Into the 21st century
The euro is introduced and Usain Bolt sprints to a world record - just two events that shaped the 2000s. In this decade, we at Leuze have driven forward the development of fork sensors and light curtains and opened further international locations.
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Highlights of the 00s worldwide...
Introduction of the euro
The euro has been the official common currency of the European Economic and Monetary Union since January 1, 2002. The former national currencies of the 12 European states have no longer been valid legal tender since this date. Alongside the US dollar, the yen and the renminbi yuan, the euro is one of the most important currencies in the global monetary system.
Barack Obama becomes US President
Barack Obama made history when he was elected US President in 2009: Never before had an African-American moved into the White House in Washington D.C. Obama was the 44th President of the United States from 2009 - 2017. He also received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009.
Usain Bolt: Faster than everyone else
Eight-time Olympic champion, eleven-time world champion and three-time world record holder: the numbers speak for themselves. Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt is the only person to run the 100 meters in under 9.6 seconds. He also set the world record in the 200-meter distance at the World Championships in Berlin in 2009.
What happened at Leuze...
Innovative fork sensors
In addition to the product areas of identification, safety and optical data transmission, the Sensor People have extensive expertise in the field of switching sensor technology. This includes optical and inductive sensors, as well as ultrasonic and fork sensors.
The latter combine transmitter and receiver in one device, which ensures a high level of operational reliability. Fork sensors are also characterized by simple installation.
In the 2000s, Leuze launched an absolute innovation in this field: the GSU 14, which was the first fork sensor for detecting transparent or metallized labels using the completely new ultrasonic detection principle.
Today...
The next world first in this field followed in the 2020s: the Leuze GSX 14E combination fork sensor, which combines both detection principles - light and ultrasound - in one compact sensor. This fork sensor is a flexible solution for all labeling machines on which a wide variety of label types are processed.
This means that a wide range of applications in the packaging industry can be solved.
Find out more.
First locations in Asia
After establishing its own branches in the 1980s and 1990s, primarily in Europe and America, the company began to expand into Asia in the 2000s. The first locations were opened in Korea in 2002 and in China in 2004.
The Sensor People have also been represented in Hong Kong, Denmark and Turkey since the 2000s.
Today...
The presence on the Asian market has been expanded in recent years through the sales companies in India, Australia and Singapore. Singapore also acts as a technological competence center.
The production site in Malaysia was opened in 2022.
Our global locations ensure that products are available quickly and that we are always close to our customers.
Around 1,600 Sensor People worldwide are now working to make customers successful in the long term.
The number of Sensor People is continuously increasing not only at the headquarters in Owen, but also worldwide. In Korea, the number of employees has increased fivefold to date...
...in China even twelvefold!
Robust safety light curtains for all applications
In the 2000s, product development at Leuze also progressed in the safety sector. The SOLID2 light curtain was developed for robust applications in the TYPE2 area, for example on weaving machines in the textile industry. Due to the harsh working environment, the light curtains must have a stable design and be able to absorb impacts. This was later followed by the so-called SOLID 4, which corresponds to a TYPE 4 light curtain. Since the development of the SOLID2, DIP switches and software have not been used to configure the light curtains. Instead, wiring of the connecting cable was used. This made installation or replacement possible without additional configuration effort.
Today...
To this day, light curtains are constantly being further developed and adapted to the needs of customers. The safety light curtains of the MLC series are offered by Leuze in four function classes. In addition to versions for standard applications, special applications are also solved with muting and blanking functions or extra slim design. The so-called Smart Process Gating is a completely new concept for material transport - both into and out of hazardous areas.
The ELC series, available since 2022, is suitable for a cost-optimized design:
Focused on the essentials for safeguarding danger zones.