Vaisala

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For the village in Samoa, see Vaisala, Samoa

Vaisala

Type	Public (OMX: VAIAS)
Founded	1936 (as Vilho Väisälä Oy)
Headquarters	Vantaa, Finland
Key people	Kjell Forsen, CEO
Products	environmental and industrial measurement instruments
Revenue	▲224.1 million EUR (2007)
Net income	▲25.8 million EUR (2007)
Employees	1,100
Website	www.vaisala.com

Vaisala Oyj is a major provider of environmental measurement systems, such as weather instruments, dropsondes, hygrometers, barometers, and other devices. Vaisala offers a comprehensive range of products that provide the measurement data necessary for forecasting the weather, protecting the environment and improving the safety of air and road traffic. In industrial settings Vaisala products help to enhance the efficiency of manufacturing processes and improve the working environment, as well as reduce adverse impacts on the environment.

The major customer groups are meteorological and hydrological institutes, aviation organizations, defense forces, road and rail organizations, weather related private sector, system integrators and industry worldwide. Vaisala's competitiveness in environmental measurement is based on premium value products. The company is the global market leader in many of its core businesses.

Prof. Vilho Väisälä made some of the first radiosondes in the 1930s and founded a company called Vilho Väisälä Oy, later as Mittari Oy to sell them commercially. They were extremely popular, and continue to be so. The company started using its current name in 1955.

Vaisala is headquartered in Vantaa, Finland. The group has almost 30 offices in 27 countries. Alongside the international offices, Vaisala has established a wide distributor network that serves customers in more than 100 countries.