Die Gesellschafter von LAUDA, Christine Koschker und Dr. Gerhard Wobser, Manuela Wobser mit Ehemann Dr. Gunther Wobser, Geschäftsführender Gesellschafter von LAUDA, der Betriebsratsvorsitzende Elmar Mohr, sowie Elke Döring, Hauptgeschäftsfüherin der IHK Heilbonn-Franken
Dr. Gunther Wobser celebrates 25 years with world market leader LAUDA
A special anniversary is being celebrated by LAUDA DR. R. WOBSER GMBH & CO. KG on July 1, 2022: Dr. Gunther Wobser, the President and CEO of LAUDA, started his career in the family business exactly 25 years ago. At a ceremony held at the company's headquarters in Lauda-Königshofen, congratulations were extended not only by the managing directors, the LAUDA management team, the shareholders of LAUDA and the chairman of the works council, Elmar Mohr, but also by the mayor of the town of Lauda-Königshofen, Dr. Lukas Braun, and the managing director of the Heilbronn-Franken Chamber of Industry and Commerce, Elke Döring.
His career at LAUDA began in 1997 when he joined the company as Head of Marketing. After his uncle's retirement, he became CEO in 2003 alongside his father, Dr. Gerhard Wobser. During their time together, until Dr. Gerhard Wobser's retirement in 2010, he founded, among other things, the first foreign subsidiary, LAUDA France, to support and advise customers and agencies in the French market. Later, the subsidiaries LAUDA América Latina C.A., LAUDA China Co. Ltd. and LAUDA-Brinkmann LP, USA. were added. The internationalization of LAUDA was in full swing.
With LAUDA's enormous growth, Dr. Gunther Wobser gradually brought support into the management team, starting with Dr. Marc Stricker (COO, 2014), Dr. Mario Englert (CFO, 2018) and Dr. Ralf Hermann (CSO, 2022). LAUDA continued to grow strongly over the next few years, founding its own foreign companies such as LAUDA Technology in the UK and acquiring LAUDA Ultracool in Spain, LAUDA-Noah in the USA and most recently three manufacturers in 2019 with GFL in Burgwedel near Hanover. Turnover and employee numbers have risen constantly over the years to 530 employees worldwide with a turnover of around 92 million euros. Under the direction of Dr. Gunther Wobser, LAUDA became the world market leader for tempering equipment and systems and has remained so to this day.
After a one-year stay abroad in the USA, the entrepreneur brought Silicon Valley to Tauber Valley. With new.degree GmbH, Dr. Gunther Wobser established holistic innovation management at LAUDA. Digitalization took hold - and not only in internal processes. The temperature control units and systems are pioneering the digitalization of temperature control technology with state-of-the-art operating concepts and cloud connection. With the Brainstation innovation center, the innovative approaches should also benefit the region.
The mayor of the town of Lauda-Königshofen, Dr. Lukas Braun, found appreciative words for the commitment of the jubilarian in his laudation: "You think ahead, you drive, you are an entrepreneur in the most original sense, an innovation driver for our region."
"Always on the pulse of time and with full entrepreneurial power," said IHK Chief Executive Elke Döring, "he always initiates new innovative processes." She found special recognition for his commitment in the plenary assembly of the IHK and for the entire Heilbronn-Franken region. In addition, he has already headed the IHK Entrepreneurial Circle Main-Tauber, founded by Dr. Manfred Wittenstein in 1999, for ten years. Other well-wishers were Dr. Gerhard Wobser on behalf of the shareholders, as well as Dr. Marc Stricker and Dr. Mario Englert as part of the LAUDA management team. Elmar Mohr, Chairman of the Works Council, offered warm congratulations on behalf of the employees.
At the beginning of the year, under the leadership of Dr. Gunther Wobser, Drive250 was launched - the most ambitious strategic project in the company's history: sales and the number of employees are to double within five years, while construction work and relocation measures accompany the first steps at the headquarters in Lauda-Königshofen. In Spain, LAUDA has invested around seven million euros in the construction of a completely new production facility. The signs continue to point to growth - with Dr. Gunther Wobser at the helm. The repeated record sales in recent months impressively demonstrate that the family-owned company can achieve its ambitious goals.
The success story of LAUDA is closely linked to the person Dr. Gunther Wobser, he is the face of LAUDA and has significantly shaped the awareness of LAUDA through his presence in public and in social media.
Der Geschäftsführende Gesellschafter von LAUDA, Dr. Gunther Wobser (Mitte), hier zusammen mit der Vorsitzenden Janina Kugel und Kristian Schalter, Abteilungsleiter Strategie und Zukunft der Arbeit des BDA, wurde in den Digitalrat der Bundesvereinigung der Deutschen Arbeitgeberverbände berufen.
Dr. Gunther Wobser, President and CEO of LAUDA, is the new member of the BDA Digital Council
Dr. Gunther Wobser, President and CEO of LAUDA DR. R. WOBSER GMBH & CO. KG, the world market leader for temperature control equipment and systems, has been appointed to the Digital Council of the Confederation of German Employers' Associations. The entrepreneur, author and lecturer now strengthens the 20-member council, consisting of thought leaders from family businesses, corporations, the tech industry, start-ups and academia. The chairpersons are former Siemens AG executive Janina Kugel and the CEO of WAREMA Renkhoff SE, Angelique Renkhoff-Mücke. Other prominent members include digital pioneer Christoph Bornschein, bestselling author Christoph Keese, and Industrie 4.0 thought leader Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Wahlster. The digital transformation of the world of work cuts across all industries and poses completely new questions and demands on society, employees and employers. The focus of the new Council member is on passing on his knowledge of innovation, providing impetus to society and the corporate world, and developing effective recommendations for action for politics and business from the perspective of SMEs. He is particularly interested in the professional exchange in the trusting round. The BDA Digital Council is always concerned with encouraging and empowering decision-makers from business and society to actively shape and accompany change.
"The appointment is a great honor and recognition for me. Challenges that a modern company of our time has to face require the development of new business models as well as innovative technologies and strategies," says Dr. Gunther Wobser. "Agility, flexibility, modern leadership and ambidextry - efficiently and flexibly expanding our core business consistently while at the same time systematically exploiting innovations and opportunities for the future - is a necessity in order to position one's own company for the future." The successful entrepreneur would like to bring his own experience to bear in Berlin in order to jointly master the challenges at the economic and socio-political level and to drive forward solutions to the problems of digital transformation.
About the BDA Digital Council
The Digital Council of the German Employers' Associations was founded in April 2019 and brings together personalities who deal with digital transformation in their respective professional contexts. They develop new business models as well as innovative technologies or concepts, conduct research along these topics and are key players in the social debate. These different perspectives and competencies are brought together in the BDA Digital Council to find solutions in an interdisciplinary and networked manner. The Confederation of German Employers' Associations is the leading social policy organization for the entire German economy. It represents the interests of one million companies with around 20 million employees across all sectors at national, European and international level and is thus the mouthpiece of German industry on the working world of the future.
LAUDA Messestand mit Besuchern analytica 2022 © Behrend und Rausch
World market leader impresses with innovations and stra-tegic realignment at Munich trade show
Nearly 26,000 visitors and 891 exhibitors from 39 countries came to Munich from June 21 to 24 for analytica 2022, the world's leading trade fair for laboratory technology, analysis and biotechnology. After the trade fair had to be cancelled in 2020 due to the Corona pandemic, the positive mood and the great urge for professional exchange could be felt throughout. After the four days of the 27th edition of the trade fair, LAUDA DR. R. WOBSER GMBH & CO. KG also draws a clearly positive balance. The world market leader for temperature control equipment and systems presented its product portfolio in six thematic application areas and demonstrated how LAUDA's innovative, digital solutions will bring the laboratory of the future into the present. Despite the uncertainty of the still ongoing pandemic, it was possible to build on the trade fair successes from 2018 - in terms of specific inquiries and customer contacts. The 25-strong trade fair team can thus look back on a very successful week. The motto of this year's trade show appearance of the world market leader "EMPOWERING EXCELLENCE. FOR A BETTER FUTURE" was omnipresent through the visual representation of a floating "Impact Cloud" above the entire booth and impressively illustrated the future technologies and application areas in which LAUDA is making its excellent contribution to improving the world bit by bit with exact temperatures.
"It was a great pleasure to be able to exchange ideas with our partners and customers directly and personally. It is precisely these technical discussions and direct contact that provide such important impetus from our industry," says Dr. Gunther Wobser, President and CEO of LAUDA and Deputy Chairman of the Advisory Board of the leading trade fair. "Particularly in 2022, after more than two years of pandemic, analytica was the perfect professional setting to present our innovations and the strategic reorientation of LAUDA to the trade audience. We are more than satisfied with the positive response and the large number of visitors to our stand, and we are very pleased with the many points of contact and the professional expertise that we were able to exchange during the most important leading international trade fair."
Process thermostats with voice control, mobile ultra-low freezers and digital products from LAUDA
The trade visitors were particularly interested in the product innovations on display, especially the world's first mobile ultra-low temperature freezer equipped with modern lithium-ion battery technology for the safe transport of vaccines, samples and pharmaceuticals. Temperature-sensitive active ingredients are stored and transported safely and in a controlled manner, CO₂ emissions are reduced and the occupational safety of logistics staff is significantly increased by dispensing with dry ice.
The new generation of LAUDA Integral process thermostats, which were developed for a comprehensive range of applications from -90 to 320 °C, an innovative temperature control unit with an intelligent interface concept and intuitive control via mobile devices, also impressed the visitors. With the pioneering technology demonstration "Hey LAUDA", the process thermostats can be operated by voice control for the first time. The devices can thus be controlled easily and conveniently via short and simple commands.
Mit LAUDA.LIVE werden alle Temperier- und Laborlösungen zu vollständig vernetzten und intelligenten IIoT-Geräten. © lauda.de
LAUDA presents innovations for temperature control applications in laboratory and industry at analytica trade fair
After a four-year break due to the pandemic, analytica, the world's leading trade fair for laboratory technology, analytics and biotechnology, is a fixed date for LAUDA DR. R. WOBSER GMBH & CO. KG. This year, the world market leader for temperature control equipment and systems is presenting its product portfolio in six thematic application areas and demonstrating how LAUDA's innovative, digital solutions are bringing the laboratory of the future into the present.
Process thermostats with voice control, mobile ultra-low freezers and digital products from LAUDA
With the new generation of LAUDA Integral process thermostats, developed for a comprehensive range of applications from -90 to 320 °C, LAUDA presents an innovative temperature control unit with an intelligent interface concept and intuitive control via mobile devices. With the pioneering technology demonstration "Hey LAUDA", the process thermostats can be operated for the first time by means of intuitive voice control. The devices can thus be controlled easily and conveniently via short and simple commands. The industry-standard voice control with directional microphone characteristics for reliable recognition of voice commands, even in environments with background noise, works by means of a separately connectable voice control box and processes the commands in a GDPR-compliant manner without data transmission to cloud services (Privacy by Design). Speech recognition technology based on Natural Language Understanding (NLU) ensures the best possible speech recognition. The voice control system of an Integral IN 150 XT will be presented in the "Digitalize and Connect" area at the LAUDA booth in Hall B1, Booth 504.
With LAUDA.LIVE, LAUDA temperature control solutions become fully networked and intelligent IIoT devices. The digital platform, which will also be presented live in the "Digitalize and Connect" area, offers users comprehensive asset management functions as well as intelligent analysis and monitoring tools. LAUDA.LIVE provides companies with transparency about their own fleet of temperature control units, as well as their condition and maintenance requirements. The sophisticated control and remote maintenance functions allow highly qualified remote diagnosis and optimize the uptime, reliability and performance of LAUDA equipment.
The freezers of the Versafreeze line with "GFL Technology" are the center of the application field "ultra-low temperature storage". LAUDA Versafreeze ultra-low temperature freezers for laboratories and pharmaceuticals guarantee safe storage of pharmaceuticals and valuable samples in the temperature range down to -85 °C. At this year's analytica, LAUDA will present a world first: The mobile Versafreeze ultra-low freezer - the world's first mobile ultra-low freezer with modern Li-ion battery technology for the safe transport of vaccines, samples or pharmaceuticals - makes the use of dry ice in the storage and transport of pharmaceuticals obsolete and exact temperatures in the cold chain a reality. Temperature-sensitive active ingredients are stored and transported safely and in a controlled manner, CO2 emissions are reduced, and the occupational safety of logisticians is significantly increased by dispensing with dry ice.
Water baths, shakers and space-saving temperature control units for daily work in the laboratory
Reliable solutions for numerous requirements in daily laboratory work have been part of LAUDA's core competence for over 65 years. With the acquisition of laboratory technology manufacturer GFL Gesellschaft für Labortechnik at the end of 2018, LAUDA has expanded its portfolio to include first-class laboratory equipment. To highlight the branch's more than 50 years of experience and expertise accordingly, all LAUDA laboratory equipment is given the "GFL Technology" suffix as a seal of approval for quality, reliability and convincing performance data. In the application areas "Preparation" and "Temperature Control in the Laboratory", LAUDA presents practical examples for various laboratory applications, from LAUDA Hydro water baths to LAUDA Varioshake shakers and shaking incubators to LAUDA ECO thermostats for economical temperature control in the laboratory. The application area "process temperature control" includes the successful line of Integral IN process thermostats for professional temperature control from -90 to 320 °C, the versatile LAUDA PRO circulation chillers and the variable process thermostats LAUDA Variocool from 1200 W to 10 kW from -20 to 80 °C for the dissipation of process heat in laboratory, miniplant and production.
Improving the world together with precise temperatures
Dr. Gunther Wobser, President and CEO of LAUDA as well as Vice Chairman of the analytica Advisory Board, is looking forward to the first major trade show participation in four years: "As the world's leading trade show for laboratory technology, analytica is a first-class opportunity to present our solutions for the digital transformation of temperature control technology to trade visitors. I am very much looking forward to the personal discussions with our worldwide customers and partners. Our ambition is to improve the world together with precise temperatures. How we intend to implement this vision is impressively demonstrated by the high-growth application fields at our trade show booth."
Gruppenbild der erweiterten LAUDA Geschäftsführung: v.l.n.r. Der Geschäftsführende Gesellschafter, Dr. Gunther Wobser, gemeinsam mit Dr. Marc Stricker, Dr. Mario Englert und Dr. Ralf Hermann. / © Christoph Weiß/lauda.de
Dr. Ralf Hermann appointed new Managing Director at LAUDA
LAUDA DR. R. WOBSER GMBH & CO. KG is reinforcing the management of the successful family-owned company as of April 01, 2022. The previous general manager and authorized signatory, Dr. Ralf Hermann will manage the world market leader in temperature control equipment and systems together with the President and CEO, Dr. Gunther Wobser, Dr. Marc Stricker (COO) and Dr. Mario Englert (CFO). As Chief Sales Officer, Dr. Ralf Hermann will consolidate the company's customer-oriented activities with the departments of Area Sales International, Key Account Management, Project Management Plant Engineering, E-Commerce & Inside Sales, Service and Product Management, thereby making a contribution to achieving the ambitious goals. In addition, he will assume responsibility for the company’s distribution companies in the management team.
The appointment of Dr. Hermann is an important measure of the comprehensive Drive250 strategy project, which will enable LAUDA to position itself for the future. The family-owned company is aiming to meet the requirements of a modern, agile industrial company with an offensive growth strategy, a clear, comprehensible structure and a significant reduction in the complexity of processes and products.
Dr. Ralf Hermann has been General Manager for Constant Temperature Equipment since 2017. In this role, the Doctor of Biology is responsible for the most important constant temperature equipment division, the service division and the management of the company's distribution companies. Before joining LAUDA, Dr. Ralf Hermann worked for Eppendorf AG in Hamburg, most recently as a member of the Managing Board.
“Dr. Ralf Hermann has managed LAUDA’s largest business unit with great professionalism for a long time and has played a decisive role in shaping our market success in recent years. As Managing Director for Sales, Service and Product Management, he will drive forward the further development of our product portfolio, international sales and business development,” says President and CEO, Dr. Gunther Wobser.
Dr. Ralf Hermann is very conscious of his responsibility: “I’m looking forward to the new challenge and the opportunity to play a key role in the implementation of our Drive250 strategy project. The new structure and the process optimizations already underway will help us achieve our ambitious growth targets."
