Find-A-Sensor: Meteolabor AG

Meteolabor AG, founded in 1965 by the two engineers Paul W. Ruppert and Walter K. B?chler is principally active in two fields:
Physical measurement technology, particularly for meteorological applications
Electromagnetic compatibility with focus on lightning and NEMP protection
Meteolabor AG managed by Paul W. Ruppert and Peter Blattner, has 22 inhouse and 20 home workers and operates with a share capital of CHF 250,000. Meteolabor AG is certified according to ISO 9001 and is domiciled in Wetzikon, 30 km east of Zurich-Airport in the company's own premises that were awarded with the energy conservation prize.

Eight years after its successful launch in 1965 in Zurich the company moved to its own premises in Wetzikon. Those years were characterized by fundamental changes in the meteorological measurement technology because meteorologists began to increasingly rely on computer technology. The required measurement data were no longer obtained through visual observation but had to be provided by automatic measuring stations in a form suitable for computer processing. Such an automatic network was implemented in the seventies as a pioneering project by the Swiss Meteorological Institute in cooperation with Meteolabor AG and has been in successful operation ever since. The project triggered a number of activities at Meteolabor AG. For most meteorological parameters, modern sensors with electrical outputs were developed which today are used in many measuring stations.

Meteorological measuring stations are often located in exposed sites, for example, at the top of high mountains. For this reason the company had to address the problem of electrical interference. In-depth knowledge of protection against the effects of lightning and high frequency on electronic measuring systems is essential for reliable operation of a measurement network. When Meteolabor AG had fully mastered the protection technology for its own equipment, the knowhow was applied to electromagnetic compatibility, EMC. Today, Meteolabor AG is a worldwide specialist in the protection of electronic systems against lightning and other electromagnetic influences. For such protection concepts Meteolabor AG provides consulting engineering services and also supplies the necessary components. Since its foundation Meteolabor AG has been working in the specialized field of aerological measurement technology for the investigation of atmospheric conditions in altitudes of up to more than 35,000 meters. A corresponding system comprises the ground station and a radio sonde suspended on a balloon. At the beginning of the eighties Meteolabor AG developed secondary radar sonde systems for civilian and military weather services in Switzerland. These radio sonde systems are now in operational use and achieve high accuracy and reliability.