukas Braun (Town of Lauda-Königshofen), Susanne Kilb and Uwe Stastny (Chairman of the Works Council). © LAUDA
LAUDA HONORS WERNER KILB FOR 40 YEARS OF SERVICE
Director Finance Combines Analytical Expertise With Great Personal Commitment
LAUDA DR. R. WOBSER GMBH & CO. KG honored Werner Kilb’s 40th company anniversary at a ceremony. In the presence of the management team, the executive board and a number of guests of honor, the Director Finance was recognized for his integrity, his entrepreneurial thinking and his loyalty to the world market leader.
Werner Kilb began his professional career at LAUDA on August 25, 1986 with an apprenticeship as an industrial clerk. After completing his training, he started out in accounting and moved to controlling in 1993. At the same time, he obtained his university of applied sciences entrance qualification and successfully completed a part-time degree in business administration. After many years as deputy head, he has been in charge of the Finance department as its Director since February 1, 2020 and is a permanent member of the management circle. His responsibilities include setting up cost accounting, contribution margin accounting and variance analyses, analyzing the profit centers and subsidiaries as well as preparing the monthly financial statements. He played a key role in the introduction of the controlling software and the GOAL system.
In his laudatory speech, President & CEO Dr. Gunther Wobser paid tribute to the special achievements of the long-serving employee: “Werner Kilb is a true homegrown talent. By setting up our controlling system, he created foundations from which the company still benefits today. His critical eye for processes and procedures brings about improvements. In doing so, he always thinks outside the box and acts entrepreneurially. Thinking along, thinking ahead and providing support – that is how he leads himself and his team.” In recognition of his services, Werner Kilb received the LAUDA certificate of honor as well as the certificate of honor of the Heilbronn-Franken Chamber of Industry and Commerce.
The mayor of the town of Lauda-Königshofen, Dr. Lukas Braun, conveyed the town’s congratulations and presented the certificate of honor of the state of Baden-Württemberg, signed by Minister President Cem Özdemir. He emphasized the reliability, dedication and loyalty of the honoree as a true lifetime achievement and stressed that LAUDA offers good prospects to committed employees. At the same time, he recalled the local political work of Werner Kilb, who served as a member of the municipal council for Oberlauda and the town as a whole for 15 years and was awarded the town’s Citizens’ Badge of Honor in 2022.
In his speech, Dr. Mario Englert, Managing Director and CFO, highlighted the many facets of the long-standing head of finance, adding the odd anecdote along the way: Werner Kilb, he said, is a reliable constant on whom one can rely in any situation. He is extremely loyal, always gives honest feedback and never loses sight of the company and the bottom line. As a straightforward manager, he continuously questions the status quo, making him a role model for the family-owned company.
Uwe Stastny, Chairman of the Works Council, spoke on behalf of the works council and as a representative of the workforce. He praised Werner Kilb as a person who combines responsibility, reliability and heart, and emphasized that the long-serving employee had actively helped shape the course of the world market leader for more than four decades.
In closing, Werner Kilb expressed his thanks for the tribute and pledged his continued commitment. Alongside his professional work, Werner Kilb is passionate about local politics, beekeeping, nature conservation and local history. He has also been active in local clubs and associations for many years – a commitment that reflects his ties to the region just as much as his work at LAUDA.
Dr. Gunther Wobser, President & CEO of LAUDA (right), and Dr. Marc Stricker, Managing Director/COO (left), welcomed Shri Shatrughna Sinha, Consul General of the Republic of India in Munich (center), to the company headquarters in Lauda-Königshofen for an exchange on the India strategy and future collaborations of the world leader in precise temperature control. © LAUDA
INDIAN CONSUL GENERAL VISITS LAUDA
Distinguished Visit by Shri Shatrughna Sinha to the Company Headquarters
LAUDA DR. R. WOBSER GMBH & CO. KG, world leader in precise temperature control, welcomed Shri Shatrughna Sinha, Consul General of the Republic of India in Munich, along with Amir Bashir, Consul and Head of the Department for Commerce, Education and Information at the Consulate General, to its company headquarters in Lauda-Königshofen. The two-hour exchange focused on the strategic plans of LAUDA for the Indian market as well as existing and future collaborations with partners on the subcontinent. The Indian Consulate General in Munich is responsible for the federal states of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg. Consul General Sinha has been a member of the ‘Indian Foreign Service’ since 2007 and, prior to his appointment as Consul General, was responsible for bilateral relations with the USA and Canada as ‘Joint Secretary’ in the Indian Ministry of External Affairs.
To open the meeting, Dr. Gunther Wobser, President & CEO, offered a personal insight into the company’s history: The company was founded by Dr. Rudolf Wobser, who fled the former GDR in 1955 and established a new entrepreneurial foundation in Lauda. Over the next three generations, LAUDA developed into a globally operating, medium-sized family business from Baden-Württemberg. The company was founded in 1956 and is celebrating its 70th anniversary this year. This visit marks an important milestone in the company’s engagement with India: In February 2025, Dr. Gunther Wobser took part in the economic delegation of the state of Baden-Württemberg to India, and in November 2025 the Indian subsidiary Degree LAUDA Precision Pvt. Ltd. was founded in Pune. Marco Hauser has assumed management responsibilities, having been deployed to India for a one-year period, ending in July 2026, for this purpose.
The discussion then turned to growth potential and strategic target markets, the local sales and service structure, and prospects for new collaborations with Indian partners. In addition to biopharma, LAUDA identified automotive, semiconductors and medical technology as particularly promising target industries. The participants also discussed specific support options offered by the Consulate General, such as applying for multi-year visas for posted employees and establishing contact with authorities and relevant contacts in India.
“India is a market of the future for LAUDA with exceptional dynamism. The personal exchange with the Consul General is an important signal to us that our commitment is being recognized at the diplomatic level,” explained Dr. Gunther Wobser. “With our subsidiary in Pune and a growing network of sales partners, we are well positioned to consistently capitalize on the sales opportunities. The next step will be local production.”
To conclude the visit, Managing Director Dr. Marc Stricker guided the guests through the company’s applications laboratory and production areas. The two consuls, Sinha and Bashir, were visibly impressed by the vertical integration, the technological expertise and the international orientation of the family business at the Lauda-Königshofen site. LAUDA and the Consulate General agreed to remain in close contact. For LAUDA, India is a strategically significant component of its international growth strategy.
Dr. Gunther Wobser (President & CEO of LAUDA), Jürgen Walz, Thorsten Schyle (Head of Production, Plant Engineering), and Uwe Stastny (Works Council Chairman) paid tribute to the honoree in their speeches marking the 45th anniversary of his service (from right to left). © LAUDA
LAUDA HONORS JÜRGEN WALZ FOR 45 YEARS OF SERVICE
A Strong Backbone in Plant Engineering
An extraordinary anniversary took center stage at a ceremony held at LAUDA DR. R. WOBSER GMBH & CO. KG: Jürgen Walz, a welder in plant engineering, was honored by the management team and executive leadership for 45 years with the company – a testament to loyalty, professional expertise, and a deeply felt connection to the family business.
Jürgen Walz began his career on September 3, 1979, with an apprenticeship as a mechanic at LAUDA, which he successfully completed in January 1983. After a brief professional stint outside the company, he returned in May 1984 as a mechanic in the OEM Devices division – then known as Leitz-Bau. After completing his military service, which coincided with the fall of the Berlin Wall, he rejoined LAUDA in September 1989. Since July 1998, Jürgen Walz has worked as a welder in plant engineering, where he has established himself as an indispensable expert. Over more than four decades, he completed numerous welding and brazing certifications as well as additional qualifications, including a crane and forklift operator's license.
Dr. Gunther Wobser, President & CEO, paid tribute to the honoree in his laudatory speech with personal words: “Jürgen Walz works very well and reliably under pressure. As a welder, he literally stands at the seam of the department – a demanding job in which every clean weld determines the safety of our systems. With energy and backbone, he has always contributed critical feedback and suggestions for improvement. An anniversary as long as this one is something special, especially because the recognition originally planned for his 40th anniversary could not take place in the usual setting during the coronavirus period.” In recognition of his contributions, Dr. Wobser presented the LAUDA certificate of honor to Jürgen Walz.
On behalf of plant engineering, its manager Thorsten Schyle paid tribute to the honoree and emphasized that such a long tenure with the company is anything but a given today. Machines, processes, and technology have changed fundamentally over the past decades, he noted. What has remained unchanged, however, is the honoree’s humor, sociability, and constructive criticism. His passion for travel – which has taken him all the way to Australia – and his strong sense of camaraderie have also shaped the team spirit.
The Works Council Chairman Uwe Stastny spoke on behalf of the workforce. He looked back at the year 1979 from an economic and political perspective and acknowledged Jürgen Walz’s 28-year membership in the IG Metall trade union as well as his eight years of involvement in works council activities. The countless welding training courses, he said, are an expression of exemplary willingness to learn. For the future, he wished the honoree good health and fulfilling travels, which he will be able to pursue more intensively from the start of the release phase of his partial retirement on November 1, 2026.
World leader in temperature control technology drives transition in refrigeration technology. © LAUDA
LAUDA EXPANDS CONSTANT TEMPERATURE EQUIPMENT PORTFOLIO WITH NATURAL REFRIGERANTS
World leader in temperature control technology drives transition in refrigeration technology
LAUDA DR. R. WOBSER GMBH & CO. KG is steadily expanding its portfolio of constant temperature equipment with natural refrigerants. After introducing the first LAUDA process thermostats to use CO₂ refrigerants, as well as LAUDA Universa bath thermostats, which run entirely on natural refrigerants, the world market leader in precise temperature control is now expanding its tried-and-tested Alpha, Integral, Ultracool, Microcool and Variocool product lines with new variants that use natural refrigerants.
Natural refrigerants as the strategic focus
The gradual reduction of fluorinated greenhouse gases (F-gases) through the European F-Gas Regulation and other international regulations creates a strong incentive to use technologies based on natural refrigerants. LAUDA started systematically transitioning its device portfolio and industrial systems engineering solutions years ago – and is now steadily continuing along this path with the comprehensive expansion of its portfolio.
While F-gases remain permitted in defined use cases, the transition to alternatives arises out of domestic and international agreements as well as LAUDA’s own ambitions. Two classes of refrigerant are used as a natural alternative:
A1 refrigerants such as CO₂ (R744): stable performance, especially energy efficient at temperatures below 0°C, suitable for applications with high cooling capacity requirements
A3 refrigerants such as propane (R290) or propene (R1270): universal, very low GWP value (Global Warming Potential), high energy efficiency, suitable for all temperature ranges, including under -50°C, equipped with integrated safety technology for larger quantities of refrigerant
Whatever the device category or individual requirements of the respective application, LAUDA always uses the most suitable refrigerant in its constant temperature equipment, to offer customers both the most cost- and energy-efficient solution.
Laboratory applications: Compact, efficient and suitable for air transport
For laboratory use, a compact range of bath thermostats, circulation chillers and process thermostats is available, based on high-performance natural A3 refrigerants like propane (R290). Thanks to their low refrigerant quantity of less than 100 g, these models are suitable for air transport and do not require any additional safety technology – making them usable worldwide without any special infrastructural requirements.
Bath thermostats – LAUDA Alpha: The long-established Alpha bath thermostats offer a cost-effective entry point into the world of temperature control. With propane as a natural refrigerant, they use a refrigerant with a low carbon footprint while offering an effective solution in terms of price, performance and size. Below 0°C, the new thermostats even achieve a higher cooling capacity than their F-gas predecessors. When more cooling capacity and functionality are needed, the LAUDA Universa product line, which was fully launched this year, offers an extensive range of devices for numerous applications.
Circulation chiller – LAUDA Microcool: The Microcool product line offers four models based on natural refrigerants, a temperature range of -10 to 40°C and a cooling capacity ranging from 0.35 to 2 kW. New to the range is the Microcool MC 2000 with 2 kW cooling capacity: the most powerful available variant. The highlight of these devices is the high-quality pump with magnetic coupling. Magnetic coupling of pump and electric motor prevents seal issues from arising on the pump shaft.
Process thermostats – LAUDA Variocool: The Variocool device types VC 1200 and VC 2000, which use propane as a natural refrigerant, offer an expanded temperature range of -25 to 80°C, a higher cooling capacity in the lower temperature range and a speed-controlled compressor for efficient, silent operation.
Industrial and process applications: High performance with integrated safety technology
For applications with higher cooling capacity requirements – e.g. in production or industrial processes – a choice of powerful devices and systems with natural refrigerants like CO2 (R744), propane (R290) or propene (R1270) is available. On LAUDA devices with an A3 refrigerant quantity of more than 150 g, safety technology is integrated as standard. A reliable power supply and ventilation system, integrated gas detection sensors and a safety shutoff mechanism ensure safe operation.
Circulation chiller – LAUDA Ultracool: The high-performance Ultracool circulation chillers are now available in eight types with a propane refrigerant, ranging from 2 to 80 kW cooling capacity. In most cases, the cooling capacity is better than that of the previous F-gas predecessors. A variety of options – including stronger pumps, flow meters and noise-reducing variants – remain available. The devices are also suitable for outdoor installation.
Process thermostats – LAUDA Integral: The high-performance Integral product line is being expanded with multiple models based on natural refrigerants such as propane (R290), propene (R1270) and CO₂ (R744). The new variants combine proven flow technology using cold oil blankets with climate-friendly refrigerants, and stand out for their extremely low greenhouse potential and high energy efficiency, even at low temperatures.
Dr. Gunther Wobser (President & CEO of LAUDA), Hubert Segeritz (Deputy Mayor of the City of Lauda-Königshofen), Birgit Littmann-Breuer, Chris Moschüring (Purchasing Manager), and Uwe Stastny (Chairman of the Works Council) recognized Birgit Littmann-Breuer in their speeches marking her 40th work anniversary (from right to left). © LAUDA
LAUDA HONORS BIRGIT LITTMANN-BREUER FOR 40 YEARS OF SERVICE
A Reliable Pillar of the Purchasing Department
LAUDA DR. R. WOBSER GMBH & CO. KG honored Birgit Littmann-Breuer’s 40th work anniversary in a ceremony. In the presence of the management team and the executive board, the long-serving Purchasing employee was recognized for her loyalty, diligence, and reliability toward the family-owned company.
Birgit Littmann-Breuer joined LAUDA on April 7, 1986. Since then, she has worked continuously in Purchasing. Over four decades, she has not only witnessed all the company’s transformations but has actively helped shape them: from manually recording orders on a typewriter to building modern IT systems and on to group-wide intercompany processing and the organization of sea freight shipments from China. Her core responsibilities include processing purchase requisitions, posting invoices, managing supplier declarations, and handling Corporate Fashion – a range of duties that demands accuracy, reliability, and broad process expertise.
Dr. Gunther Wobser, President & CEO, paid tribute to the honoree with personal words in his laudatory speech: “Birgit Littmann-Breuer is a constant at LAUDA. What originally began as a six-month sick leave replacement turned into 40 years of loyalty, diligence, and precision. She has not only experienced systems, processes, and structures, but has actively shaped them – and has always remained true to herself: reliable, precise, and committed. She is the quiet star of the Purchasing department.” In recognition of her achievements, he presented her with the LAUDA certificate of honor and, on behalf of the IHK Heilbronn-Franken (Chamber of Industry and Commerce), its certificate of honor.
As Deputy Mayor of the City of Lauda-Königshofen, Hubert Segeritz conveyed the city’s congratulations and presented the certificate from the Minister-President of the State of Baden-Württemberg. He emphasized that LAUDA is deeply rooted in the city and stands by its workforce, especially in challenging times. Loyal employees like Birgit Littmann-Breuer are an expression of this corporate culture and strengthen Lauda-Königshofen as a business location for the long term.
Chris Moschüring, Purchasing Manager and Birgit Littmann-Breuer’s direct supervisor, emphasized that 40 years of service is outstanding. She has not only embraced changes in IT systems and work processes but has actively shaped them. He particularly values her reliability and openness, which enrich the entire team.
On behalf of her colleagues, Uwe Stastny – for the first time in his role as Chairman of the Works Council – extended his warmest congratulations to the honoree and praised her dependability and team spirit. Littmann-Breuer has mastered the entire breadth of Purchasing, from purchase requisitions to invoicing and reminders – always with exemplary willingness to learn. He also highlighted her long-standing membership in the IG Metall trade union.
Birgit Littmann-Breuer’s anniversary is emblematic of the corporate culture at LAUDA: reliability, continuity, and mutual appreciation as the foundation of a successful family-owned company. With her experience and process expertise, she remains a key pillar of the Purchasing department – and a testament to what strong cooperation can achieve over decades.
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