On March 16, 2018, LESER celebrated its 200th birthday. On that date in 1818, Georg Wittmann, born in Klosterneuburg (near Vienna), started his own business as a brass founder. His adopted sons, Georg, Theodor, Ferdinand, and Wilhelm Leser, continued on with the business after his death in 1870 as Gebr. Leser G. Wittmann Nachfolger (successors).
Today, with more than 800 employees worldwide and production facilities in Hohenwestedt, Germany, Paithan, India and Tianjin, China, the Hamburg-based company is the biggest safety relief valve manufacturer in Europe and one of the leading manufacturers of these products worldwide. LESER safety relief valves protect people, the environment, and equipment for major companies all over the world in the chemical, petrochemical, oil and gas, and pharmaceutical industries, among others.
Currently, LESER produces more than 100,000 safety relief valves per year at its manufacturing facility in Hohenwestedt. The production plants in Paithan and Tianjin supply the local markets in India and China with a production volume of approximately 25,000 valves annually. LESER safety relief valves are manufactured according to the standards of modern series production, ensuring high quality. Continuous investments in technology and processes every year – including fully automated manufacturing of all critical components – has helped LESER attain a high level of repeatability.
LESER specializes exclusively in safety valves, but no finished product is like the other. In contrast to common industrial valves, safety valves depend on the application conditions of specific plants, including: mass flow to be discharged, operating pressure, temperature, medium, etc. With its diverse range of products and services, LESER offers solutions for all applications and plant requirements, including major projects, MRO (Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul) inquiries, and LESER can deliver within 24 hours with the emergency supply chain “Fast Track” option. This makes LESER a reliable and dependable partner for any overpressure protection needs.
For the past several decades, LESER has reinvested the majority share of its profits in the continuous development of the company. The most extensive investments in recent years were the establishment of the production and sales location in Tianjin (6 million € / $7.4 million), the expansion of the German production facility in Hohenwestedt (7.3 million € / $9 million), and the newly-completed LESER-Kontor (Headquarters) in Hamburg (22 million € / $27 million). These major investments, coupled with the development of international distribution channels, have provided foundation for continued business growth in new and/or emerging markets.
LESER is proud to celebrate its 200-year history, and are equally proud to continue serving its customers in the years to come.
Image courtesy of LESER