Rohde & Schwarz

Rohde & Schwarz GmbH & Co. KG has stood for quality and precision in test & measurement, broadcasting, secure communications, and radiomonitoring and radiolocation for 75 years. The company is a world market leader in EMC test and measurement equipment as well as terrestrial TV transmitters. The electronics group with headquarters in Munich is also among the leading providers worldwide in all its other business fields. Rohde & Schwarz supplies mobile phone manufacturers and network operators, manufacturers of electronic equipment, TV networks, etc, with innovative solutions and products. The Executive Board is made up of Michael Vohrer (Chairman), Manfred Fleischmann, and Christian Leicher.

Approximately 7200 employees currently generate a turnover of 1.4 billion euros (fiscal year from July 2006 to June 2007). In recent years, the company's main focus has been on expanding its international presence. Today a service and sales network comprising more than 70 subsidiaries and offices worldwide ensures the necessary customer proximity. The share of exports is now about 80 percent.

Rohde & Schwarz is a high-tech company and thrives on innovations. A good 14 percent of the annual turnover therefore goes into research & development. To maintain its high quality standards, Rohde & Schwarz keeps virtually the entire added value within the company: Central R&D is located at company headquarters. Germany is the company's main production and manufacturing site; another factory is in the Czech Republic. Proximity of development and production is thus ensured. At the same time, the company maintains development centers in the USA, Korea, China, Singapore, Denmark, France, and the United Kingdom in order to implement customer-oriented applications and to be involved in standardizations early on.

Rohde & Schwarz ranks among the technological leaders in all its fields of work. This is because its employees acquire comprehensive know-how and develop high innovative strength. "Our worldwide success is possible only because people with top training and a lot of commitment like to work for us. Here at Rohde & Schwarz, they can realize and further develop their creativity and skills", says Michael Vohrer. Respecting human beings and open organizational structures are a considerable part of corporate culture. Numerous awards (employee surveys by Capital, Wirtschaftswoche, Great Place to Work) are proof of this.

The business fields

T&M equipment for mobile radio, general-purpose electronics, and microwave

One billion mobile phones a year are sold over the counter – half of them are developed and produced using T&M equipment from Rohde & Schwarz. The company's T&M solutions thus safeguard the quality of mobile radio systems. With the new 3GPP LTE standard, the electronics group currently supports the development of 3G and 4G mobile radio and is the driving force for tomorrow's communications.

From wireless Internet access via WLAN and WiMAX to Bluetooth® headsets for mobile phones – nearly everyone uses mobile radio nowadays. T&M equipment from Rohde & Schwarz plays a major role in the development and production of electronic devices. The company supports manufacturers wherever signals must be generated or analyzed, high-quality audio-equipment measured, or the spectrum analyzed. In addition, Rohde & Schwarz provides systems for EMC and field strength measurements, e.g. for measuring electromagnetic interference in automotive electronics.

With regard to the especially high frequencies in microwave T&M, the electronics group demonstrates its expertise with solutions for radio links and radar systems in the aerospace & defense sector. Rohde & Schwarz is also a reliable partner for the development of state-of-the-art applications – e.g. systems for satellite communications.

Transmission and T&M equipment for TV and sound broadcasting

Rohde & Schwarz has been active in the field of TV and sound broadcasting for over 50 years. Today the company has established itself as market leader with a complete range of transmission and T&M equipment. Whether in the USA, the United Kingdom, Germany, Scandinavia, Spain, or Taiwan – Rohde & Schwarz sets up nationwide networks for digital and mobile TV around the globe. The combined know-how from broadcasting and mobile radio also provides valuable synergies. Moreover, the company is a key partner for manufacturers of broadcast equipment: The solutions from Rohde & Schwarz cover all T&M requirements for the development and production of satellite receivers, HDTV sets, or LCD monitors.

Secure communications for armed forces, government authorities, and industry

Security organizations and the military must be able to exchange information efficiently and securely, also in international operations. Rohde & Schwarz supplies interoperable and powerful communications systems to ensure the prompt coordination of civil, government, and military forces on missions or in crises. Using modern encryption methods, the company's solutions fulfill the highest security standards at the national and international levels. Software defined radios ensure greatest possible flexibility and are in operation around the globe. In addition, more than 200 international and national airports use Rohde & Schwarz radios for air traffic control. The subsidiary R&S BICK Mobilfunk GmbH put TETRA radio networks into operation in over 30 countries, including those in the Moscow metro, at the Panama Canal, and at large sporting events such as the Asian Games in Qatar. In addition, Rohde & Schwarz SIT GmbH develops and produces crypto products and systems for industry, governmental offices, the German Armed Forces, and NATO. The latest product is the TopSec Mobile, which allows secured mobile communications via mobile phones with Bluetooth capability.

Frequency management and radiolocation for internal and external security

User needs for mobile, wireless information exchange are drastically increasing. At the same time, however, the frequency spectrum is limited. Mobile telephony, navigation systems, broadcasting, and television must operate smoothly worldwide. For this reason, Rohde & Schwarz develops and produces stationary as well as mobile systems for detecting, locating, and analyzing radiocommunications signals. For example, the company is currently setting up a nationwide system for the Czech Republic that automatically monitors the use of the frequency spectrum. With its receivers, direction finders, signal analyzers, antennas, and customized systems, Rohde & Schwarz has been a reliable partner in the area of internal and external security for many decades.

Service & support

With 24-hour support worldwide and personal service contacts in over 70 countries, Rohde & Schwarz is present around the globe. The company stands for high quality, preventive service, and compliance with delivery schedules – no matter whether the task at hand is calibration or application support.

A Brief History

The Munich-based electronics group Rohde & Schwarz has been known as a driving force in innovation since its very beginning. When the company's founders, Dr. Lothar Rohde and Dr. Hermann Schwarz, developed their first measurement solution, there were hardly any other suppliers of professional test and measurement equipment. The two scientists had therefore discovered an untapped market. In 1933, they established the Physikalisch-Technisches Entwicklungslabor Dr. L. Rohde und Dr. H. Schwarz, today known as Rohde & Schwarz. Demand grew steadily, and the company soon took the step from small-scale manufacturing to industrial-scale production. In the 1940s, the company added the field of broadcasting to its existing test and measurement business. In the mid-1950s, radiomonitoring and radiolocation as well as radiocommunications followed. Since that time, the company's innovations have also made a name for themselves beyond Germany's borders. The world's first vector network analyzer came from Rohde & Schwarz, and the same is true for Europe's first VHF FM transmitter, the first GSM system simulator and the first professional, encryption device for mobile phones. In the 1980s, Friedrich Schwarz, the son of Dr. Hermann Schwarz, took a decisive step toward becoming a global player: The existing worldwide network of representative offices was steadily replaced by the company's own subsidiaries and service centers. The initial focus was on Europe, later followed by the Asia/Pacific, Middle East/Africa and Latin/North America regions. Thus, a two-man R&D lab has grown into a global group of companies which today is a leading supplier in all of its business fields – test and measurement, broadcasting, secure communications as well as radiomonitoring and radiolocation.