Group history

1896
Richard Theiler establishes “Electrotechnisches Institut Theiler & Co” in Zug, Switzerland, together with Adelrich Gyr-Wickart, producing electricity meters as well as telephone magnetos and phonographs. Four years prior to this, Siemens had entered into the metering business manufacturing electricity meters in Nuremberg, Germany.

1904
Company founder Richard Theiler finds engineer Heinrich Landis as his successor to continue the company under the name of “Heinrich Landis, formerly Theiler & Cie”.

1905
Heinrich Landis seeks a partner to help manage the burgeoning demand for electricity meters. He finds Dr. Karl Heinrich Gyr, who with visionary foresight lays the foundation for the successful development of the company now doing business under the name of Landis & Gyr. Employees: 55. Sales: 200,000 Swiss Francs.

1912
We found the first foreign subsidiaries in London, Vienna and Frankfurt, with factories in Berlin and Rastatt (Germany).

1914
Our Zug company becomes a stock corporation. Capital stock: 2.6 million Swiss Francs. Employees: 500. Sales: 4 million Swiss Francs.

1924
We begin to branch out overseas: a sales office is founded in New York, and a branch office is opened in Melbourne, Australia. Employees in Zug: 1,100.

1956
Our public offering and first publication of the annual report. Members of the Gyr family take the helm: Dr. Andreas C. Brunner and Gottfried Straub continue the work of their father-in-law Dr. Karl Heinrich Gyr, and promote global expansion. Employees: 7,800 worldwide. Sales: 80 million Swiss Francs.

1970
The first electronic high precision electricity meter is launched.

1971
We celebrate our 75th jubilee and establish the cultural foundation “Zuger Kulturstiftung Landis & Gyr.”

1976
We acquire meter producer Duncan Electronics of Lafayette, Indiana. Employees: 15,500 worldwide. Sales: 900 million Swiss Francs.

1981
Pioneering in the field of electricity metering, we launch the first generation of digital electricity meters for industrial and commercial applications.

1984
After Dr. Andreas Brunner and Gottfried Straub relinquish their managerial responsibilities, a new management team – no longer comprising members of the founders‘ families – takes on the task of developing the company to meet new market demands.

1989
We forge ahead with the development and rollout of electronic products and launch the first electronic residential electricity meter.

1990
We abandon the manufacture of mechanical parts within the group and concentrate device assembly at a small number of supraregional production centers.

1996
We celebrate our centenary with numerous events. In this jubilee year, Swiss Electrowatt Ltd. acquires a majority share in Landis & Gyr.

1998
Siemens take over the Credit Suisse Group’s share in the industrial arm of Electrowatt. Effective 1 April 1998, the metering businesses of Siemens and Landis & Gyr Utilities are combined in the newly established Siemens Metering, and becomes the new global market leader for high-quality electricity meters.

2001
Various European production sites are shut down and the number of manufacturing sites is reduced from 23 in 1998 to 11 in 2001.

2002
The executive committee of Siemens AG decides to withdraw from the metering business. In June 2002, American financial investors Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co take a majority share. The group, which has again been trading as Landis+Gyr since 1 November 2002, already achieves a successful turnaround in its first business year. This fulfills KKR's most important criteria for transferring responsibility for further development of the group to an owner that will continue to maintain its strategic interests.

2004
On 1 October 2004, Bayard Capital of Australia takes over the group, consisting of 3,300 employees in 28 companies worldwide. The new owner, as part of its growth strategy, plans to develop Landis+Gyr into the pre-eminent force for energy management and conservation.

2005
Under Bayard’s ownership, we change our organizational set-up into a regional structure aligning all activities in the regions North America, South America, UK/Pre-Payment, Europe and Asia Pacific and across the businesses, which still keep their brand identity. This multi-brand strategy and an accelerated innovation circle build the base for significant organic growth.

2006
Through the acquisitions of Finnish Enermet Group, Hunt Technologies and Cellnet Technologies, both from the US, we realize a quantum leap in implementing an aggressive growth strategy. Enermet and Hunt enlarge our skill set and expertise along the value chain of energy utilities significantly. Cellnet’s contracted 14 million endpoints together with a unique track record in providing AMI, SCADA and DA network solutions to electric, gas and water utilities boost our positioning as fore-runner in Advanced metering Infrastructure, providing latest total solutions and services, enabling process efficiency and the sustainable use of energy.