improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . learn how and when to remove these template messages this article contains content that is written like an advertisement . please help improve it by removing promotional content and inappropriate external links and by adding encyclopedic content written from a neutral point of view . november 2010 learn how and when to remove this template message this article needs additional citations for verification . please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . february 2012 learn how and when to remove this template message learn how and when to remove this template message for the village in samoa see vaisala samoa vaisala type public omx vaias founded 1936 as mittari oy headquarters vantaa finland key people kjell forsen ceo products environmental and industrial measurement instruments revenue 318.5 million 2015 1 net income 29.6 million 2015 1 number of employees 1 588 31.12.2015 website www.vaisala.com vaisala finnish pronunciation i s l is a finnish company that develops manufactures and markets products and services for environmental and industrial measurement . the major customer groups and markets are national meteorological and hydrological services aviation authorities defense forces road authorities the weather critical energy sector life science and high technology industries and building automation . vaisala had 1 588 employees and net sales of 318.5 million in 2015 . vaisala serves customers in more than 140 countries . 1 the parent company vaisala oyj domicile in vantaa finland is listed on the nasdaq omx helsinki . vaisala group has offices and operations in finland the united states the united kingdom canada france germany china india sweden malaysia south korea brazil united arab emirates japan 2 and australia . contents 1 history 1.1 commercial production since 1936 1.2 recovering from the wars 1.3 vigorous 70s & 80s 1.4 new millennium 2 history of acquisitions and divestments 2.1 1980s 2.2 1990s 2.3 2000s 2.4 2010s 3 vaisala business areas 3.1 weather 3.2 controlled environment 4 products and services 4.1 measurement instruments 4.2 measurement systems 4.3 application and services 4.4 services and data subscription services 5 references 6 external links history edit a gps sonde rs92 approx 220 80 75 mm 8.7 3.1 3 in vaisala s origins date back to the 1930s when professor vilho v is l 1889 1969 vaisala s founder and long time managing director invented some of the operating principles of a radiosonde citation needed . he sent the first finnish radiosonde aloft in december 1931 . after the first sounding v is l continued with further development and tests until a radiosonde could be brought into production and deliveries started in 1936 . from the very start vaisala was an international business exporting 95 percent of the production . as the vaisala radiosonde became internationally renowned the demand for them increased . in 1944 prof. v is l established a company called mittari oy gauge incorporated and set up manufacturing facilities for radiosonde systems . the first sounding system included a semi automatic radiosonde receiver a calibration device and a ground check set . the company employed 13 people at the time . later in 1955 the name of mittari was changed to vaisala . from a modest start the company evolved to become a world leader in many measurement fields and to establish a noteworthy finnish export industry . at the end of 1954 a modern manufacturing plant was relocated in vantaa . since then the headquarters have been expanded several times and vaisala s product range has been diversified and expanded greatly . nowadays vaisala employs over 1 400 people and exports 98 percent of its production to over 120 countries . 3 commercial production since 1936 edit after the first sounding v is l continued with further development and tests until a radiosonde could be brought into commercial production . radiosonde deliveries started with the rs11 1936 . amongst its first customers was the massachusetts institute of technology . in 1937 v is l s radiosonde won a gold medal at the world fair in paris . recovering from the wars edit world war ii the finnish winter war 1939 1940 and the finnish continuation war 1941 1944 disrupted many lives and upset business and delivery activities internationally . the post war decades witnessed a strenuous effort to revive the national and international economies . vaisala grew to employ 60 people in 1954 . the first issue of vaisala news magazine was published in 1959 . thanks to major product development efforts during the 1950s and 1960s the vaisala sounding system became completely electronic the first automatic radiosonde receiver and the world s first fully transistorized radiosonde rs13 1965 were introduced and the first weather satellite image receiver was delivered . yrj toivola took over as the managing director of the company when professor vilho v is l died in 1969 . vigorous 70s & 80s edit the 1970s and 1980s were busy decades for vaisala . thin film technology was developed for vaisala humicap relative humidity sensors the first in the world . citation needed the vaisala cora automatic sounding system along with automatic weather stations road weather stations and aviation weather systems was introduced . in 1975 vaisala employed over 200 people . during the 1980s numerous new offices were established to ensure the company s ability to serve customers worldwide in the uk japan usa germany and australia . a traffic weather company was also acquired in the uk . vaisala s first clean room was built to enable the design and manufacture of semiconductors in house . vaisala barocap barometric pressure sensor technology was introduced as well as a new radiosonde family the vaisala radiosonde rs80 1981 2008 . these units made use of a water activated wet battery that had a very long storage life and high power density but a limited working life . the professor vilho v is l award was established in cooperation with the wmo to stimulate interest in meteorological research involving meteorological observation methods and instruments . the radiosondes have also been used in many upper air ozone research studies using an attached detector that had the sensor data multiplexed with the standard meteorology dataset . gps positioning information was added to gain more accurate wind speed information . new millennium edit ceo pekka ketonen was appointed in 1992 . this could be seen to mark the beginning of yet another era in vaisala s development . the company was listed on the helsinki exchanges in 1994 . by then it employed over 600 people . further product developments included the introduction of gps technology for upper air wind measurement the vaisala carbocap co2 sensor and vaisala drycap sensor technology for industrial dewpoint measurement . new offices were established in france and china and business acquisitions in aviation weather and surface weather further enhanced vaisala s presence in the usa . the new millennium was kicked off with yet more business acquisitions in wind profiling lightning detection and aviation weather . u.s. manufacturing operations were concentrated in boulder colorado . new product launches included a new radiosonde product family the vaisala radiosonde rs92 2003 in production as well as the vaisala weather transmitter which measures the six most essential weather parameters in one compact instrument . this was much improved from the previous generation device and now included consumer cells 4 to make up the battery due to energy saving techniques . a new and improved clean room is another recent introduction and a clear sign of the company s commitment to quality and innovation . ceo ketonen retired october 1 2006 . vaisala s board of directors appointed kjell fors n the new company ceo . fors n last served as president of ericsson finland before joining vaisala on september 18 2006 . vaisala technology has played a part in space exploration for some 30 years for instance the mars rover curiosity and schiaparelli edm lander contain pressure and humidity sensors manufactured by vaisala . 5 6 with new developments in miniaturisation communications and sensors a new radiosonde the model rs41 2014 in production was announced . this model had again made improvements in specifications . 7 launch preparation made simple with the ri41 ground check device . it is smaller and has pre flight dry point humidity sensor calibration achieved by heating the sensor to drive off contaminants . it is also available in a model rs41 sg without a pressure sensor the pressure reading is derived from the gps altitude temperature and humidity readings . history of acquisitions and divestments edit gps radiosonde rs92 in ground check set gc25 used to perform a ground check and also recondition the humidity sensor the vaisala group strives for global market and product leadership in selected business areas 8 the goal is achieved mainly by organic growth and supplemented by corporate acquisitions . 1980s edit 1985 the group acquired tycho technologies inc. of usa manufacturer of upper air windprofiler . citation needed august 1989 the group acquired the british thermal mapping international ltd. of united kingdom . thermal mapping specialized in measuring the thermal characteristics of roads and runways and in providing forecast models . 1990s edit june 1995 the group sold vaisala technologies inc. to breed technologies inc. of usa . vaisala technologies inc. vti manufactured silicon capacitive sensors for the car industry . july 1996 the group acquired artais weather check inc. of usa . march 1999 the group acquired air inc. of usa . october 1999 the group acquired handar inc. of usa . 2000s edit february 2000 the group acquired dimension sa of france . october 2000 the group acquired jenoptik impulsphysik gmbh of germany . june 2001 the group acquired the meteorological systems unit of radian international llc of usa . march 2002 the group acquired global atmospherics inc. of tucson arizona usa . july 2005 the group acquired clh inc. of minneapolis minnesota usa . january 2006 the group acquired sigmet corporation of westford massachusetts usa . january 2009 the group acquired aviation system maintenance inc. asmi kansas usa . december 2009 the group acquired quixote transportation technologies qtt a subsidiary to quixote corporation . 2010s edit march 2010 the group acquired veriteq instruments inc of vancouver bc canada august 2013 the group acquired remote sensing manufacturer second wind systems inc. of somerville massachusetts . 9 december 2013 the group acquired 3tier inc. a renewable energy assessment and forecasting services company headquartered in seattle washington . 10 vaisala business areas edit vaisala s core business is environmental measurement especially weather measurement and corresponding industrial measurements . the business areas are based on customers measuring range and needs broad range medium and operation specific range and closed environments . the business has been divided into two business areas weather and controlled environments . an earlier design radiosonde rs80 weather edit the weather business area is divided into three business segments meteorology transportation and energy . this business area serves customers whose primary interest is the safety and protection of lives and property through effective operations and decision making support under any weather conditions . accurate real time uninterrupted and reliable weather data is the cornerstone for efficient operations . the customers include meteorological institutes airports and airlines road and railroad authorities renewable energy customers maritime market segments as well as defense forces . 11 controlled environment edit the controlled environment business area serves customers who operate in tightly controlled and demanding areas where the measurement of precise environmental conditions is required to increase operational quality productivity and energy savings . controlled environment customers include multiple industries including pharmaceutical biotechnical medical device and drug distribution companies as well as the power generation and transmission maritime automotive semiconductor electronics and building automation industries . 12 products and services edit measurement instruments edit humidity and temperature measurement instruments dewpoint measurement instruments barometric pressure measurement