Company history

It took years before the first thermal imaging devices could make a significant contribution to total sales. Meanwhile, work continued to implement the wishes of professional customers - in the first few years mainly special police units - with the highest precision in existing and new developments. After this was achieved with the TILO – the smallest thermal imaging goggles in the world to date – business quickly took off. In 2019, sales in the thermal imaging area were higher for the first time than all other product lines combined.

The introduction of the TigIR the following year led to a renewed growth spurt for AIAG. This is an attachment that combines an above-average range with a previously unrivaled short and light design. The success of the TigIR is based on the fact that many NATO forces plan to upgrade their existing machine gun stocks with thermal imaging technology in the next few years. For technical reasons, only particularly short thermal imaging devices such as TigIR or TILO are suitable for this. Although so far only test and pilot samples have been sold to customer countries located primarily in Eastern Europe, the company has experienced annual growth of 50% since 2020. This is due, among other things, to the fact that when working with military procurement agencies, particular emphasis is placed on taking into account the individual needs and suggestions of the respective armed forces and these are ultimately integrated into existing or new products by our development teams.

A tailor-made approach that also pays off. From a current standpoint, all current projects seem to be leading to successful completion. What's more, not least because of the worsening security situation in recent months, some customers want to increase the number of thermal imaging goggles and attachments they order by a multiple of what was originally planned.

Anticipating the current company growth, a more modern and larger company location in Berlin Lichtenberg was moved into in 2020. In addition to the necessary quality control systems, there is also a sufficiently large clean room for sterile precision work. An increase in capacity on a larger scale is therefore not an obstacle and AIAG can continue to manufacture highly complex devices in its own production facilities. It remains the company's declared goal not only to develop the most modern thermal imaging devices in Germany, but also to manufacture them in Berlin.

For this purpose, the company can rely on a growing number of motivated and competent employees. Even though the current projects involve a need for personnel that is incomparably high in the company's history, the board of Andres Industries AG is confident about the future. An integration program for Ukrainian employees was recently successfully started and the company is in a position to pay above-average salaries for its top performers.

Given the demands we set for ourselves, this is also necessary. With the aim of pushing the boundaries of what is possible a little further into the future, at least two new thermal imaging devices are expected to come onto the market next year. When looking back at the company's previous career and current market forecasts, it is highly likely that this trend of accelerated company growth will continue in the coming years.